Dunlop Sportmax Q5 review
Q5 vs Q5S vs Q5A in Australia
Three new tyres, three distinct roles
The Dunlop Q5 Sportmax range has been on sale in major overseas markets for some time, but it is now finally arriving in Australia. Offered in street-focussed Q5A, sport-oriented Q5S and track-targeted Q5 form, the range adds another genuine high-performance option for Australian riders, with the breadth to suit a wide spread of experience and intended use.
I had the chance to sample all three variants at the Australian launch at Sydney Motorsport Park and came away impressed across the board. In fact, the tyre that stood out most was not the one I expected going in…
The Q5 is the latest step in Dunlop’s performance road tyre story, a lineage that can be traced back to the original Sportmax Qualifier of 2005. It replaces the Q4 range that had been sold here since 2019, so the move from Q4 to Q5 is hardly a surprise in naming terms.
Tyre design and construction have always seemed a bit of a black art to me, and the ever-improving compounds and layering techniques are the secret sauce. What might appear on the surface to be relatively small tweaks here and there obviously make a substantial difference to the end product.
I love a chart as much as the next person, but I particularly love a good spider chart. This one tells the bulk of what you need to know in a single snapshot. It shows how the three variants compare in terms of warm-up time, outright grip, feel, durability and wet-weather performance. From there, it is worth looking a little more closely at the construction of each tyre before getting into how they performed on track.
Some of the key features of the new Q5 include 2CUT belt technology on the front tyre, which layers aramid cord piles in a crossed configuration to deliver high cornering performance.
The rear tyre uses what Dunlop calls JLT (Jointless Tread Technology), which winds the tread compound over the carcass in a narrow, continuous strip for enhanced stability and more consistent footprint during braking, cornering and acceleration.
Both front and rear use a specific Carbon R technology in the tread compound. A finer grade that helps with tyre warm-up time as well as increasing overall grip.
Both the Q5S and A feature a multi-tread design, which has a longer-wearing compound in the centre for increased mileage. The A gets dual compound on both the front and rear, while the S opts for dual compound only on the rear.
As you might imagine, sidewall height is reduced from A to S and from S to the track-focussed Q5.
This allows for much higher braking loads on track while still giving great feedback – the flip side being the more street-oriented A tyre gets the greatest levels of comfort from an increased sidewall.
So, some new tech in terms of construction and compound. Which is all well and good from an anorak point of view, but how do they feel on the track?
Which Q5 suits your riding?
We were greeted with clear skies, warm temps and a multitude of bikes to get a feel for the various compounds. A solid recipe for a good day out. The day itself was one for both invited media and Dunlop dealers to get a proper feel for the tyres.
Having not had the pleasure of riding the SMSP track before in either the long or short circuit, I figured I’d start on the bike that would be most familiar to me. And so made a beeline for the KTM 990 Duke R, knowing it would be pretty damn close to my own personal Duke 990. Incidentally, my own bike is in the process of getting a full system and tune… keep an eye on the YouTube channel for more on that in the coming weeks.
The 990R was shod with the sports ‘S’ variant, which also seemed like a good tyre to go out and learn the lines on. And indeed it was. We were led around for a couple of laps, and certainly on those first couple of laps on stone-cold, unscrubbed, brand-new rubber, I had to be cautious. I could feel the front tyre walking around under braking in particular.
The track felt surprisingly greasy to me, even though I’d been told that it wasn’t a particularly high-grip surface. When I quizzed some local riders with more saddle time at SMSP, I later found out that the track conditions as a whole right now aren’t awesome.
Once a few laps were in the bag, however, my confidence quickly grew in line with the rising tyre temps. Now, a couple of laps might sound like a long time, but remember that a lap of the short circuit is barely a minute, so not long at all. Realistically, it would have taken barely more than a decent sighting lap on the full circuit to get them up to temp.
And for those who haven’t ridden the short circuit at SMSP, there are 13 corners in that minute. It’s a busy lap with little time for rest!
What I noticed straight away was how communicative the tyre was. And how good it was on the series of direction changes from turn two to six. Through that section, you’re essentially flicking the bike from one side to the other with no real pause – five times in a row.
Left through turn two, take a wide, late entry straight into the next right-hander as you start the climb. Mid-track, late entry into the next left, then into a right; aim the bike at the inside curb, then start tipping left again as you descend towards a tight left hairpin with a quick burst of throttle. What a lovely section of track. And one that really highlights getting the bike to turn quickly, and making sure you have line accuracy.
Very impressed with the profile. Change of direction was a standout, and the bike rolled really predictably onto its side with plenty of feedback.
Next up, I nabbed an MT-07 with the A tyre. A lighter bike seemed a good choice for the more street-oriented tyre. This was the biggest surprise of the three for me. Masses and masses of grip on the MT-07! And with the deepest sidewall of the three variants, it was the smoothest and most compliant tyre of the group. I did not expect it to hook up that well for a street tyre.
To be fair, the ‘little’ MT-07 was probably the perfect bike for that SMSP short circuit. Lightweight, great on change of direction, and not overpowered. That session was F. U. N., and even though I was starting to push on at a reasonable pace, I did not find the limit of the A tyre. That’s a huge tick for what is the most durable of the new Dunlops.
And then to the Q5 track tyre. I wanted something with a little more performance without it being over the top for the twisty circuit. The R9 seemed the right choice and was instantly more serious. The ride position was more focussed, it had more power, more weight, better suspension, more speed, and required more concentration… Time to put on my big boy pants.
Track temps were peaking around this time, too, so it was a proper grip and feel test. Two things stood out. Despite the R9 being heavier, the change of direction was still super impressive. I was pushing harder again this time, knowing there was more grip to be had, and I did find the point of slide on the rear a few times.
What was really impressive was how early I could feel the rear starting to slide and how gently it came back in line. No doubt there was some TC at play here as well, but it felt totally predictable and under control. All it took was a tiny, instinctive weight adjustment to get the rear hooking back up again without upsetting the bike and without rolling off the gas.
Magic. Just magic. 15 minutes of hard charging on the R9 was about all I could handle, and I’ll admit to looking for the chequered flag to end the session after what was approaching 200 corners in quick succession. I was cooked. But the tyres looked mint. No signs of uneven wear or anything untoward after having been punished by various folks of a wide range of skills and riding styles throughout the day.
If anything, they looked better at the end of the session than at the start!
So that’s a big tick from me. Both the Q5S and Q5 are available as I write this, and I’m told good stocks of the Q5A street tyre will be in stores in a month or two.
I think these are definitely worth a look. Tyres can be very much a personal preference, but after a day on the new Dunlops, I’d have no issue whatsoever with throwing a set of these on my own Duke 990.
Dunlop Q5 & Q5S Sizing:
