Goodyear

Goodyear Launches Tough Wrangler MT/R with Kevlar in Australia

Goodyear has released its first off-road tyre featuring DuPont Kevlar®, the Wrangler MT/R with Kevlar.

Goodyear Brand Manager for Australia, Melissa Tilley, said as the name implies, the tyre’s sidewalls are reinforced with DuPont Kevlar®, providing market-leading cut and puncture resistance off-road in harsh terrain and stability on the road.

“The new Wrangler MT/R with Kevlar updates the legendary off-road performing namesake, which has had an explicit reputation among serious off-roaders,” Ms Tilley said.

“The three-ply, Kevlar reinforced sidewalls of this revolutionary new tyre are 35 per cent more puncture resistant than the tyre’s predecessor, the original Wrangler MT/R.

“This provides superb cut and puncture resistance to an area of the tyre that demands extra toughness when driving off-road, as well as helping to reinforce the sidewall for when drivers return to the pavement for the drive home,” she said.

However, sidewall toughness is not the only feature of the Wrangler MT/R with Kevlar.

It also includes a “wraparound” tread for enhanced sidewall traction in deep mud, sand and rocks; an innovative asymmetric tread design that offers aggressive off-road traction while maintaining handling on the road; and advanced rubber silica in the tread for superb off-road and wet traction.

Further, the Wrangler MT/R with Kevlar offers these features:

• Tread Guards, to help resist cuts from stones.
• Advanced Mud-Flow Geometry, to help provide self-cleaning and traction in mud.
• Traction Blocks, to help provide additional biting edges on rocks, mud, dirt and sand.
• A Three-Ply Sidewall, with opposing cord angles for enhanced side wall cut and puncture resistance.
• Ramped Tread Blocks, for toughness in off-road driving.
• Staggered Sidewall Shoulder Blocks, to help provide enhanced traction on rocks and in deep mud.
• Durawall Rubber, a Goodyear exclusive, which offers rugged toughness and helps resist cuts and punctures in the sidewall.
• Rim Protector, to help protect wheels from accidental curb-like damage.
• Rim Lock, to help prevent wheel slip for minimal balancing throughout the life of the tyre.

Each shoulder block of the Wrangler MT/R with Kevlar is stepped “in” and “out” to help give the tyre continuous biting edges as it turns through thick mud. Its self-cleaning asymmetric tread design also adds to the performance capability in mud.

Hunter Racing driver, Colin Hunter, six-time winner of the Finke Desert Race, praised the performance of the MT/R with Kevlar at this year’s Finke.

“Finke is a 460km multi-terrain desert race through dirt, sand, rocks and mud,” Colin said.

“We’ve won Finke three times on the Wrangler MT/R, however, the new MT/R Kevlars with superior grip and reinforced sidewalls gave us the extra confidence to push that little bit harder, without the risk of punctures,” he said.

Phil Poulter, Director of Training at 4WD Off Road Driver Training, offering driver training programmes and off-road tours, said that he’s been happy with initial testing.

“The extra grip that the new MT/R’s give our vehicle reduces the intrusion of the factory fitted traction aid, Active Traction Control, where good grip is required,” said Phil.

“I’m looking forward to using these tyres on one of our tours through the Kimberley, Simpson Desert or even Cape York where traction and reliability is the most important part of tyre selection.”

The addition of the Wrangler MT/R with Kevlar adds to Goodyear’s strong Wrangler family of tyres, which also includes the Wrangler DuraTrac and Wrangler SilentArmor.

Tags: 4WD, Goodyear, Kevlar, Off Road, Wrangler MT/R