Pirelli P Zero Tires - I know this has been asked a lot....

[Norm Peterson]

Originally Posted by ucla81

Thanks for the feedback folks! Keep it coming!!!

For me, drive to/from work a lot, around town and in country where I live. While I like am aggressive onramp and passing capability, I am not using it for racing or abrupt maneuvers in any way.

Given that, 2 questions:

First, why would Camaro owners like me (not racing or even close to it) have 2 sets of tires, rather than one really good comfortable set of all-weather tires?

All-season tires may be good in up to light accumulations of snow, but not the heavy stuff. Or ice. And summer driving with lots of corners will eat winter tires with a vengeance.

You may not be racing, but aggressive on-ramp and passing maneuvers aren't exactly consistent with some mild-mannered Clark Kent kind of driving, even though it may feel like that to you.

Second question: Probably 90% of this country is subject to freezing temps and/or snow of some degree. Why would ford build a Camaro with summer-only tires as standard equipment when most Americans have snow to deal with? I can understand it on the Corvette perhaps, but a V6 Camaro? What are they thinking?

When you opt for the RS package, which I suspect has historically meant "Rallye Sport", you get sportier summer-only tires for an improved driving experience, rather than the less-responsive base-level tires.


Heh, I remember back when some of the guys I worked with were still single and living in apartments. I know I saw a piece of plywood thrown over two stacks of two tires for use as a spare table at least once.


Norm

[Whoomba]

I live in north Texas, have driven them in icy conditions once, we don't get it much, and they were definitely not ideal but it was doable. I'm not sure why they would put those tires on it. Shoulda done more research I guess it I'm not going to have two sets of tires and wheels. That's an alternative but not for me.

[gMcizzLe]

If it's dry out, they are fine in the 20s and 30s as long as you take it easy. If it's raining/snowing near or below freezing, I wouldn't take it out.

[NC_SS]

I'd recommend being very careful and keeping the nannies on if you don't swing for a set of all seasons.

I drove me in wet weather and it was roughly 40 degrees out. I could feel the rear end rotate/skip around while just pulling out on a curve. These P Zeros are not a fan of winter weather, but with the nannies on you can keep her in between the ditches.

Just don't drive like you would in the summer

[Adrenaline12]

Originally Posted by F-16 Camaro

Continental Extreme DWS are excellent tires for year round driving. And yes, they should match the tire size that you already have, but there is "some" wiggle room on that.

I concur with f-16 I live in NJ and we don't get slammed but it does get cold here 10's 20's etc. I have DSW's all year long and I literally drive past trucks on these in the snow. Excellent all weather tire. As for keeping the p zeros on in that weather ...

The best way to describe how zero's are if cold temps is like this... They harden to the point where the wheels feel like you have the wheels of this toy on your car. Up hill on a cold slushy day from a stop? Just not happening.

[Mortious]

Originally Posted by ucla81

So: During routine city/burb driving, within speed limits (not racing or hard turns or flooring it), what is the real danger to me or others, using these summer tires when temps are in the 20s or 30s, or 30s with rain? Tire blowout? No traction? Slide all over? Loss of control? Aside from more wear on the tire, what exactly is the danger? Or, is it basically OK to drive them in those weather conditions?

Just after I purchased my Camaro, my mom had a stroke and went basically brain dead, I had to drive up to Missouri to take care of her affairs and take her off life support, this was during one of the worst Ice storms we had had in Texas in many years (last December).

I still had the P Zero's on my car. The car handled like hell during the trip, one time just after we were completely stopped on the road (so they could clear some ice) we were allowed to start moving, and my car just sat there, 0 traction, I could only move in reverse (luckly traffic was light, so I could reverse into a clear patch of road), so I had to plan accordingly, any stops where there was the slightest amount of ice on the road, I had to slow down way ahead of time and crawl in hopes the traffic would start moving before I had to stop completely.

When I finally got to Missouri, temp was about 16 degrees F, light mist, my car would suddenly break loose and I would be pointed at the side of the road, I guess traction control would kick in because I would regain control pretty quickly, however if there were traffic around, I would have hit someone, as I took up most of the road to get straight again.

Over the next week while I was up there as long as the weather was below freezing (or near it) my car would act like it was on ice (even on dry pavement). It was not fun.

I grew up in Missouri driving on snow and ice, I have a number of years under my belt doing so, so my confidence on snow and ice is pretty high, driving my Camaro on P Zero's near freezing temps scared the hell out of me.

[RallyellowRS]

Heh, I remember back when some of the guys I worked with were still single and living in apartments. I know I saw a piece of plywood thrown over two stacks of two tires for use as a spare table at least once.

That's a brilliant idea! I never thought of that!

[qcman]

I use the summers year round but the car only ever sees dry pavement in winter and is not a daily driver so not a problem really. I just like to pull it out of the garage every couple of weeks and give it a good run. I got caught once in a bit of snow and that was scary though.

[Splitter]

Hey man,

Lots of hypothetical silliness so far. Let me give it to you from someone with a very similar car (1LT) that has driven in varying conditions on P Zeros.

I have 13,000 on my tires. I have never done a burnout in this car. My P Zeros are in amazing condition currently and I'm on pace to get at least 30000 miles with them.

