Joe,
I have been pleasantly surprised with the Dunlops, plus points are they seem to live a long life, fronts were swapped at around 14K, grip in the winter and wet on the worn fronts that were removed was reassuring good, they have a good wheel rim protector for close calls to kerbs. Downside is they seem to be noisy which may come from the harder side wall and 35 profile. I now have michelin pilot super sports on the rear and the back seat passengers seem to think it is quieter than before. The rear Dunlops have now been posted to the front for the remainder of their life and will be swapped for super sports also. I'm not saying that the Dunlops are bad but I want to go with the michelins this time.
Rebecca, I think the rim protector chunk you noticed was prior to my owning, that wheel did give a hint of being refurb'd in the past. To tell the truth I'm glad it was that one that they damaged, as it has been replaced by a new one.