Omicron or Others...

Thanks for your tire review. I really appreciated it!

Had a couple of quick questions -

If you were stationed in the SE USA (North Carolina Coast) with only about 2 to 10 slush/snow/ice days a year but definitely rain, What tires and size would you think about ordering? I am looking to spend around the same as what you did... something in the $700 to $800 range and definitely would like a quieter ride with longer thread life with minimum reductions in performance. I know I will be here two to four years so it makes sense moving away from the All Seasons if I can satisfy the above needs.

If you were going to be leaving for 8 to 14 months, would you get the new tires now or wait. I have around 21K on the originals. The still have thread, but they are definitely in need of new rubber. My wife will be driving the car about 1 to 2 times a month and I am debating on whether to do this now or later.

Any thoughts?
Thanks

Just called about 3 tire dealers in the Jacksonville, NC area for the Pirelli PZero Nero M&S

First place want $270 a tire at Sears

Second places wants $245...

Sears would allow me to buy thru TireRack, but only if its exactly what they sell. I have to call the guy back and see if the one that is listed is really the right one... I love it when things are NEVER easy!

It's that good 'ole NC complication. (Maybe that's what the C should stand for.)

Personally, I can't believe you guys drive your 8's in the snow! :eek:
I'd be too afraid mine would be hit by someone else. People here in NC are notorious for not knowing how to drive in the snow! So my 8 stays firmly parked anytime anything white is falling from the sky around here.

And its hard to believe this thread is still going almost a year after its humble origins!
But I suppose that just means some people actually do know how to use the forum's search function, which is a good thing.

Actually it has stayed near the top of the Tire Forum for most of the year... I'm not sure it proves people can search. It has me considering PZeros in the spring too!

In my humble opinion, you need look no further than these PZero Nero M+S tires. Especially for what you're describing I don't think anyone has found anything better. The Toyo Proxes 4's are also worth considerin, but I personally chose the PZeros based on slightly longer treadwear rating (400!) and better customer reviews on Tirerack. Hope this helps! :)

Humble origins? Thanks a lot! :mad: ;)

Just kidding man. :D It is pretty amazing though, isn't it? Just goes to show that (a) people CAN search, and (b) there is a lot of interest in a good multipurpose tire like this!

Thanks Omicron. Great thread, and it sounds like great tires. Now to save my pennies . . .

You betcha... happy to help! :D

I just installed these and luv them. Noticed they are bi-rotational. How are you rotating yours?

Well, when I had these tire put on my TSW Volcanos week before last, they put the wheels back on the car in new locations without regard to where they used to be. So, I guess you could say "random" for now. :D Not sure how I'll do it in a few thousand miles more, but I expect my tire guys and/or Pirelli will be able to tell us where they should be rotated to. Let me know if you find out in the mean time.

And, glad you like 'em! You'll have to post your own mini-review after you've driven on them a bit. :)

Not bad, not bad at all
 

I live in Long Island and we had a couple + inches pf snow yesterday, Tuesday, I was not expecting snow and was out in my 8 with my new Pirellis M&S tires.

Clearly these are not snow tires, however I was able to get around on the local roads and the expressway with no problems, something that would not be thinkable with the OEM tires.

Thankfully everyone was driving at reduced speeds and I could tell that I had to keep my distance from the car in front of me out of concern in being able to stop properly. Quite frankly I soon became more concerned about someone rear ending me than I was about hitting the car in front of me.

I did have a sense of confidence in being able to cntrol the car as long as I didn't have to make any panic stops, I knew it would take no effort at all to fishtail the car if I wasn't careful and I was pleased to know that I could now make my way home if I got caught in my 8 when it snows.

I must say, until I get to know the limits of this new found traction my 8 has in the snow, one would most likely see me in the right hand lane of the expressway, driving at a slow measured pace, playing it safe but knowing that I will make it to my destination in my 8, even if it snows.

Thanks to this thread, I feel that I have made the correct decision in replacing my OEM's for these tires.

BTW: on regular road condition days these tires are equal to the OEM's, feel even better IMHO.

Claude H.

Excellent review Claude... you summed it up nicely.

Omicron, have you had the tires on long enough to get any idea on how they are wearing? Do you think they will last 3X as long as the RE040's (like you would guess from the UTQG)?

I've got over 7000 miles on these Pirellis and cannot hardly detect any wear, so yes, I'd say they're easily going to last at least twice as long as the Potenzas.

But 3X as long? I dunno. If you look at the treadwear rating of 400 for the Pirellis versus (I think) 180 for the Potenzas, then theoretically yes they'll last that much longer. But only time will tell.

Hope this helps. :)

It was 140 :eek:

:eek: is right!

omicron,
how many miles did you get out of your stock tires?????. i have 23k miles on them. they are not worn out but rain scares the hell of me right now.

beers

1500 miles. :D

No really, I dunno how much I could have gotten out of them... I sold them with 1500 miles on them for pretty much what I paid for the new Pirellis. I've heard about people wearing them out in 10,000-12,000 miles though. Guess it all depends on how hard you drive your car. If you've got 23,000 miles on the Potenzas, them probably you'd get like 60,000 out of a set of these Pirells.

Ok, maybe 60K is a BIT of an exageration! :D

no i drive hard on a rare day. just to and from work an down to naples. street raced my way through school. my need for speed rush is cured by my bike. i will admit that i am anal about tire pressure and rotation. they have gotten loud in the last 5kmiles. besides all the roads here are straight and flat.

beers

21.5K rotated every 5K on my Potenzas :)

with your geographic region, i think rain would scare you more than me. am i wrong????

beers

Not this year... :rolleyes:

http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/2005/drmon0301.gif

We are abnormally dry - volcanoes, earthquakes, etc... :eek:

Cali has the rain this year :p

I have the z rated Nero M+S tires on my wife's spec-v (shinka will never see rain much less snow). Anyway in SE WI we see a decent amount of snow often with lake effect snow in addition to the normal stuff. The conti-sports she had previously were simply dangerous in bad weather.

My wife loves those tires! She had to avoid a cop who was parked in a traffic lane on a 55mph stretch of road just over the rise of a hill on an icy snowy day. To avoid him she had to ditch the car. With about 2 inches of snow in the ditch on top of grass and a pretty good slope she was able to get the car out of the ditch and go yell at the jerk of a state trooper for endangering her and my son's life.

Sure they are not snow tires, but I think they are the best your going to find for snow drivability and decent performance otherwise.

I found as well that they were a very quite tire and a little squishy at first. The squishy-ness does seem to go away with some miles on the tire. And you can't beat the tread wear rating on them either. Honestly I think they are the best performance all weather tire out there right now.

Finally!
 

Seems like it has been snowing since I posted this! Finally got my Pirellis! I concur with all the glowing acolades! In one day I got to check out dry, wet, snow and mud performance. I sum up my initial two days as... the easiest single performance upgrade you can do! If you buy an RX-8, chuck the Bridgestones and get real tires!

Only issue.. Omicron said earlier...

"The TPMS works flawlessly with the new tires. And they are true pressure sensors regardless of what you were told, so I would have been surprised if they hadn't"

My TPMS warning light was on when I left Belle Tire. Looks like they must have damaged a sensor. There is no outward sign of damage. Is there any way to determine which one is tripped? My guess is that I will have to go to the dealer to find out which one is bad, then go after Belle Tire. Any thoughts?