bm75204

Hi All --- I haven't posted on this site in a while, and first post on this board. I have a 2012 CLS550 Launch Edition with about 15K on the clock. I'm curious if anyone else is having issues with the grip from the OEM Pirelli P-Zeros. They still have a decent amount of tread on them and the ride is quiet and comfortable enough, but I often lose traction when accelerating even modestly (and not just when the tires are cold). It's getting to the point where it feels dangerous and I really have to go light on the pedal to keep the tail end in check. I had a similar issue with 20" P-Zeros I had on a Jaguar XK and traction was drastically better after replacing them with another brand. Frankly, I think these tires are overhyped junk compared to everything from the really expensive Michelins on my 911 to the Hankooks I put on that Jaguar that were a phenomenal tire for the price. Anyone else have the same experience with your Pirellis after you get a little mileage on them? Thanks in advance.

akeni

i do pretty tight turns at 60-80 km( that would be 35-55 miles) and it still holds the grip. Might be something wrong with your tires. The car is 4matic though.

petee1997

High speed tires have a short life span and are strictly a summer tire. In cold weather they lose grip. On my Porsche the rear tires are done at 16,000kms(10K miles) fronts last 30,000kms(18K miles).

My CLS came with 19"AMG wheels and high speed tires. I had the dealer switch them with another CLS that had 18"AMG wheels and all season tires. With 4Matic these tires perform quite well in my northern climate. I can now expect normal tire life. I was also credited 1K for the optional wheels and tires.

bm75204

My frustration is that they are losing grip with plenty of tread remaining in 78-degree weather after driving on them for 20-30 minutes. I hear you on the Porsche tires...my 997.2 has 13K and I'm on my second set of tires. I was expecting early replacement on the 911, however.

petee1997

It must be the tires but you must admit the CLS really has a lot of torque and with a two wheel drive it would not take much to make it spin. I can't believe the power in these cars.

tetra123

Does anyone have any issues with reversing. At work I park in a spot that has a decline before the parking spot, when I reverse out slowly up the decline as my rear wheels hit the flat spot at the top they just spin, the only way i can get out is building up enough speed before i get to the top so that momentum takes me over. I had Yokohama tyres on as standard and have now switched to Dunlop winter tyres and it happens with both. The suface is tarmac with no loose gravel and it happens even when its dry. I hope I have explained it right and not confused everyone.

Hoop

I personally think that Pirelli P-Zero's are crap. With 8000 miles I have already replaced the front 2 because of a bulging sidewall and I've just noticed one of the rears have done the same thing. This is my wife's car and it is not driven hard. I honestly look at them as junk and unfortunately they are on both of my new vehicles.
They are ranked 17th overall in a survey on TireRack.com which should really tell you something about how they perform. I'll be replacing them with Michelins.

JPMBenz

I took the Conti's off my 421 Wheels. I replaced the high speed Conti's with Conti DWS's. I had the DWS on my BMW 335. Great tire but the sidewall isn't to strong. Great tire for the money.

ccharlied

Put about 12,000 on the OEM Pirellis. Put 13,000 on Conti Extreme Contact DW (which included a trip to Big Sur, Ca. and back from Naples, fl.) Now have Bridgestone S-04 pole Position for for about 2000 miles . They are very highly rated and seem to be quieter and handle good on dry and wet. Only time will tell. I agree, the Pirelli were crap and the Conti were not much better. As a note, did some drag racing and road racing at PBIR with the Pirelli that were probably 60 to 70 % worn and they did not grip very well. Maybe has something to do with the Renntech tune that supposedly gave me a bunch more HP and TQ. Now have 28M on car

kaetamer

Is that sarcasm I'm reading? Do you not believe the tune made a difference?

BlackOmega

Dude, I hate to tell you, it's not the tires fault. Bulges in sidewalls are from impact damage. i.e hitting a pothole, curb, manhole cover etc. etc.

I'm thinking it's her driving.


Which model P-Zero's are you all talking about? There are several different ones you know.

JPMBenz

I only put the DWS's on because of snow. However, these are my daily tires. Haven't had an issue yet; however car only has 450 miles on it.

