Using DuPont™ Kevlar® Engineered Elastomer (EE) in the complete apex of the new Dunlop SP Sport Maxx TT tire represents a breakthrough in tire technology. Kevlar® EE is an engineered pre-dispersion of para-aramid fibers that is highly resistant to processing, aging and changing temperature.

Adding Kevlar® EE to the apex compound creates a stiffer sidewall, which is therefore more resistant to torsion and compression, and greatly improves the dynamic behavior, specifically at higher temperatures, typical of a rolling tire. These features lead to increased stability during cornering, as well as enhanced road feedback and more precision driving. The apex is part of the tire’s sidewall and located radially outward of the tire’s bead.

What is Kevlar®

DuPont™ Kevlar® is an ‘aramid’, a term invented as an abbreviation for aromatic polyamide. The correct chemical composition of Kevlar® is poly para-phenyleneterephthalamide, more commonly known as a para-aramid.

Aramids belong to the family of nylons. Common nylons often do not have optimal structural properties, so the para-aramid distinction is vital. The aramid ring gives Kevlar thermal stability, while the para structure gives it high strength and modulus.

DuPont™ Kevlar® is thus a para-aramid fiber that comes in different forms, each suited to a specific set of consumer and industrial applications. DuPont offers Kevlar® in the form of cut fiber that can be converted into yarn or thread, continuous filament yarn, sheets and fibrillated pulp.

Kevlar® EE, which is used in the Dunlop Sport Maxx TT, is a pre-dispersed form of Kevlar® pulp. Kevlar® pulps are highly fibrillated chopped fibers that can be used as specialty additives to enhance performance by providing excellent reinforcement and viscosity control under stress.

Who invented Kevlar®

What began as one woman’s experiment into new polymers at a DuPont research laboratory in the 1950’s has since evolved to become Kevlar® – one of the most important man-made organic fibers ever invented. Five times stronger than the same weight of steel, Kevlar® is today used in different forms in a myriad of applications, from bullet-proof vests to under-water cables, parachutes, space vehicles and with the launch of the Dunlop SP Sport Maxx TT also, for the first time, in the complete apex of a tire.

DuPont™ and Kevlar® are trademarks or registered trademarks of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company.