Malaysian Honed Dunlop Formula D05 and SP Sport J5 Makes Debut

Continental Tyre PJ Malaysia officially launched the Dunlop Formula D05 performance tyre and Dunlop SP Sport J5 passenger car tyre today. According to Continental, who holds the rights for the Dunlop brand in Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei, both tyres were the result of local research and development, and designed specifically for Malaysian road conditions in mind. 

In developing both Formula D05 and SP Sport J5, Continental focused their attention on enhancing the tyre’s wet performance over its predecessors, the Formula D01 and SP Sport J03 respectively. To improve water dispersal, the Formula D05 sports a wiper block design, which not only boasts an increased road contact area, but has an “Edge-Effect” that acts like a wiper that reduces the water-film between tyre and road surface, ensuring excellent braking performance in wet conditions. No performance tyre is complete without improvements to cornering performance, and for that the Formula D05 uses a double ‘solid rib’ in its outer shoulder to resist tread pattern deformation from strong lateral forces. To ensure a wider range of operating temperatures as compared to its predecessor, the Formula D05 is built with an advanced Silica Compound Technology. Outright performance aside, Dunlop’s product developers also managed to integrate a noise stopping bar in the thread pattern to reduce noise being generated from the tyre.

As for the SP Sport J05, the tyre’s side grooves come with a new edge tie-bar design that draws away the water channelled through its large longitudinal grooves and disperses it at high velocities to give the best road surface grip. To further enhance wet weather performance, the SP Sport J05’s compound comes with a new generation of full silica compound that delivers better wet grip and improved rolling resistance. Being designed for compact to small size family cars, the SP Sport J05 comes with specially designed grooves to reduce noise generation and vibrations, to reduce NVH (Noise Vibration and Harshness) levels, delivering a smoother and quieter ride.

Both tyres feature a Dry and Wet season indicator, in the form of a sun and a rain cloud groove that is etched onto the tyre surface. First for a tyre in Malaysia, the season indicator is designed to help users gauge when to change the tyres. According to Continental R&D’s estimates, at 6mm thread depth the rain cloud indicator would wear away, indicating poor wet weather capabilities, whereas at 3mm thread depth the sun indicator would disappear to warn users that the tyre’s dry weather grip has been compromised.

According to Continental, the Formula D05 and SP Sport J05 is exclusive to Malaysia and developed to handle Malaysia’s wet weather and climate. Though designed in Petaling Jaya, the capabilities of both tyres were tested in Germany. Benoit Henry, CEO of Continental Tyre Malaysia further reiterated that both tyres were developed solely for the replacement tyre market and unlike OEM tyres, which are developed to meet car manufacturer requirements, the Formula D05 and SP Sport J05 uses input from dealers and end-users, thus in effect, making both tyres tailor-suited for Malaysian conditions.

The Formula D05 is available in 28 sizes ranging from 15-inch to 18-inch wheels, and targeted at performance cars and large passenger vehicles. The SP Sport J5 on the other hand comes in 17 sizes ranging from 12-inch to 15-inch wheels, and aimed at compact cars.