Dunlop Series

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.