Car tyre technology explained

Dunlop supplies a bewildering range and variety of car racing tyres … from open-wheel single-seaters to heavyweight GT cars; for races ranging from short sprints to day-to-night endurance marathons, and for series using control tyres as well as those in open competition with rival tyre companies.

Tyres are made not just for particular cars, but also for particular circuits. “We very quickly reach impressive numbers of variants,” was one engineer’s understated reply.

In hard numbers, Dunlop’s Motorsport factory in Birmingham produces over 200,000 racing tyres a year, more than half that number destined for car racing. A specialised staff of more than 300 is dedicated to the task.

There is a strong technical relationship between the ever-developing racing tyres and the product sold to the motoring public.

Endurance racing is one example. To win at Le Mans (a Dunlop forte) tyres need to balance grip, durability and consistency with low weight and low rolling resistance. The demands are very close to those of a GT road car.

Wet weather takes the relationship further. The tread pattern developed on Dunlop wet race tyres was the inspiration for the design of many of Dunlop’s high-performance road tyres. The recently released Dunlop SP QuattroMaxx road tyre features different zones in the tread pattern like those of the new Dunlop endurance wet race tyre. This improves grip and driver feedback in changeable conditions and under different loads.

Another advance shared between road and track is incorporated in Dunlop’s Touch Technology concept, used in designing all road tyres. This focuses on maximising road feedback. A racing driver needs to feel the road precisely to achieve his best performance. The same is expected by a road driver, to keep a high level of safety while enjoying the driving experience.

Tyre compounds developed in the hothouse of racing also play their part in improving production tyres. This is especially true at Le Mans, where part of the circuit has a highly polished surface from the millions of cars and trucks that pound the tarmac. Add particles from road tyres and even diesel spills, and in wet weather this can create a much greasier track than usual. This capricious nature is what a driver can find every day on a normal road. The processes used by Dunlop’s tyre designers to understand and overcome this changeability through compound development are exactly the same for road and race tyres.

Like racing motorcycle tyres, those for cars are built up in layers and to a large extent by hand, by experienced craftsmen. The design stage by contrast is highly computerised, marrying more than 120 years of experience to Finite Element Analysis (FEA), using custom-made software to analyse key elements of tyre performance. Dunlop has taken this one step further, electronically modelling tyre designs for individual vehicles while encompassing more variables such as temperature or surface changes. The advantage is the saving of time and materials, so Dunlop can push technical boundaries faster. We go quicker to develop quicker tyres.

The design parameters differ across various racing disciplines.

Tyres for one-brand formulae need to work consistently and safely on a variety of cars. The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship is a good example: Dunlop is proud of developing a tyre that works equally well on front-drive, rear-drive, diesel, petrol, normally aspirated and turbocharged cars.

In open competition, the approach is different, with different tyres for each type of car, often specific to one circuit. Working closely with our partners, freer regulations allow Dunlop to use new technologies, developing the skills of our in-house design team.

Tyres are an integral part of a car’s suspension system, and Dunlop engineers work closely with race car designers for an integrated approach to tyre and vehicle dynamics. The constant exchange of data and experience takes place also in our OE road car tyre development departments.
Race to road: the synergy is essential to Dunlop’s success in both areas.