All-Season Touring Performance Is Dunlop's New Signature

A new all-season touring performance tire from Dunlop combines the wet-road gripping power of Hydro-Paddles and a new Dry Performance Sector for enhanced cornering on twisting country roads.

The new Dunlop SP Sport Signature performance tire, a cousin to the brand's family-car Signature brand, is "built for the growing numbers of performance drivers who demand all-season traction and enhanced treadlife to go with cornering g forces," said Todd Hershberger, director of Dunlop in North America.

The new tire is available in several high-performance speed ratings and sizes.

Patrick King, senior development engineer for Dunlop, said the tire's Wet Performance Sector and Dry Performance Sector enable the tire to deliver performance on two very different levels.

Located inboard, the Wet Performance Sector features Dunlop's Hydro-Paddle Technology, a hydrodynamic feature that literally helps pump water through a narrow channel and away from the tire, silica tread compounds that help maintain grip on wet surfaces and full-depth sipes for enhanced water evacuation, King said.

SP Sport Signature's Wet Performance Sector helps provide up to 8.5 percent better wet handling, compared to the award-winning Dunlop SP Sport A2 Plus, according to test results. The tire carries the highest "AA" traction- grading label.

Outboard, the tire's Dry Performance Sector uses a solid shoulder area for enhanced dry handling, straight sipes for a stiff solid contact surface and a solid center rib for enhanced road feedback for stability and driving confidence, he said.

The tire's Dry Performance Sector helps dry handling up to 4.3 percent. In addition, subjective handling is improved up to 13.7 percent when compared to the SP Sport A2 Plus, according to testing.

Seventeen SP Sport Signature performance touring sizes join 33 Signature tire sizes in Dunlop's Power Line. SP Sport Signature tires with an H- or V- speed rating are backed by a 60,000-mile treadlife limited warranty. The tire also comes with Roadside Assistance in the United States and Canada for two years after purchase.

The broad market Signature tire and SP Sport Signature tire rounds out a Power Line strategy, which includes 50 sizes to fit everything from the family car to ultra-performance European sports cars.

When all sizes are available, "the Power Line size lineup targets a potential 79 million replacement-tire opportunities annually," Hershberger said. The Power Line also is focused on touring and high-performance tires, two fast-growing areas each expected to grow 20 percent in volume in the next five years.

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 Dunlop's Signature tire lines, go to http://www.dunloptires.com/

Source: Dunlop Tires