Michelin PS2's versus Pirelli P-Zeros (aptly named)

[KfabR8]

Thought I'd share this with this board too:

My R8 came w/Pirelli P-Zeros. Check these pix of the chunking and tread wear.

Pix are of both rears - fronts had some chunking and about 1/3rd of the tread left. For the record, the wear strips in the rears were not quite touching yet either - very, very close - say .015" or so.







Yes, I've abused them, but come on...

I've had the car since June 4th and it had 11447 miles when I pulled them off yesterday.



Compared to the PS2s the Zeros are aptly named.

I only have about 80 miles on the P2s so far. Spirited drive down a nice twisty road last night and then highway cruising for about 35 miles. Came back home this morning in the rain over the same 35 miles.

Initial impressions on the PS2s are:
A) Quieter on the road
2) Don't scream out loud approaching the limit (I've not pushed over the limit - yet)
III) Work so much better it's surprising.

The trip down the local twisty last night gave me a good idea on how they worked pretty quickly. Sticky, great feedback, sticky, better turn in - no more front end push at turn in, sticky, oh and did I mention they stick like glue?

What really showed me as to just how much better the PS2s are was on a clover leaf that I like to run.

W/the Zeros, I could run right around 65-67 mph through the apex area of the turn. The tires would scream and the car squirmed a lot. The tires were right at the limit.

First time through the corner on the PS2s last night and 68 mph was not even beginning to push the limits. The tires were barely making any noise and were stuck like glue. I'm guessing that 73 or so at the apex is probably very realistic.

Unfortunately it's raining here for the next couple of days, so I won't get any more performance testing, but I'll learn how they do in the wet.

The only bummer is that now I have to be good and not do donuts in the parking lot anymore. I'll not purposely abuse the PS2s, as I would like them to hang around a while. The P-Zeros needed to go from the first time I drove the car aggressively. At least it didn't come with Dunflops like my RS6 did!

[OEMplus.com]

Thanks for the great input k-fab! Unfortunately, it comes a little late for our customer. We were only replacing one tire though, so there is hope for him. ;)

We'll switch to PS2 when these run out, based on your feedback!

[Cargo8]

Good to know. When I got new wheels for my car, I debated between the two, ultimately going with the PS2s. I love them! those pictures of your PZeros are quite revealing though...

[Reaxion]

Yeah, my P-zero's are quite noisy and I was looking for a quieter alternative. Thanks for the input, PS2's for me!

[fusionx]

doing a little r8 offroading kfab? hahaha


but seriously, pirelli's shouldn't be doing that for the price tag they come with..

[Sharkfin]

I knew which was one was better the minute I saw the thread title, PS2's FTW. I've had two sets of Pirellis (p-zero neros and m+s's) and They look good but performance hasn't been the best.

[Charlescrs6]

I love to see someone with 11,000 miles on an R8 in less than 6 months... a true owner

[MisanoRS4]

I love ps2's so much better than pirellis. Just dont abuse them to much because the tread life on these things are probably worse than those pirellis, but i promise they wont chunk like that, they are a little scary on rwd in the rain (never delt with them with an awd) but by far the best summer tires ive ever owned.

[KfabR8]

A little update:

The PS2's are just plain killer. Far superior to the Zeros.

I can't compare them to the Zeros in the cold, as I had them (Zeros) on the car during the warm months, but the PS's are quite fun in this cold crap that surrounds me now.

The car slides with great easy, yet is very easy to maintain and control. The limit is way down as the temps drop, but that's to be expected, I guess.

I wish the stability program wouldn't try to save me at times - even with the fun button in the off position, the car still gets scared and takes over after you cross the limits it's happy with. Bummer.... There's a fine line between drift and slide and the car doesn't seem to like slide.

As the tires (and road) warm up, the ability to slide goes away, but still hangs around if you're abrupt with the tall, skinny pedal under the right foot. I'm having a blast terrorizing the local tarmac. (Why have a car like this if you don't plan on driving the snot out of it?)

Wet weather would be a toss up between the two brands. No real winner there that I can tell.

They (PS2's) are also very stable and amazingly quiet at 180 mph...



Throw the P-Zeros away and put on the good sneakers - aka PS2's!!!
Your car will love you for it.

[redhott06]

i have the ps2's on my rsgts on my a4. between the new wheels and the tires..world of as difference..then again, i was coming from falkens. its too bad they are so expensive though (for a college student like myself haha) but worth every penny

[Myallroad]

nice pic at 180. i wanna drive your car that fast! Are you doing any bluegrass races next year?

[imola_Jon]

PS2s are the greatest. I'm workin on my 2nd set in my B5 S4. They're the only summer tire I will ever buy for a performance car. I know lots of people don't want to spend that much on a 'wear item', but think about it...tires are the only single 'mod' that you can do to improve handling, acceleration, and braking. So IMO, PS2s are worth the premium.

[vjma]

It's an open secret that the PS2 is the best tire right now, period. I will never ever buy anything else and kind of hoping the P Zero will wear down ASAP....

BTW, is the PS2 for the R8 the same as all other PS2 or is there a special edition like the P Zero?

[KfabR8]

I will never ever buy anything else and kind of hoping the P Zero will wear down ASAP....

All that's required for that is some abuse of the tall, skinny pedal under your right foot.

R8's do fantastic donuts/4 wheel drifts and you can fill a parking lot with a lot of smoke and leave some really nice black rings all over it if you try. (I have a pic of the proof somewhere...)

[Cargo8]

LOL. you are the man!