Dunlop Brand Expands Direzza Tire Line to Track, Street

AKRON, Ohio, Nov. 7, 2005 -- Dunlop is racing to bring a Direzza to a racetrack -- and sport compact car -- near you. The brand announced the tire line expansion today.

A year after the brand introduced the Direzza DZ101 in North America, Dunlop is launching two new Direzza race tires and expanding its Direzza DZ101 line to 34 sizes to replace its FM901 tire line for sport-compact tuners. Dunlop is a premium tire brand for The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company .

For the racetrack, the Direzza GRP is a street-legal drag race tire for entry- and mid-level racers and the Direzza drag slick is for pro drag races where straight-line traction is required. Dunlop officials said the tires are for racetrack-use only.

On the street, the Direzza DZ101 "is a performance tire with no manners. The knowledge derived from Dunlop's years of experience in racing are built into this tire," said Andy Traicoff, director of Dunlop marketing in North America.

The tire targets the fast growing vehicle personalization segment, those who bolt on aftermarket parts to make a statement. "Sport compact starts small, but thinks big. That's what we had to achieve with the Direzza," Traicoff said.

From 1997 through 2002, retail dollars spent on performance products used to modify sport compact cars skyrocketed 894 percent. According to Dunlop research, auto enthusiasts buy up to 10 percent of U.S. replacement tires -- 22.5 million tires -- to upgrade sport compacts.

Engineered and built in Japan for sport compact "tuner" cars, the Direzza Z101's early success prompted a line and name expansion. "With the popularity of sport compacts and the sport of drifting flowing from Asia to North America, the Direzza expansion was a natural extension," Traicoff said.

Cutting-edge tire technology -- called Digital Rolling Simulation II -- was used to reduce pattern noise and improve wear uniformity by optimizing the angle and distribution of grooves on the Direzza DZ101, Ben Hyder, Dunlop account engineer, said.

The technology simulates driving a vehicle with tires while in early design stages, reproducing both tire behavior and road conditions digitally. "Digital Rolling Simulation reduced design and development lead time and made it possible to develop an excellent performer without tradeoffs in handling, comfort and traction. Ultimately, data from road tests on real vehicles were very close to simulation results," Hyder said.

For the street, Direzza Z101's 22 new sizes, in addition to 12 existing ones, offer the sport compact car enthusiasts "a wide selection of performance rubber for their tuned cars," Traicoff said. "I believe they'll find Dunlop's 'tuner' tire lineup unmatched."

Dunlop is a global tire brand with an excellent reputation among performance car enthusiasts. Well known for its prestigious original- equipment fitments and sports car racing heritage, Dunlop is also a key supplier to sport compact enthusiasts featuring "tuner" tire sizes and race series sponsorships. For more on Direzza, go to www.dunloptires.com.