Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus - any experience?

[eljay]

I am about to buy a new set of tires (235/40ZR18) for my 2005 A4 1.8TQ Avant with GTRS kit. The car is a family daily driver and primarily my wife's car. I have full winter wheels and tires for it, so I am looking for summer or high performance all season tires with good wet performance.
Initially, I was set on getting Hankook Ventus V12, but then I started thinking about the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+. And then I stopped by my local Costco and they offer the above titled Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus. Here's the best price I can get on these including installation, taxes, etc. after rebates:
1. Hankook Ventus V12 - $800
2. Michelin - $1017
3. Pirelli - $849

NOTE: I am on the East Coast of Canada, so please don't tease me with "I can get this set here for $400 all in" or "love my Pilot Super Sports". The prices are in CAD$ and we get the short stick up here.

So, I'm deciding between these and currently leaning towards the Pirellis because they are $168 cheaper than Michelins and for the $49 more over the Hankooks offer 50k mile treadwear warranty (having 500 TW UTQG) and being from Costco, the quote includes road hazard, free rotations, flat repairs etc.

Here's Tire Rack's test, which includes the Michelins and Pirellis. Michelins are the best, but I don't think my wife nor I would be able to feel the difference on this car. This car will never see track driving or autocross ( I have done both, for the record).

Does anyone have experience with these Pirellis?

Thank you.

p.s. Sorry for the cross-post from the Tires forum, but I noticed it's very quiet there.

[B6A4Dave]

I have them on my car right now.

Great wear, pretty darn good in snow and rain, not the best dry weather traction. But for a true long life performance all season, I'd buy another set.

[kifac]

Can Confirm, I have the P Zeros AS in my OEM 17s

Love them, used them in the winter..although alittle sliding in the rear..nothing that Traction control or even the driver cant handle.
Amazing in the rain...really good in the spring also.
I actually love the ride comfort of them more then my Summers...which are Potenza RE760s

[eljay]

Thank you both. I would use them April to November, so they won't see any snow. It's good to hear that they are good in the rain as that's my main concern. As long as they are a bit better on dry summer days than most regular all seasons, I'd be happy.

[customa4]

My personal opinion is, if you have a dedicated set of winters, get a dedicated set of summers.

[rollerton]

I have basically exactly what you're describing in 235/40/ run them 365 days a year. They have worn GREAT and do fabulous is all kinds of weather, rain, compact snow, fresh snow. Quattro definitely helps, but I love those Pirellis.
Would have bought another set but DiscountTire has a 'too good to be true' set of Goodyear Assym All seasons in 235/35/19 I couldn't pass up. You won't have any problem with the Pirellis.

[eljay]

My personal opinion is, if you have a dedicated set of winters, get a dedicated set of summers.

I am thinking hard about the Hankooks, but for the extra $48, the Pirellis are available locally with all the Costco benefits. If they were selling the V12s, I'd get those.

[daniel B6 1.8t]

Has anyone tried LauFenn by Hankook good specs but haven't hear anything about them. And I would say too about the pilots very good on dry and rain is ok. I live in CA so weather here is bipolar

[LINDW4LL]

Given your situation, I'd undoubtedly go for the V12s (or another summer tire, but the V12s do present a very good value).

[Mr.Avant]

I bought a set of cooper rs3s this spring in size 235/40/18. They are a phenomenal tire. Quiet, very sticky, good in the rain. And the price was right. Couldn't be happier.

I came from a set of michelin PSS, but I couldn't justify the price over the cooper's. And I'm glad I didn't. The performance is near identical, if not in favour of the cooper's.

Cooper also makes the rs3a which is a high performance all season. Good contenders for the price. Just thought I'd share.



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[eljay]

Thanks for all the feedback.

I missed the deal and Hankook rebate, so the V12s are now easily $100 more than the Pirellis.

I know that since I would be using dedicated winter tires, summer tires make sense. I was even thinking about Sumitomo HTR ZIII, which seems like a good value for $ for a summer tire for a daily driver. Those Coopers look good too, but they are more expensive locally than Pirellis.

But summer here on the East Coast is 2-3 weeks of hot weather, the rest of the time it's shoulder season. I also have to keep in mind that my wife will drive this car and she will not be taking turns at speed and I'd want to know that when it rains, the tire keeps things on the safe side. With 50k mileage warranty this may be the last tire this car will see in our ownership as it should last us 5 years.

It may appear that I am trying hard to justify buying this tire, but all other summer options available to me are more expensive and will not last as long. In turn, they will provide more summer grip, obviously. I will see what other options I can get for summer tires locally.

[customa4]

Summer tires are one of the best tires for wet roads AFAIK. They just don't do well in winter and freezing temps.

