Volvo Owners Club Forum - View Single Post

Dec 21st, 2006, 13:27

Interesting thread, especially about Pirelli tyres, the following is part of a post from a VW/Audi forum.

I personally would never use, nor recommend Pirelli tyres to anybody. I have two very good reasons to support that statement. I used to be a wholly independent tyre fitter in one of the largest Government employers in the country, which ran very large fleets of identical spec vehicles, from motorcycles, through passenger cars, 4x4s, light commercials, heavy commercials, PSVs, agricultural, plant, and specific duty vehicles. I, as well as my own personal experience, also had access to "top level" information on all aspects of fleet operation, including things such as: warranty issues, maintenance, factory modifications, accident damage data, fuel economy, etc, etc, etc.

Firstly, the tyre carcass on Pirellis is so weak that the UK re-treadders/re-moulders refuse to take Pirellis. You might very quickly reply to that by saying something like "I'd never, ever put remoulds on my car" (which would be a perfectly reasonable comment to make). I would advise you that the tyre carcass is basically the first and most important aspect of a tyres' construction, and therefore relates directly to performance, safety, longevity, etc. Quite simply, would the best, most stylish Armani suit look better on a perfectly formed supermodel, or on a bent, mis-shaped wire coat hanger which deforms even further when you try to hang the suit. This relates to the fact that you could have the best tyre tread design, and the best tread rubber compound - you see where I am going. This is critical, in the event of a slow puncture for example.

Secondly, I (and all of my working collegues at the time) experimented on different makes of new tyres on identical spec cars, and found a huge difference in perfomance, handling, and comfort. I would qualify that we never used budget tyres, only premium, first line brands, such as Michelin, Dunlop, Goodyear, Continental, Uniroyal, Pirelli, Firestone & Avon. In all of our opinions, based on "blind" testing, Pirellis came out bottom in all areas, with handling and comfort being particularly poor. Michelin and Continental repeatedly came out tops, with Uniroyal also performing particulary well in very wet conditions. I must emphasise that this wasn't a scientific or statistical test, and costs were never included, but merely a "seat of your pants" real world feel for the tyres. They were also based on /70 and /60 series profile tyres, and not ultra high perfomance ultra low profile tyres as used on modern high performance cars, such as today's S4, RS6, R32 etc.

To comment on "quiet" tyres in the /60 series profile ranges, in my opinion, the Michelin Energy tyre range is the quietest tyre in all round performance, whereas, Continental EcoContact is quieter than Mich Energy at straight line high speed cruise (such as motorways), but is noiser than Michelin Energy under hard braking and hard cornering.

I hope it is of some interest.
Gaz.

Dec 21st, 2006, 13:27	#49
GaztheCab Guest Location:	Interesting thread, especially about Pirelli tyres, the following is part of a post from a VW/Audi forum. I personally would never use, nor recommend Pirelli tyres to anybody. I have two very good reasons to support that statement. I used to be a wholly independent tyre fitter in one of the largest Government employers in the country, which ran very large fleets of identical spec vehicles, from motorcycles, through passenger cars, 4x4s, light commercials, heavy commercials, PSVs, agricultural, plant, and specific duty vehicles. I, as well as my own personal experience, also had access to "top level" information on all aspects of fleet operation, including things such as: warranty issues, maintenance, factory modifications, accident damage data, fuel economy, etc, etc, etc. Firstly, the tyre carcass on Pirellis is so weak that the UK re-treadders/re-moulders refuse to take Pirellis. You might very quickly reply to that by saying something like "I'd never, ever put remoulds on my car" (which would be a perfectly reasonable comment to make). I would advise you that the tyre carcass is basically the first and most important aspect of a tyres' construction, and therefore relates directly to performance, safety, longevity, etc. Quite simply, would the best, most stylish Armani suit look better on a perfectly formed supermodel, or on a bent, mis-shaped wire coat hanger which deforms even further when you try to hang the suit. This relates to the fact that you could have the best tyre tread design, and the best tread rubber compound - you see where I am going. This is critical, in the event of a slow puncture for example. Secondly, I (and all of my working collegues at the time) experimented on different makes of new tyres on identical spec cars, and found a huge difference in perfomance, handling, and comfort. I would qualify that we never used budget tyres, only premium, first line brands, such as Michelin, Dunlop, Goodyear, Continental, Uniroyal, Pirelli, Firestone & Avon. In all of our opinions, based on "blind" testing, Pirellis came out bottom in all areas, with handling and comfort being particularly poor. Michelin and Continental repeatedly came out tops, with Uniroyal also performing particulary well in very wet conditions. I must emphasise that this wasn't a scientific or statistical test, and costs were never included, but merely a "seat of your pants" real world feel for the tyres. They were also based on /70 and /60 series profile tyres, and not ultra high perfomance ultra low profile tyres as used on modern high performance cars, such as today's S4, RS6, R32 etc. To comment on "quiet" tyres in the /60 series profile ranges, in my opinion, the Michelin Energy tyre range is the quietest tyre in all round performance, whereas, Continental EcoContact is quieter than Mich Energy at straight line high speed cruise (such as motorways), but is noiser than Michelin Energy under hard braking and hard cornering. I hope it is of some interest. Gaz.