So, with that knowledge, let me give you the lowdown on my experiences driving throughout several different inclement weather events. I too, was afraid that during any kind of cold, snow, ice, etc, that my tires would explode, crack, etc. They won't. As long as you don't beat your car/tires to shit, you'll be fine.

Scenario 1) 40-50 degree weather. Dry. You will notice a little less traction if you give it more gas, but nothing the car can't handle.

Scenario 2) 40-50 degree weather. Wet. You will notice slightly greater loss of traction than Scenario 1, but again, the temperature isn't low enough to affect performance/traction too greatly.

Scenario 3) 30-40 degree weather. Dry. Giving your car a little extra gas will probably result in some slippage, but only if you're going around corners, or dropping two gears on the highway. Nothing to freak out about here either. Once the tires are warmed up (driving on them for 15-20 minutes) you will feel even more comfortable, and won't lose traction as much.

Scenario 4) 30-40 degree weather. Wet/small amounts of ice. You will being to notice considerable slippage if giving more than 1/3 to 1/2 throttle/gas. If your tires are warmed up from driving, you may not slip as much, but you still will slip. Be careful in this scenario.

Scenario 5) 20-30 degree weather. Dry. You will have similar traction to that of scenario 3. Not too bad, not too good, but the P Zeroes do hold up well if they are in good condition in this scenario. Don't worry too much here, you won't need to focus as much in this scenario as you will in the upcoming ones.

Scenario 6) 15-30 degree weather. Dry, w/ light snow flurries & no accumulation. DO NOT PANIC. You will be fine. Traction is similar to Scenario 5. A little snow will do nothing to impede the vehicles driving capabilities (as long as there is no accumulation). Focus on driving, be easy on the throttle, and you will notice little to no slip, until you go heavier on the throttle.

Scenario 7) 20-30 degree weather. Freezing rain/snow (wet) & intermittent Ice. Be extremely careful. Any amount of throttle > 30% will most likely cause you to lose traction. Your car is heavy enough to drive, but if there is any amount of ice on the road, you may lose control. Again, in this scenario, be careful, but you can still drive your car on P Zeros.

Scenario 8) < 25 degree weather, Very Wet/Heavy Accumulation. Do not drive on P Zeros AT ALL, IMO.

Hope this helps.

[qcman]

Originally Posted by Adrenaline12

The best way to describe how zero's are if cold temps is like this... They harden to the point where the wheels feel like you have the wheels of this toy on your car. Up hill on a cold slushy day from a stop? Just not happening.

Just add a spoiler , ground effects and a splitter and that baby will hug the road!

[Cam_Cam]

I have a 2014 1SS RS with PZeros that I daily drive. I "drove" the car through the winter last year in Detroit during the worst winter the city has ever seen. I got the car in late November and by the time I was ready for winter tires, they were all sold out, so I was screwed.

As was said before, the Pzeros are completely useless in the snow. Useless to the point where I have a very slightly inclined driveway, and the car would slide all the way down the drive with wheels locked up even with an inch or two of snow.

I had one scenario where all the roads were dry, but drove on to a side road with snow and was totally stuck. Left the car in drive, hopped out, and just stood there and laughed as the tires spun at idle speed while the car was stuck.

I did highway driving every morning, many days well below zero, and the tires again were almost completely useless. I tried passing ONE time on the highway and ended up drifting sideways at 70 mph on a straight road because the tires lost it. Managed to save the car luckily.

Needless to say, I just had Blizzaks installed yesterday for this winter... and the temps are actually supposed to go UP over the next two weeks... sigh.

I also drove a BRAND NEW 2015 CTS Vsport company car to Chicago through a snow storm in Kalamazoo (it wasn't supposed to snow!!) this November... the CTS Vsport comes with PZeros and the guys in the company car garage tried to argue with me that they aren't summer tires and I would be fine... idiots.

Put the car sideways again at about 60 mph around a very slightly sloping curve and was only saved from going into the ditch by the rumble strips. Pzeros are dangerous. Hell I don't even trust them in the rain when it's 70 degrees.

[Avenging Orange]

Summer tires + snow.....big no no. Any other weather, you have to be smart and adjust your driving manners.....pretty simple, folks. I have 19k on my pzeros....almost to the wear strips, but I drove it in 35* weather in the rain....no issue at all...and 65 mph on the highway. But I digress. Get a good set of all season tires and call it a day.

[PalmerGA]

OP, I imagine you can get from all these posts that P-Zeros are NOT a great tire for snow, wet, or even cold (below 40) spirited driving on dry roads. It doesn't sound like you intend to be driving your car hard or taking corners with a lot of G-force, so you may as well get some quality all-season tires and sell the P-Zeros. All-seasons will get you through the winter (using common sense, of course) and will be fine for those beautiful summer cruises.

[ucla81]

This is great feedback. Thanks to you all! I think I am going to find a high-quality all-weather compatible tire. Question: I suppose the tires have to be the exact match of type on the current Pirelli wheels and on the placard on the drivers side (e.g. P245/45R20 and P275/40R20). Do new tires have to be compatible with the current wheel in some manner? Or, if I get different wheels (solid black is what I want), do I have to worry about compatibility with the car as long as the wheels are 20" like the factory wheels I have now? Thanks.....