[eljay]

Another option available locally for only $50/set over the Pirellis is the Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport summer tire.
It gets good reviews, but there are quite a number of complaints that they wear out quickly relative to other summer tires. Also, what I find puzzling is that the Traction on them is rated "A" as opposed to "AA" for most other tires in the category yet mamy reviews mention how good they are in the rain. Strange as Traction is a rating for wet traction. It weighs 27 lbs, which is 2 lbs more than the A/S Pirelli tire. Hmmm...

[eljay]

Well, to aid my decision-making, I went "couch racing", that is comparing the paper data of these two tires. Take a look.

	BRIDGESTONE POTENZA RE760 Sport	PIRELLI P ZERO A/S PLUS
Treadwear	340	500
Traction	A	AA
Temperature	A	A
Load/Speed	95W	95Y
Tread Depth	10/32"	10/32"
Weight	27 lbs	25 lbs
Tread Width	8.4"	7.4"
DRY
Slalom Time	4.94	5.06
Lap Time	30.2	30.43
50-0mph Stopping Distance	78.5 ft	84.8 ft
Cornering G-force	0.93	0.9
Cornering Stability	8.18	7.69
Steering Response	8.1	7.78
Braking Modulation	8.02	7.81
Handling Predictability	8.16	7.86
Overall Dry Track Rating	8.12	7.79
WET
Slalom Time	5.71	5.72
Lap Time	36.55	34.96
50-0mph Stopping Distance	121.4 ft	118.2 ft
Cornering G-force	0.75	0.74
Cornering Stability	6.77	7.43
Steering Response	7.04	7.72
Braking Modulation	6.86	7.6
Handling Predictability	6.82	7.72
Overall Wet Track Rating	6.87	7.62
Road Manners
Ride Comfort	7.15	7.61
Noise Comfort	6.94	7.67
Handling	7.38	7.83
Overall Road Rating	7.16	7.7
Other factors
Treadwear Warranty	None	50,000 miles
Price US$ (Tirerack) for set of 4	$545.80	$600.40
My local Costco all-in installed price CAD$ for a set of 4	$901.55	$848.65

Sources:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=201
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=192

Now, I'm not sure how comparable are the numbers given that ambient temperature can play a significant part in those fractions, but the Bridgestone test was published in July while the Pirelli test in May.
So, it looks like the Traction "A" rating for the RE760 is accurate and indeed it does not match the "AA" rated A/S Plus in the wet.

[old guy]

Have you considered the Conti DWS-06 A/S? I run a 235/40/18 DWS on both the B6 and the CC VR6.
Good ride quality. 560 AA A rating. Lighter weight than the two you listed.

[eljay]

Have you considered the Conti DWS-06 A/S? I run a 235/40/18 DWS on both the B6 and the CC VR6.

I did. I know it's a well reviewed tire in the UHP A/S category. The best price installed for them is $980 for me and that's without getting the road hazard/free replacement coverage I'd get with the two above. Decisions.

[old guy]

I understand. The other thing to consider is how long will they last? I typically get 60K miles out of the DWS on the CC and a little over 50K on the B6. Both cars are now on their 3rd set.

[eljay]

I got these tires installed 2 days ago.

The previous tires on my B6 Avant were worn Dunlop Sport Maxx RT 245/40ZR18.

Immediately, in the first few miles as I drove from the shop I felt instant comfort. The tires were quiet and it felt like I got an improved damping. Tires are an essential part of any car's suspension and you could tell that with these.

I will post more impressions as I scrub them in and take a few corners at higher speeds. So far, I'm very pleased.

[Chris M]

i had the pirelli p zero nero all season. got 50k out of them. mostly highway. got some noise after 25k or so. never had problem with traction. now i am running conti dsw all season.

[eljay]

After 2000kms on these tires, I'm still pleased with them.
I found they arw quite sensitive to correct pressure. Obviously, any tire is, but 2psi below the recommended pressure is what the shop left them at and after I corrected that at home, the difference was huge, like switching to another tire. The sidewall all the sudden felt proper and the "instant comfort" feeling was gone, and that's good.
They are still comfortable and quiet on the highway, but do very well at high speed turns at thus stage with little rollover.

[eljay]

I finally had a chance to put them through their paces during a recent rain downpour. I am very very happy with these tires. On very wet road with patches covered in leaves, they were very stable. I went into one right-hand corner at a good pace and mid-corner was a big puddle. I fully expected the inside wheel to lift and aquaplane, but it didn't. Now, it may be the marvels of Quattro at work rather than the tires or a combo of both, but I was very happy with the result.
As well, on damp to lightly wet roads, cornering is very good and predictable and I never lack grip and traction control light doesn't come on. You can say that I'm not pushing hard, but my passengers beg to differ. There's certainly more speed and the light would eventually come on and car will begin to push, but my point is that I didn't get there when I expected to. So, I am very happy with these new Pirellis so far after only ~3k miles.