DUNLOP Q3+
PRODUCT LAUNCH
P96
riders need to make when
choosing a set of hoops.
Whereas there are four different
sets of Michelins and six sets
of Pirelli's in the same segment,
Dunlop claims the Q3+ is the
only tire you'll need, offering
better lap times and 20 percent
more mileage.
Yet the Q3+ is only really a
new rear tire. The single com-
pound front tire is almost un-
changed to the Q3, Dunlop only
giving it minor tread stiffness
changes rather than reinventing
the construction and compound.
As such a rear Q3+ and front Q3
are compatible.
Instead, the rear tire gets all
the goodies, as the twin-com-
pound Q3+ is about 80 percent
changed compared to the Q3.
"We changed the rear com-
pound substantially," says
Dunlop's Q3+ Lead Product
Engineer, Sean Bell. "The
Q3 used carbon black in the
center compound, like in the
shoulder. On the Q3+, we went
to a special resin-based silica
compound, which helps us give
the 20 percent increase in
mileage."
Carbon fiber also makes
a return on the Q3+. Origi-
nally debuted on the Q3 of
2013, Dunlop's used carbon
fiber in the sidewalls to give the
tire better stability at high lean
angles and good transitional
steering performance from bolt
upright to full lean.
The side construction of the
rear Q3+ isn't that different to
the outgoing Q3. The profile
is the same but the volume of
rubber has increased, and by
changing the tension of the
carcass and using the Dunlop
Intuitive Response Profile, the
Dunlop engineers have been
able to increase the contact
patch and 40-50° lean angle to
put more rubber on the ground
in the most crucial point of cor-
nering.
"By changing the tread in the
shoulder, we increase the tread
stiffness without changing the
recipe of the tire too much," says
Bell. "As the tire wears down,
the compound and its proper-
ties don't change, but the tread
becomes stiffer as a unit, and
ultimately that does improve
corner stability as well."
The tread groove is the same
as the Q3. Long but minimal in
Dunlop's used a high silica
component (yellow) in the center of
the rear Q3+ to give it longer mileage
compared to the outgoing Q3.
Tread pattern is
unchanged from
the Q3 (sorry
about shooting
a black tire in a
black room)…
