General Tyres: Pirelli

[Morty Mort]

Tyre brand experiece.

It is a resurrecting question, but what a bout a thread that discuss tyre quality and choice of tires, and not uneven wear and tear due to the Stilo's suspension setup.

You usually get what you pay for, but high quality tires tend to wear faster - but grip better. Different driving conditions and climatic differences are factors which can make any tyre test seem way out. A great tire in Japan will most likely be a stupid choice for a Norwegian road. Factors as how much tar there are in the asphalt, wintertires with spikes that roughen the surface, and leaves that fall in autumn have to be taken into consideration. And in addition loads of water might pour from the sky at no time.

The greatest tire I've ever been on is the Good Year Ventura, which is out of production now. This really satisfied everyting from extreme great grip in superwet conditions and in addition sucked itself to low quality asphalt in high speed driving and hard cornering. It didn't wear much either. If I could come over a set of these wouldn't hesitate at all.

Now I am on Pirelli P7000 which is very good in dry conditions, but I am not all satisfied with grip in wet conditions. I slip and slide a bit. It seems like a tough tyre though.

Over to my tyre question. Has anyone any experience with this tyre?
http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/reifenbestellen.pl?typ=R-105591&dsco=29
It's a Nokain, Finnish made for North-European conditions.

What's your tyre experience?

Morten.

 

[Morty Mort]

Re: Tyre brand experiece.

Thank you for this useful post.

ill give some experience i have with tires in greece. The factory tires that came with if i remember were pirelli 5,000 i think anyways there were ok for the first 10,000 klm but the grip turned bad and the asr kept lighting up every time i pulled of into a street and were horrible. i put eagle f1s that completely changed the car. THe ride is a bit harder but the grip is way better now. THe only trouble is that in the winter they need some time to warm up or they act like a typical normal tire than the sports tire they are designed for. But when those suckers warm up good they are almost like glue. The tire even though is sports oriented does give you a level of warning when their reaching their grip threshhold (slightly losing grip and screeching) so you can tell.(usually racing tires give you very little warning and you just lose grip all of a sudden).

In Norway, cars come with two sets of wheels - one for winter, and one for summer. Tyre and alloy prices are doubled for us... We don't drive with summer tires during winter, due to grip and handling, so warm-up time is irrelevant. Most cars tend to warn their driver sometime before the accident, but as we modify the cars with strut braces, lowering springs, and other sporting equipment we don't get the warning before we are messed up with nature... But it is great though, that the tyre will tell. Anyway I've been in Glyfada for a week some years ago, and the asphalt compund is rather different than here. Driving in Glyfada and Athens really needs all your senses alert... Some of us drive on spikes during winter which roughens the asphalt aswell. And we use lesser amount of tar in the asphalt compount as far as I can remember. In other words, we don't have slick (or as hot) asphalt that will screech unless it is completely fresh.

Mind you i have a 1.6 maybe you big boys with the 2.4 liter shouldnt have such a big problem. Engine size does play a role cause you can warm your tires up more if there is more force exerted on the tires during acceleration (were not talking burnouts).

The largest engine here is 1.8. The Abarth would become too expensive due to heavy taxing of engine volume and bhp, so i doesn't exist. I've got the 1.6 aswell, so your tire info will be most valued by me.

In the wet they are pretty good not anything crazy but i do find it to be able to take corners or raise my comfort level of speed in the rain by 20 klm. Tire wear the first time was a big issue since i fell in love with them and was taking every corner like i was schumacher so they lasted me only 18,000 klm. THe second and third pair i have on lasted me a bit more about 27,000 klm. I do want to try a different tire though but i dunno if i should since i got so comfortable with these and know their limits well. I was thinking of contisports 2 since alot of guys in the club liked them. Unless goodyear releases the new eagle f1s in my tire size of 205/55/16 if im mistaken their smallest tire is a 17 inch.

20-25.000 km is really good I think, especially as you drive on the same set all year around. Water is the biggest issue for me, but that seems to be alright aswell. The tire isn't that expensive here either. About 1000 NOK, which (today) equals about 100 GBP. I will need 215/45R17 as I'm on 17" on the summer wheels. Winters are 195/65R15 - but that is a completely different tire.

Regards, Morten.

 

[sussexa]

Re: Hard Wearing Tyres

just had a pair of toyo proxes t1-r's fitted up front, very grippy but felt soft in corners checked pressure were left on 30 psi, upped it to 34psi they're a bit better but still feel softer sidewall than originals that were pirelli p7000's that have lasted 16,000 miles.dont think these toyos will last as long,too early to tell yet for road noise but no worse.

 

[muppet42]

Re: New Tyres

I've got Pirelli P6000s on the front and the original Contis on the back. I really notice the difference in tyre noise on the Pirellis, ie they're much worse. Still, the grip's not too bad, but wouldn't mind replacing them with some nicer, cheaper one's. Got them direct from Fiat at £80 a corner, fitted and balanced...ripped off ever so slightly

The tyre finder (via Black Circles) on PH is rather good. Loads of different tyres, decently priced and reviews on most, which is helpful. Here's the link... http://www.blackcircles.com/pistonheads.com