New Tire Name From Dunlop is Gripping -- Literally

AKRON, Ohio, Dec. 1, 2004 -- Dunlop's newest tire wears its name proudly.

Not to be relegated to the tire sidewall, the Dunlop SP Sport Maxx moniker looks quite stylish with its name running down the center of its technologically advanced directional treadface. Its unique location also gives Dunlop, a signature brand for The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company , another way to differentiate its tread patterns from the competition.

Reminiscent of tire names that appeared on early tire treads for functional and aesthetic reasons, the Dunlop SP Sport Maxx name is pure style. The tire relies on other design attributes for its performance capabilities, said Chris Raglin, Dunlop tire engineer.

Water-evacuating Hydro-Paddles and directional tread patterns are here to stay, he said, because they are both aesthetic and functional. "Style can be just as important as performance, since design grabs your attention and sets the tire apart from all others."

Early automobile tires used smooth treads that offered little traction. Increased speeds and a horseless carriage that ventured more from the city to the farm -- to rural roads of mud and ruts -- compelled tiremakers to invent the skid-resistant tire.

SP Sport Maxx's design breakthrough -- or at least the tire name that appears on the treadface -- is reminiscent of the first treads put on automobile tires in 1905, he said. They, too, combined aesthetics and function. In most cases, tiremakers used tire names like KANT SLIP and NON SKID in block letters on the treads to improve traction and stylize the treadface.

"Putting anything on a tire improves its wet and snow traction capability, so these first designs broke new ground. But Dunlop's tire name on the tread is there by design. It makes a statement, but not for functional reasons," he said.

From the 1920s to the 1950s, tread design styling took a backseat to function as tiremakers sought further improvements to wet-road traction in higher-horsepower vehicles, Raglin said. Geometric block patterns and interconnecting grooves helped evacuate water from beneath the tire footprint.

Aided by computers, designers are creating sweeping lateral grooves and deep water-evacuating Hydro-Paddles that could not be hand drawn on the engineering drawings of 15 years ago. Until recently, he said, tread designs have been evolutionary, with few changes in the geometric patterns that the hand could draw accurately.

"The SP Sport Maxx enables drivers to experience pure racing-inspired technology every day. We focused our research and development efforts on dry handling capabilities, because that's what sport-oriented, passionate drivers of powerful cars expect most from their tires."

Dunlop's sophisticated Multi Radius Tread technology delivers the dry and wet traction required. By distributing pressure across the contact patch evenly from shoulder to shoulder, the SP Sport Maxx provides more tread rubber on the road, he said.

For more on Dunlop tread designs, go to http://www.dunloptires.com/ .