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Dunlop Quadmax Sport
When Suzuki's engineers approached their counterparts at
Dunlop to develop the OEM tires for their
yet-to-be-released high-performance 2006 LT-R450, they
knew that they would be collaborating with the best in
the business. No other company had the depth of
experience in both off-road and on-road tire
development--backed by years of success in racing--as
Dunlop. The result was a win-win-win for Suzuki, Dunlop
and thousands of ATV sport and racing enthusiasts: the
birth of the Dunlop Quadmax Sport.
When Dunlop prepared to develop the next generation of
ATV sport tires, they first evaluated the best that the
competition had to offer. Then they set about designing
a better tire. In the process, they spent months
conducting rigorous tests both in Japan and at Dunlop's
Huntsville Proving Grounds in Alabama. For some
companies, this path may seem unnecessarily
time-consuming and expensive, but to Dunlop it was a
proven path that would produce a race-ready level of
performance and ensure class-dominating results.
Dunlop determined early on that the Quadmax Sport would
utilize radial construction, a design that Dunlop has
perfected through years of high-performance automobile
and motorcycle radial-tire development. Technically
speaking, a radial tire is defined by the orientation of
the ply cords that extend to the bead. These two carcass
plies--of nylon construction in the case of the Quadmax
Sport--and are laid at 90 degrees to the centerline of
the tread. The carcass is then stabilized by a
circumferential belt; in this case, two nylon tread
belts. Increased carcass stability and uniformity are
the result; tire growth and distortion throughout the
contact patch are kept to a minimum. On an ATV, the
benefits of radial design are found in both front and
rear tires working together, allowing the engineers to
fine-tune the handling characteristics of all four tires
functioning together as one dynamic system.
The Quadmax Sport tread design results from hours of
CAD-CAM modeling and real-world, on-track evaluation.
The front tire has a unique double-center rib design,
which provides excellent traction in all types of
cornering and camber situations. The rear tire has a
feature not seen on any other ATV sport radial: an
asymmetric design. Because racing ATVs require different
traction and slide characteristics from the inboard and
outboard segments of the footprint, Dunlop has optimized
the block-pattern density for optimum side and forward
traction.
Another distinctive Quadmax Sport feature is found in
the compound, where Dunlop tread-compound engineers have
more than 15 years of experience in developing ATV sport
compounds. Compared to other ATV sport radials on the
market, the Quadmax Sport is the only one to use two
different rubber compounds--one for the tread, one for
the sidewalls. In so doing, Dunlop's engineers tuned the
sidewall compound to work in concert with the carcass
plies to provide optimum flex for bump absorption and
cornering, while the tread compound was dialed in to
work with the tread belts for optimum traction. Dunlop's
focus on tread-compound development was to achieve both
optimum tread wear and tread-block stability and
integrity. The resulting front and rear tread compounds
allow the block pattern to adapt and respond to all
different track surfaces.
While maintaining a more traditional front tire size,
Dunlop has developed the rear Quadmax Sport specifically
for motocross racing. With an 18-inch overall diameter
on an eight-inch wheel, the ATV stays low to the ground
for maximum cornering speed. The lower tire profile also
helps maintain tire stability while keeping the contact
patch uniform and on the ground, doing its job.
The great news for ATV sport and racing enthusiasts is
that the Quadmax Sport, designated as original-equipment
fitment for Suzuki's new LT-R450, is now available at
Dunlop retailers everywhere. The Dunlop Quadmax Sport
tires are available in these sizes: front, AT20x7R10 and
rear, AT18x10R8.
For more information, visit www.dunlopatv.com or call
(800) 845-8378.
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