Tire Tech 101 - General Questions

General Questions

What is a tire made of?

Most people think of a tire as being made mostly of rubber. There areactually many components that go into the construction of a tire. Some ofthose components include:

Raw Rubber
Steel
Nylon
Polyester
Rayon
Carbon Black
Synthetic Rubber
Fiberglass
Aramid
Brass

Not all of these components are in every tire and not all the components arelisted, but this will give you an idea that there is a lot morecomponents in a tire than just rubber.

What percent of a tire is rubber?

By weight, give or take 30%?
By volume, quite a bit more.

What is a Pneumatic tire?

The dictionary defines Pneumatic as:

Of or perfaining to air or other gases.
Run by or using compressed air.
Filled with air, especially compressed air: a pneumatictire.

Essentially all tires manufactured today are pneumatic tires. Thatcould include bicycle, motorcycle, wheelbarrow, passenger, light truck,medium truck and large heavy equipment tires. An exception to the rulecould be a child's toy wagon tire or baby stroller tires. A lot of them arestill solid rubber.

Who invented the first Pneumatic tire?

The first pneumatic tire was invented by John Boyd Dunlop in 1888. John was aScotsman who experimented with covering a rubber tube with canvas toimprove the ride comfort of his son's tricycle. After weeks of work thefirst pneumatic tire came up to its first competitive challenge. On February28, 1888, when rolled across a courtyard, solid tires choked halfwaythrough, but Dunlop's "MUMMY" tire didn't stop until it crashed into a door.

How do I clean my tires?

Dunlop does not recommend use of any cleaning agents, besides soap and water. Many cleaning agents contain petroleum base product which may contaminate rubber surfaces resulting n tire cracking, etc.

Use a mild soap solution to clean sidewalls, white striping or lettering and rinse off with plain water. We instruct our service personnel and customers never to apply any other material to enhance sidewall appearanceand these may degrade rubber and remove inherent ozone resistance.

What is the correct tire inflation pressure?

Dunlop recommends you keep your inflation pressures designated by the OEM. The maximum air pressures stamped on tires is generally never used unless fully loaded or other requirements.

What is the red dot on my tires for?

The red dot is used when mounting Dunlop tires. It indicates the tire's high point of force variation and, when matched with the physical low point of the wheel (usually at the valve stem), will give the smoothest, vibration-free ride possible.

What is JLB?

The jointless nylon band (JLB) construction was introduced in mid-1995. This type of tire construction offers ideal contact patch load distribution for ride uniformity and comfort. Additional information onJLB can be found on our D60A2 page.

Can I mix tires?

When replacing tires, the best thing to do is to replace all four tires at the same time. When that is not feasible or possible the second best method to follow is to replace tires in pairs and to match the new tires on the same axle (i.e. both on front or rear). When trying to replace only two tires at a time, it is important to match the new tires to the old tires. All four tires should be of the same size, speed rating (S, H, V, etc.), and construction (radial or non-radial) regardless of the tire manufacturer.

SAFETY NOTE:
Failure to fit four tires of the same size/construction, type and required performance rating to a performance vehicle may result in seriously deteriorated handling and control.

What is the mileage warranty on high performance tires?

There are no mileage warranties on any of Dunlop's ultra high performance tires due to the composition of the tread made to handle wet and dry conditions on performance cars. Current mileage expected would be around 20K, obviously lower with aggressive driving.

General

Sidewall

Construction

Sizing

D.O.T.

Summary