Pirelli P6...finally done!

[addyguy]

Completely moot point, but wanted to make it anyway.

PO of my Soul was anal about the car, which was nice to see. One thing he 'bragged' about was putting top-quality Pirelli tires on it, a set of P6 all-seasons.

Have been running them summer only; have separate winters.

In the dry, they are great, stick to the road well and very quiet.

In the wet/damp/rain tho, totally different story - absolutely no wet traction. Start off even with light throttle, they spin like a top-fuel burnout. They wash out in turns if even a bit of brake is applied. As they get near the end of their life, wet straight braking is becoming an issue.

Also, I suspect a tread is separating, bc they are starting to thump a bit at lower speeds. I don't know where we are with treadware, but close to 4-5/32nds, don't know exactly how many miles are on them.

Needless to say, when they come off for winter in 3-4 weeks, they are done and gone. Will find something else next spring that has a good wet rating.

Don't see much on these tires, anyone heard much about them or their rep? Thought being a 'European' tire, they'd be better in the wet.

 

[Pelican]

I wonder if the fact that Pirelli is now chinese owned may have something to do with this.

 

[dogememe]

I've had a bad experience with Pirelli in the past. Awful tires. Not sure why they are so overhyped.

 

[MParr]

I've never bought any Pirelli tires. I've never had a desire to do so. I just don't buy European tire brands. I have had two sets of Michelin tires that came on vehicles I purchased. It's good to see reviews on tires, it helps in tire buying decisions.

 

[Andrew1972]

Pirelli has a few stars in their product line and the balance are average to below average. Every major tire maker is like this.

The Pirelli P7 Cinturato all-season and Scorpion Verde AS were the stars I have owned.

P6 never been a star.

 

[earlyre]

P6's were the OE tires for my sable, and i never had any weather problems with them... when mom replaced the OE P6's on her Taurus a few years back, they got replaced with the same tire, still on there now, absolutely no wet or snow concerns with them. (maybe because our cars are so much heavier?)

in fact when I replaced the Sable's Tires 20K mi ago, the ONLY reason a new set of P6's didn't go on was the (at the time recent) Chinese sale. I went with Cooper CS5 Ultra Touring's and have had no issues with them either...

 

[IveBeenRued]

I've had three sets of P7 A/S+ tires on various cars. The sets that I purchased in 2014/15 are great in dry conditions (mediocre in the wet) and are still in service today. The set that I purchased in 2016 were a whole other story; received three out of rounds and had to spend around $140 for additional mounting and road-force balancing fees (not reimbursed by the warranty) to finally get a smooth ride, they would thump for the first 2ish miles on the highway in the morning for their entire service life, they were downright dangerous in the rain, and they were quite a bit louder over rough pavement than the previous set.

I am now rolling on Continental TrueContact Tour tires and I am floored by how smooth and quiet they are over various types of pavement and I am so happy to have good performance back in the rain. I am never touching another set of P7s again.

 

[CapriRacer]

Pirelli Wet Traction?

I think that issue is decades old. I suspect - like I suspect for Japanese tire manufacturers - that it has to do with the traction surfaces they test on - in Europe. I suspect that because when forced to test on American surfaces - like when they do a qualification test for an American car manufacturer - Pirelli doesn't seem to have a problem.

Similarly, Japanese tire manufacturers sometimes have wet traction issues in the US - but not on tires they supply to American car manufacturers.


So why don't other European tire manufacturers have wet traction issues that Pirelli has? Different test tracks and therefore different testing surfaces. I'll also entertain that because the tire market is global in nature that other tire manufacturers test their products destined for the US market in the US - and perhaps Pirelli doesn't.

 

[Shannow]

CapriRacer...is that potentially why the Bridgestone Deuler H/T that have been on my Japanese Utes (2003 Nissan Navara, 2016 Colorado) have been utterly useless in my driving regime in Oz ?

Too small a market, and tested in others ?

 

[supton]

Dueler? I recall my Tundra using Duelers (684 II) and no one online seemed to like them. But I don't know if they are the same as yours.

 

[Ddub]

Originally Posted by madRiver
Pirelli has a few stars in their product line and the balance are average to below average. Every major tire maker is like this.

The Pirelli P7 Cinturato all-season and Scorpion Verde AS were the stars I have owned.

P6 never been a star.



I've owned the same 2 models as you (P7s on a Cadillac and Scorpions on an Explorer), and was happy with the overall performance of both of them. Neither of them lasted as long as the treadwear warranty. but pretty long still, and I received pro rata compensation when it was time to replace them. Also, the P7 is the OEM tire on our current Volvo and seem to work great so far. I can't speak to the P6 or P4 models. Never owned them.

 

[nthach]

While I liked how a set of Pirelli P4000s rode on an old van the family had compared to the OEM Goodyear Eagle LS, they aren't long-lived. The P6 is more of a "summer tire", as parts of Europe have requirements for winter tires to be installed during the wet/snowy parts of the year.

Maybe that's what Pirelli has a "Plus" series for North American roads/cars/climates in mind. Tire Rack still says wet traction is an issue - but that's subjective.

 

[addyguy]

Well, best laid plans....

Spring/summer came back around, and with my wife in school and working part-time, and my new job not panning out the way I thought it would, the P6's went back on.

Tread's not quite as bad as I thought, and with them rotated and inflated properly, the thumping seems to be gone.

We live in a small city now, so they will see a lot less highway these days. In low speed, short trip work they seem to be fine so far.

I WILL have to get new winters in 4 months, as my current set are really done. Might get a set of 'all weather' tires that have the snow flake/mountain on them to run year-round.