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Why are Pirelli tyres so bad???

Willie

LCR Track car
Aug 6, 2004
8,939
1
Sunny Scotland
I did think of this when I removed mine but there isn't much 'meat' left in the swing arm after doing this, only way would be to extend the arms about 25mm then you could use the slots
 

godber225r

T15 PJG
Sep 6, 2008
893
0
Whiteley, Hampshire
Well i got the car laser aligned and it was only slightly out nothing to worry about they said. So i presume that the previous owner had the tyres under inflated. as ive kept the pressures in my new tyres correct for a few thousond miles now and the wear is good and not uneven.

The pirellis are still good!!! impressing me no end!! Dont know what all this fuss is about!!!
 

Willie

LCR Track car
Aug 6, 2004
8,939
1
Sunny Scotland
Do you guys get much rain where you stay?
Are the roads mosts A class and motorways or back roads.
I found the Pirellis weak points were the rain and back road handling. There was a slight suggestion of loosing traction which with the GYF1 Asymmetrics is still there but at much higher speeds and harder cornering.
This will only mean something to you when you actually try different tyres, then it will become clear
 

cap r 225

the need for speed!
Feb 24, 2008
974
0
nantwich
www.seatcupra.net
i am going to try different tyres next time JS, as i am curious as to see if i notice a difference. i do admit the pirelli's are poor in the wet, but pushing it in the wet on public roads your asking for trouble in my opinion however good your tyres may be.:D
 

Willie

LCR Track car
Aug 6, 2004
8,939
1
Sunny Scotland
i am going to try different tyres next time JS, as i am curious as to see if i notice a difference. i do admit the pirelli's are poor in the wet, but pushing it in the wet on public roads your asking for trouble in my opinion however good your tyres may be.:D
DISCO!!!!!

Now you've got it. The Pirellis are terrible in the wet. The GYEF1 Asymmetric are treeeeeemendous in the wet. Its not all about driving fast in the wet, its also about safety in the wet.
You will be dissapointed that you've stuck with Pirellis for so long after fitting the above
 

traumapat

Leon Cupra IHI
Jul 24, 2005
5,925
4
sunny sussex
DISCO!!!!!

Its not all about driving fast in the wet, its also about safety in the wet.

couldnt agree more. the leon is very understeery and it has suprised me how much planted and safer the car feels with better tyres/ rear arb.

drove for the first year on stock tyres thinking they were fine until seeing the light. makes a huge difference , worth every penny.:)
 

Ruddmeister

Everything in Moderation
Jun 23, 2003
8,218
1
Weston-super-Mare
en.wikipedia.org
A bit late to the party with a reply but the main complaint about the P zero's on the LCR (right from the first factory cars in 2002/2003) was the overall lifespan of the Pirelli's, however much care was taken over pressures the centre of the tyre wore out with loads of 'meat' on the edges. At the time plenty of different reasons were put forward including the usual 'You must be over inflating', however if you search the archives another theory was put forward.

Basically the side walls of the Pzero are quite weak in construction and particularly at motorway speeds the tyre distorts, the area of tyre in contact with the road in reduces and you run on the centre of the tread pattern. This is why the centre wears out first.

It does explain why even when I kept a close eye on the pressures they still wore in the centre.

The Pirellis are also shocking in the wet compared to the GSD 3's and the T1-R's, although the Toyo's I found a little soft in comaprison to the Goodyears...
 

godber225r

T15 PJG
Sep 6, 2008
893
0
Whiteley, Hampshire
How can they be so bad when they are used in motorsport like WRC and the likes???? seems crazy that these teams are using a tyre that is said to be so bad by so many people???:shrug: I must be the only one here that thinks there ok or maybe im just not driving the leon hard enough!!!:doh:
 

cap r 225

the need for speed!
Feb 24, 2008
974
0
nantwich
www.seatcupra.net
Basically the side walls of the Pzero are quite weak in construction and particularly at motorway speeds the tyre distorts, the area of tyre in contact with the road in reduces and you run on the centre of the tread pattern. This is why the centre wears out first.

i thought there were two versions though:confused: weren't the people who had this problem running the normall p-zero's, whereas the leon needs the extra load version due to it being such a heavy car!
 

Willie

LCR Track car
Aug 6, 2004
8,939
1
Sunny Scotland
How can they be so bad when they are used in motorsport like WRC and the likes???? seems crazy that these teams are using a tyre that is said to be so bad by so many people???:shrug: I must be the only one here that thinks there ok or maybe im just not driving the leon hard enough!!!:doh:

The tyres that they use in motor soport are track tyres, very very different to road tyres. Road tyres are a compromise where track tyres are focussed on one goal. I'm sure this isn't news to you.

i thought there were two versions though:confused: weren't the people who had this problem running the normall p-zero's, whereas the leon needs the extra load version due to it being such a heavy car!

Stiffer side wall but not the stiffesrt out there, there are still companies coming out with continually stiffer side walled tyres.
 

traumapat

Leon Cupra IHI
Jul 24, 2005
5,925
4
sunny sussex
How can they be so bad when they are used in motorsport like WRC and the likes???? seems crazy that these teams are using a tyre that is said to be so bad by so many people???:shrug: I must be the only one here that thinks there ok or maybe im just not driving the leon hard enough!!!:doh:

there only bad on leons. great tyre on our passat tdi estate.

both as stock the passat sits very balanced takes alot to get her to understeer.
the leon is all front and little behind it to counteract. understeers much easier.

its really down to the car and how it behaves during braking/steering as to which tyre suits it.
i dont think you can drive a leon hard with those tyres, the rubber gives in way before anything else nears its limit.
 

Willie

LCR Track car
Aug 6, 2004
8,939
1
Sunny Scotland
As above I've got a mate with a Mondeo ST220, I advised him to get the GSD3's, he hated them but totally loved the Pirelli P Zero's

How many tellings do you guys need?? lol
Fit these and forget about tyres being your weak point in you car, then start looking at the other weaknesses like ARB's and strutt braces
 

Nautilus

Active Member
Dec 9, 2006
547
2
Bucharest, Romania
It would be a pretty surprising bit of info for many, as it was for myself, but a Leon with 20VT engine and FWD is pretty well balanced in terms of weight, about 55:45 weight distribution front-to-rear, give or take some pounds. Had a bit of discussion with RobDon some time ago, when I wasn't sure, but found out the owner of a Cupra 4 VR6 checked the unladen car weight and it was 57:43 distribution, while the iron lump of a VR6 engine is much heavier compared to a 1.8T.

~Nautilus
 

godber225r

T15 PJG
Sep 6, 2008
893
0
Whiteley, Hampshire
As above I've got a mate with a Mondeo ST220, I advised him to get the GSD3's, he hated them but totally loved the Pirelli P Zero's

How many tellings do you guys need?? lol
Fit these and forget about tyres being your weak point in you car, then start looking at the other weaknesses like ARB's and strutt braces

Got a upper strut brace. That helps allot!!
 

jonjay

50 Years of 911
Jun 27, 2005
5,843
1
Essex
How a tyre performs also has a lot to do with weight of the car hence why Pirelli is good for some cars and not others :)
 
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