THE PRODUCT: Quadmax Sport utility tires from Dunlop are general purpose, all terrain tires for sport utility ATVs and side-by-sides.
CONSTRUCTION: Two nylon ply construction. The Quadmax's tire case design gives It a low, flat profile to keep the sidewall from flexing during cornering. The broad cross section also enlarges the contact area compared to conventional designs.
MANUFACTURERS CLAIMS:
Dunlop tells us Quadmax tires offer a step up in handling, traction and durability In difficult terrain compared to stock ATV rubber.
HONORABLE MENTION: Dunlop makes most of the original equipment tires on today's ATVs, so it knows precisely what it takes to outperform these tires.
PERFORMANCE: We used a Suzuki KingQuad for our tire test, a machine that comes with Dunlop tires as original equipment The stock Dunlops work reasonably well, but we wanted to see if the Quadmax tires would release some more of the KingQuad's performance. and smooth out one of its few much edges, a tendency to turn In too much in some cornering situations:
Our test area has an extensive variety of terrain: rocks, tight woods, hard packed fire roads, and, of course, mud. Suzuki's KingQuad Is one of the best4x4 ATVs out there, but we don't care for the way It turns too quickly toward full lock in downhill turns when the throttle is off. In mud, on Its original equipment rubber, the Suzuki wastes quite a bit of power as Its scram-
bles for traction.
With the Quadmax tires the Suzuki's handling felt more stable and calm at high speeds and more predictable at low speeds. The tread pattern has a serious look, but the tires didn't vibrate or make annoying noise. There was a bonus we didn't expect: better acceleration on hardpack. The King Quad's odd turn-in habits on downhill corners weren't cured, but we noticed some Improvement. When we hit the mud, the Quadmax tires noticeably outpulled the stockers. On the stock tires, we felt we were getting through the mud on the Suzuki's horsepower. On the Dunlop Quadmax tires, we could run longer sections of our mud-bottomed river before having to head for the bank. Despite a great deal of rock riding and riding in dirt with hidden hazards, we had no flats with the stock or Quadmax tires.