Dunlop Introduces Its First Drag-Racing Tire In US

Dunlop has developed the Dragmax in a 190/50ZR17, the most popular size being used on serious drag racers Metric and V-Twin motorcycles

Dunlop Motorcycle Tires – a business unit of Sumitomo Rubber North America – has added it’s a line radial DOT street – certified tires for drag racing to its motorsports tire portfolio.  It is the first time Dunlop has entered this segment as it thinks time is right to support the drag racing market due to the higher demands of the Pro Street Bike class, where horsepower and speeds have achieved new levels in recent years.

Dunlop has developed the Dragmax in a 190/50ZR17, the most popular size being used on serious drag racers Metric and V-Twin motorcycles.

The Dragmax is a radial tire that utilizes Dunlop’s exclusive N-TEC construction, similar to that used in company’s rear road-racing slicks. N-TEC combines the benefits of cut-breaker construction, which increases stiffness, with continuously wound aramid Jointless Tread construction.

This construction allows racers to run low pressures, increasing the tire’s footprint for maximum traction. The compound is also the softest street compound Dunlop has ever produced in its Buffalo plant.

A new profile, specifically designed for drag racing has also been developed to provide a much wider and flatter footprint than a typical hypersport tire to be able to handle the demands of the most powerful Pro Street class motorcycles. The tire’s construction minimizes centrifugal growth to keep that footprint as consistent as possible, which also reduces the risk of de-beading, Dunlop said.

Dunlop has also made the Dragmax as light as possible (without sacrificing stability) to minimize unsprung and rotational weight/mass by reducing the tire’s tread gauge. Having a thinner tread gauge not only reduces the tire’s weight (the Dragmax weighs nearly 1 lb. less than its closest competitor), which improves your motorcycles performance and handling, it also helps lessen blistering and chunking when the tires experience extreme temperatures.