Latest Pirelli P Zero rated for 230 mph
There are lots of ways to crank more power out of an engine -- bore it out, bolt-on superchargers, turbochargers, intercoolers -- if you're reading Autoblog, you know the drill. Putting that power down on the road is another story altogether, though. No matter how advanced the technology in the car, it all has to meet the tarmac the same way it has for over a century. Pirelli is celebrating 100 years in motorsports, and to commemorate the anniversary it has unveiled the newest version of its flagship high-performance tire, the P Zero.
Affectionately referred to as P Zero the Hero, the latest version of the vulcanized performance icon is rated for speeds up to 370 km/h (230 mph). That's a mighty high top end that few cars can reach, and even fewer drivers will ever hit, but in speed ratings you don't want to be pushing the limits of adhesion at the risk of both car and driver.
The latest Pirelli P Zero is already being fitted to some of the best-performing cars on the road. It's standard equipment on the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, Lamborghini Murciélago and Gallardo, Audi R8 and S8, Aston Martin DB9, Maserati Quattroporte, Jaguar XK, the upcoming Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione and an array of high-performance models from Mercedes AMG, Porsche and BMW. Sure, other manufacturers make high-performance tires. But there's only one P Zero.
[Source: Gizmag]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mattlach 9:50AM (3/01/2007)
So lets settle this once and for all.
What is the best road legal performance summer tire money can buy?
The Pzero sounds pretty nice. I have also had excellent experience with the Goodyear Eagle F1. Some people speak very highly of the Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD07.
Opinions?
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nagmashot 10:22AM (3/01/2007)
#1 Conti Sport Contact2 Vmax
This tire is avaible since over a year with a speedindex of 360km/h (225mph)
It is based on the Conti Sport contact2 which is standart equipment at many high perfromance cars from from Audi to Porsche.
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MikeW 10:27AM (3/01/2007)
Car and Driver requires tires with a 140 UTQG or better
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Pilot+Sport+Cup
In an article on a Tuned Z4
http://www.caranddriver.com/features/9748/specialty-file-tc-kline-racing-bmw-z4.html
with the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires it pulled 1.06g, with just the PS2, only 0.95g (about 10,000 miles for the Pilot Cup is motorcycle territory)
Oh, 250hp@6000 is 219ft-lbs, so if it is really 250hp, it is more like 6600.
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Bob-o 11:27AM (3/01/2007)
#1, the Neovas are fantastic. But you'd really only know if you drive 'em to the absolute limit. Otherwise, you get a loud, low treadlife tire that's twice as expensive as anything out there. I'd take the Falken RT-615's at half price anyday over the Neovas.
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Mattlach 11:28AM (3/01/2007)
Nagmashot:
Every review I have read about conti's is that they are great every day tires, and get good performance in rain, but that they are not particularly sporting tires.
They simply don't feel crisp and communicate the road as well as many other brands. I know many/most german high performance cars use them, but in head to head battles they simply don't fare too well...
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nagmashot 12:06PM (3/01/2007)
#Mattlach the german car magazin sportauto used the Conti SportContact2 as benchmark to clock the perfromance of street legal semi slicks. The Pirelli PZero Corsa semi slick was only slightly better on the race track as the Conti SportContact2. At the German Tuner GP only cars equipped with Conti SportContact2 or Yokohma AVS sport have won their classes (driven at the shorttrack of the Hockenheim race track).
Sportauto is the car magazine with by far the most road car race track tests in the world.
Don´t pay to much attention on car magazine tire tests. In every tire test I have read they praise Pirelli as on of the best. My personal experience with Pirelli... the worst I have ever drieven...Pirelli P600 in 225/45/17" was ok but nothing special, Pirelli PZero Rosso in 235/40/18...the worst tire I have ever owned, zerro traction, pain in the ass in the rain, noisy, followed every drill in the road, I replaced them with Yokohama AVS Sport in the same sice on the same rime... was like driving a completly new 100% better car.
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KazO 12:13PM (3/01/2007)
In some BMW circles, if your new car came with ContiSports, you "lost" the tire lottery, when the car could've come with Michelin Pilot Sports instead. Pilot Sport 2 seem to be many people's top pick for a great overall tire (albeit pricey); I'll find out this weekend after I get some track miles on mine.
I'll say that one of the worst tires I've ever had were a set of Pirelli PZero Rosso Asimetricos. Aside from being reasonably comfortable and quiet, they had no other good qualities whatsoever.
Yoko ES100 are my performance bargain pick. They're noisy and ride hard, but they perform very well, wear like iron, and are cheap.
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ignomini 12:56PM (3/01/2007)
Had P-Zeros on a 993 C2 Porsche. Awful in every respect. Switched to Michelin PS2s and was in love with their superb ride, quiet and predictable handling. Just bought a 993 Turbo with Contis. Handle okay, fair ride, flat spot if they sit for a week. Absolutely horrible, it takes a good twenty minutes running before the car stops vibrating. As soon as I burn them off it's back to the PS2s. Never assume an OE tire is any good. They're bought for price, not necesarily ultimate performance.
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Patrick Teng 3:17PM (3/01/2007)
Doesn't Michelin produce a 250+ mph tyres for the Veyron? Yeah, albeit it's only for the Veyron, but there's no stopping them in applying the same tech to their Pilot Sport tyres.
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Mattlach 1:17PM (3/01/2007)
I was basing my comments on the Conti's from this review...
http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/tests/CandD_gy_f1_gs_d3/CandD_gy_f1_gs_ds.pdf
While the Conti's finished second in the test, all the direvers commented on the fact that they were surprised, and their weighting system may have been flawed, cause they didn't feel good while driving...
I agree though, I have had Pirellis, the Pirelli Pzero Nero M&S (granted they were all-seasons, so the comparison might be no good) but they had poor traction, wore out very quickly, and really didn't feel right on the road. My Goodyear F1 GSD3's made a world of difference.
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rip 1:42PM (3/01/2007)
Pirelli makes a nice tire. But I'd have to say that the Michelin Pilots are superior.
@ #1: The Pilot Sport PS2 that I have on my car are great. Better handling, better feel, more quiet. The Bridgestone S-03 is another tire I would consider.
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MikeW 11:17AM (3/03/2007)
The bugatti veyron top speed is ~235mph without using the cheater mode.
http://www.bugatti-configurator.com/content/pdf/Veyron_en.pdf
Did James May say 15 minutes or 50 minutes? around time 6:20
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=site%3Avideo.google.com+top+gear+bugatti+top+speed&hl=en
So Pirelli is right there with Michelin.
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JP 7:04PM (3/20/2007)
I have had mixed results with Pirelli. I love the 240 snowsports i have for winter, but summer tires have not faired as well. Also the Conti SC2 that came with my S4, I was not impressed with. They were not a great tire - they just did not feel very responsive. They did their job, but just did not feel right. When I upgraded to Goodyear F1 GS-D3s - what a difference. On dry awesome, in rain even better! I really am waiting to see what tirerack says about the new PZero and the new Conti SC3 and how they compare to the F1 GS-D3s and Michelin PS2s.
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