Special edition of Dunlop sports tires released in limited quantities
The release of limited-edition car models is a common practice, but in the tire industry, such a practice is, to put it mildly, not very widespread, making the decision of the Japanese Sumitomo to release sports tires Dunlop Sport Maxx R58 in a quantity of only 70 sets all the more interesting.
The tires are manufactured using technologies that have not yet gone into mass production, and their premiere took place on the 2-kilometer Tsukuba circuit in Japan's Ibaraki Prefecture, where driver Akira Iida behind the wheel of a Nissan GT-R Nismo set a new track record, completing a lap in 58.82 seconds, to which the name of the limited-edition tires refers.
Sumitomo calls the Sport Maxx R58 the "best sports tire from Dunlop, combining high grip with improved wear resistance, ensuring stable performance, including on high-speed tracks". One of the features of the tire is an optimized profile with rounded shoulders, which evens out the load when cornering. This increases the reliability of grip, while the even distribution of pressure in the shoulder area also increases the wear resistance of the tires when used on racing tracks, where the loads on the tires are higher than on public roads, explains Sumitomo.
The second key feature is a special breaker construction designed to allow the tires to withstand lap times at speeds of around 300 km/h. According to the manufacturer, on the track, centrifugal forces can cause the shoulders to "bulge", so the cord tension in this area has been increased, which has increased its stiffness and ensured the stability of the tire's shape at high speeds, increasing its lifespan. Moreover, the design elements of the sidewalls are made using Nano Black technology, which enhances the saturation of the black color.
The tires are primarily designed for owners of the GT-R Nismo 2024 model year and are available in sizes 255/40ZR20 and 285/35ZR20 for the front and rear axles, respectively. In the future, the applied technologies will be introduced into the production of serial sports tires from the Sport Maxx family. The cost of the new tires is 426,800 yen (approximately 274,000 rubles) per set.