Dunlop SP Sport Maxx TT

DUNLOP LAUNCHES SP SPORT MAXX TT: PRECISION POWERED BY KEVLAR^®

Dunlop, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high and ultra high performance tyres, has introduced SP Sport Maxx TT, the new ultra-high performance tyre with DuPont™ Kevlar^® technology. The new Dunlop SP Sport Maxx TT also features a motor sport derived compound with nanoparticles and Touch Technology.

The SP Sport Maxx TT, which is the successor of the award-winning Dunlop SP Sport Maxx, provides enhanced and improved quality of road feedback, improved wet and dry handling and mileage performance, as well as enhanced cornering and high-speed stability to offer driving enthusiasts the ultimate in driving precision.

Precision powered by Kevlar^®

DuPont™ Kevlar^®, a synthetic fiber five times stronger than steel that maintains its strength and resilience in a wide range of temperatures, is used in a variety of demanding applications – from motor sport and sailing to aviation and space technology. Its unique combination of properties makes the Kevlar^® fiber the first choice for an ever-growing number of applications, where reduced weight, increased strength and resistance to corrosion significantly improve efficiency.

The SP Sport Maxx TT features Kevlar^® Engineered Elastomer (EE) in the complete apex of the tyre – an innovation in tyre technology. Adding Kevlar^® EE to the apex compound creates a stiffer sidewall, which becomes more resistant to torsion, tension and heat and guarantees increased stability during cornering, as well as enhanced road feedback and more precision driving.

Motor sport derived compound with nanoparticles

Nanoparticles are widely considered important building blocks in the production of ultra high-tech materials. Impressive examples include nanoparticle-based materials that have been synthesized with hardnesses rivaling or even exceeding that of diamond.

Using motor sport derived compound and fillers with particle sizes smaller than 100 nanometers – with one nanometer being one millionth of a millimeter – the SP Sport Maxx TT ensures better bonding between the filler and rubber matrix thus increasing the total surface, which in turn ensures that the tyre offers increased performance in both adhesion and wear. The concrete benefits are numerous: improved wet and dry grip and braking, as well as improved mileage.

Touch technology – feel the road

To be in control is the essence of driving enjoyment. Getting all the relevant information right on time means drivers can act accordingly. The correct and timely road feedback offered by Dunlop’s ultra-high performance tyre SP Sport Maxx TT with Touch Technology, ensures an excellent two-way communication, meaning driving enthusiasts can concentrate on what really matters: driving enjoyment.

Dunlop’s Touch Technology combines a number of sophisticated tyre technologies such as Multi Radius Tread Technology (MRT), a specific bead seat system, a flatter tread profile and an asymmetrical tread design with a variable land to sea ratio:

Dunlop Multi Radius Tread Technology (MRT)

The stiffer pattern design is based on Dunlop Multi Radius Tread Technology (MRT). The tread pattern is conventionally developed on the basis of three different radii. Dunlop MRT Design employs ten different radii and is therefore more precise. The pressure across the tyre is managed more effectively. The effect is a significantly better control over the evolution of the footprint in driving conditions. The shape of the tyre changes more smoothly when it moves from a straight to a curve, leading to more precise and progressive reactions.

Flatter Tread Profile

The new generation of Dunlop tyres feature a flatter tread profile with a four to eight percent bigger contact patch, depending on size and type. A flatter profile with bigger contact patch delivers better impulse, more stability and enhanced road feedback, allowing tyres to respond quicker and more precisely.

Asymmetric Tread Design and Variable Land to Sea Ratio

The asymmetric tread design with a variable land to sea ratio provides improved aquaplaning resistance. The continuous centre rib increases stability and precision. The asymmetric groove arrangement enhances grip on wet and dry surfaces. The massive outer shoulder block delivers outstanding cornering control. Drivers will experience a more relaxed motoring thanks to the tyre’s improved performance in both straight line

Specific Bead Seat System

A specific bead seat system strengthening a tight link between tyre and rim improves driving control and provides a more precise driving experience. The tight link ensures enhanced control and another extra in sensitive road feedback.

As the Touch Technology tyres touch the surface of the road they deliver a superior level of feedback. Drivers experience road feedback throughout the body during the drive. The inner ear, which controls the body’s balance, interprets the car alignment. If the car is not traveling along the optimum track, the driver will feel the lack of balance and correct it. When the driver’s hands touch the steering wheel, the driver is able to perceive the torque – less torque means worse grip. Through the seat, the driver receives feedback because it is connected to the suspension and alignment of the front and rear axles in conjunction with the tyres. The feedback is also received on the feet through the pedals, allowing the driver to perceive the grip level through the chassis of the car when braking. The entire Dunlop driving experience becomes more tactile, providing the driver with vital information, making all the difference to the drive.

Tread design for enhanced road feedback and driving precision

The SP Sport Maxx TT features a massive wide and solid outer shoulder block, with a high groove volume in the center area and stiffer tread blocks in the inner shoulder area, ensuring numerous tangible advantages for the driver: from better wet and dry grip and enhanced cornering stability to better aquaplaning resistance and enhanced high speed stability.

The SP Sport Maxx TT also performs outstandingly against its main competitors, leaving them behind in many performance benchmark tests, most notably in dry and wet handling as well as lateral aquaplaning comparisons.

“Dunlop’s ultra high performance tyres have long been the benchmark in performance driving. At Dunlop we are driven by creating innovation in tyre technology and we are therefore proud to introduce the new SP Sport Maxx TT with DuPont™ Kevlar^® technology, as it confirms yet another innovation in tyre technology for us,” said Frédéric Schilling, Brand Director of Dunlop Europe, Middle East and Africa. He added: “the SP Sport Maxx TT offers driving enthusiasts so many concrete reasons to enjoy driving even more: more control, better handling, more cornering stability and more road feedback – extreme precision driving is no longer solely the privilege of racing drivers…with the Sport Maxx TT every day driving in every day circumstances can be just as precise and enjoyable.”

“DuPont is very excited by this new adoption of Kevlar^® Engineered Elastomer in the Dunlop SP Sport Maxx TT tyre. It’s a real innovation in tyre technology,” said Richard Brooks, Global Automotive Marketing Manager for DuPont Advanced Fiber Systems business.