Hoop

Well, thank you so much "Dude" I was under the impression that tires were supposed to take a certain amount of impact without bulging at the sidewalls. Now I know..."it's not the tires fault".

Which model of P Zero am I talking about? P Zero

My wife happens to be a great driver...but thanks for your input.

BlackOmega

Any tire, no matter how awesome, if hit hard enough, will bulge.

in regards to which "model" there are several different P-Zero's. So I wasn't sure which one you're talking about, as certain models aren't as good as others (depending).

Wasn't trying to offend with the wife's driving comment, sometimes it is inevitable to hit a pothole or manhole cover.

Hoop

I guess thats the point, it wasn't hit hard enough... but somehow you know it was.

as to what P Zero it was, you were condescending with your asking if I knew there were other P Zero's.... yes I know, I may even know Pirelli tires better than you.

As for the comment about my wife's driving, I think more to the point your comment was just sexiest in general.

But hey... thanks for your input!!

BlackOmega

You stated that your wife mainly drives the car. If she drives the car, how do you know if she hit something or not?
Impact bubbles can happen from what most people wouldn't consider "a hit", however, it can damage the tire. Especially if it's under-inflated.

It was not condescending. That's merely how you took it.
Most people don't know that there are several different sub-models for that particular tire. Typically most tire companies name tires something different for each model. Not create a subclass for a specific model.

Once again, it's how you took it and not what was said.

However, your sarcasm is rude.

Hoop

However, your sarcasm is rude.[/QUOTE]

it's how you took it and not what was said.

BlackOmega

it's how you took it and not what was said.[/QUOTE]

touché!

Sam_Ghibli

Im having the same exact issue with the Pzeros on my Ghibli. Even in the dry, pulling from start with half open throttle and I feel some wheel spin. I fish tail alot even when doing pulls when already moving. The winter was absolutely terrible, and patch of water on the floor and the car slides. Now tbh I kinda like the fact that the wheels arent very grippy, kicking the tail out on some corners is crazy fun, however the ghibli isn't really made to just skid around corners all the time, it would be nice to win a couple stop light races every once in a while rather than just fishtailing all over the place and not being able to actually use the full power and feel the full torque of the car. Also, its not very assuring when I know my dad is driving the car, he doesnt really know how to handle the car in situations like that, he tends to rely too much on the car(not saying he doest have the right to expect that much from the car tho, hes a very conservative driver and honestly no car should feel as though its being pushed to his limits the way he drives, specially not a luxury Maserati) and its traction and hes had some scary experiences, specially during the winter.
Dont get me wrong however, the Ghibli is a thrill to drive, but for the wrong reasons (kinda), the fact that I can drive the car in a fashion thats somewhat spirited and still be able to feel as though the car is being pushed to its limits, its a quite thrilling experience, but again, thats not really the type of preformance/quality you would expect from an ordinary road car, its a luxury car with about 345 Hp and about 300 pound feet of torque(not slow, but it really should handle much better), not an F12 Ferrari. Driving the car at about 60% and feeling like im driving an F1 car is good and bad at the same time, and I hope you can see what im getting at here. Yes the thrill of driving such a car is awesome, however its only awesome in limited circumstances and in some cases, sometimes I just wanna be able to really put my foot down and feel out the 350Hp on the car, because frankly now it doesnt really feel as quick as it should be; also, other times I just want to get from point A to point B while being able to rely on a car a little bit more, being on full alert every second im driving isnt always fun.

Anyways, I got kinda carried away there, but to bring it back to my main point, the Pzeros are just not doing the job.
Any suggestions on other substitutes that have more grip and are more suitable for all season driving?

bm75204

It's ironic to see that you revived my post after almost 5 years --- and I was *JUST* thinking how worthless the P-Zeros are on my newly acquired 2014 Maserati Quattroporte GTS. Different car for me, yet similar to yours, and revived concerns about the same tires. My main issue is how sensitive the 21" Pirellis are to ANY road imperfection, and I'm darting all over any road that isn't completely smooth. They're ridiculous, and if the tires weren't nearly brand new and I didn't keep cars for only 6-8 months, I'd swap them today with some Michelin Pilot Super Sports. At this point I can't justify the $2K investment when I'll be out of this car in a few months.