Pirelli P Zero AS Plus 3 Ruined my F80

[lucascagg]

So I just got a set of Pirelli p zero as plus 3 on the rear of my F80. Didn’t get the fronts as they still had tread, but they are continental conti sport 5p. I opted for all season tires as I wanted to have a tire that was not super grippy and lasted awhile. I’m the type of guy who likes to slide his around corners. I’m also thinking of getting summer tires in the front so I can have an extra grippy turn in and an overall good steer tire. So, after I got these tires installed, they felt fine. Perfect amount of grip, could slide them out easily. They were great. However, once I got onto the freeway, everything changed. The car was super unstable and was very floaty at high speed. It got so bad to the point where traction was kicking in through entire corners at 80 mph. I used to be able take those corners at 100+ with no issue. I get these are all seasons, but they are P Zeros, and were tested on supras on the racetrack. Today, I turned off traction control to see how they actually handled on high speed corners and they were just plain disconnected. Every lane change is just an oversteering wobble and it’s really ruined the car on the freeway. Can’t even drive normally at 80+ without having to correct the car from steering out of my lane. Tire pressures are spot on. Could be the tread moving around because they are brand new, but it doesn’t feel right. Driven them 300 miles so it’s not the lubricant from the factory. Overall I’m extremely disappointed with these tires.

[TRman]

Those Pirellis are hard high-mileage tires and will not have the same level of grip as those softer Continentals. They are in very different categories. It’s not surprising the car now oversteers badly when pushed.

My advice:
1. Install the same model of tire front and rear.
2. Drive like a civilized person on the road.
3. Take up autocrossing if you want to play and slide the car around.


Good luck my friend.

[Sephrr]

Getting an all season tire and pushing the performance levels of it is not the greatest idea. The all season will definitely last higher mileage on regular driving, but not high speed driving and intentionally breaking traction with them. At that point just buy some Firestone Firehawk Indy 500, they are a great tire without breaking the bank

[M3SQRD]

Mixing a F summer performance tire with a R AS performance tire is a recipe for disaster. Too much F bite/turn-in compared to R, DSC/traction control is working overtime because it constantly thinks the R is trying to step out. If you’re driving aggressively on an on/off ramp be prepared for sudden snap oversteer. Mixing summer performance tires can result in traction/DSC issues but mixing summer and all season is not wise in a car with ~400 wheel torque stock. If done properly and in the correct environment, you can easily drift a F8x with summer performance, or even grippier, tires.

[TyreReviews]

Originally Posted by M3SQRD

Mixing a F summer performance tire with a R AS performance tire is a recipe for disaster. Too much F bite/turn-in compared to R, DSC/traction control is working overtime because it constantly thinks the R is trying to step out. If you’re driving aggressively on an on/off ramp be prepared for sudden snap oversteer. Mixing summer performance tires can result in traction/DSC issues but mixing summer and all season is not wise in a car with ~400 wheel torque stock. If done properly and in the correct environment, you can easily drift a F8x with summer performance, or even grippier, tires.

This is accurate. The Pirelli is pretty good for it's class but you're comparing a full tread depth all season tire with a semi worn summer tire.

If it snows you'll be happier, assuming you don't understeer into a ditch.

Mixing tire types is a bad idea.

[FrozenGT]

I would highly recommend buying a full set of matching tires from one brand and I would not recommend Perelli P zeros. I would recommend the continental or Michelin if you want ultra hyper performance all season tires. I would highly recommend checkingout tirerack.com.

[DavidSL]

Yes! The Pirelli is pretty good for it's class.