# One week impression of Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus tires



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

After a week and a half my overall impression is favorable.

These tires are quieter than the OEM Goodyear FuelMax Assurance to the extent that the additional road noise from the engine shield hack recall is gone.

They do have a slightly softer sidewall, which means that I had to boost my cold PSI from 45 to 48 to get the same cornering feel. They are also much more responsive than the Goodyears - so much so that they are almost twitchy. Once I got used to the twitchy feel, which included the return of the in-lane adjustment notchy steering that I and many other Cruze owners have reported, these tires are a joy to drive. These tires are NOT touring tires with their relatively slow response to steering input. My steering has tightened up considerably as a result of these tires. Before I had about an inch of play in each direction before the car responded, now its about half an inch in each direction. I now understand why so many European performance cars ship with Perellis as their OEM tires. 

My fuel economy is down about 5 MPG total from my 800 mile tank in August and September but I think this is a combination of new tires, which always lower your fuel economy, colder temperatures, and the switch to winter blended gasoline. I had noticed a 3-4 MPG drop in fuel economy on my Goodyears prior to the switch to winter gas, so the MPG impact from the Perellis is at most 2 MPG or 4%, well within the 3-5% range for fuel economy impact from new tires. In addition, I didn't get the first known winter gas fill up until after I switched tires.

I haven't had a chance to see how they do in snow, but based on my first 400 miles I don't think there will be an issue unless they simply don't grip.

The Discount Tire description is at Tire Details - Discount Tire.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

obermd said:


> My steering has tightened up considerably as a result of these tires. Before I had about an inch of play in each direction before the car responded, now its about half an inch in each direction.


I needed something to replace my 1LT 16in firestone FR 710, I ended up buying Hankook Optimo H727. Your statement above is my only real complaint about my new tires, they have a bit more dead center feel to me and need to be pushed harder to get the same response I usually expect. The Hankooks are much quieter than the stock tires, ride nicer & have WAY better hydroplane resistance. 

Did you have your alignment looked at? Drivers side was slightly toed but my passenger side was toed 15 degrees. Noticed a month back the inside edge was wearing more on the front. Not sure why it was off so bad, never had a car that needed an alignment with such low miles.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

I have a hard fast rule - new tires => alignment. Even if the old tires didn't show any odd wear, which my Goodyears didn't, still get the alignment. The alignment was done with 12 miles on the Perellis and I did have a toe issue on the front.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

obermd said:


> I have a hard fast rule - new tires => alignment. Even if the old tires didn't show any odd wear, which my Goodyears didn't, still get the alignment. The alignment was done with 12 miles on the Perellis and I did have a toe issue on the front.


Mine was toed bad enough I noticed the wear. when I asked Pomps tire on the phone the alignment cost the gave me the price but also said they would only recommend an alignment if it needed one & they check every car that comes in for tires. My last car(2004 cavalier) I had 110,000 on 3 sets of tires and no alignment ever, pomps printout on that car looked great.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

The reason I get the alignment is that I've had tires show no uneven wear and then the next set of tires immediately start to pull. Old tires simply don't grip the road as well as new tires. Besides, no one will do a "free" alignment check, so you end up paying for the alignment even if nothing is needed. Back when Sears offered unlimited lifetime alignments I purchased that and aligned every time I rotated and balanced the tires.


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## steve333 (Oct 23, 2010)

I just had the same Pirelli's put on my Mazda 3 and they feel like a solid tire but they seem to tramline a lot on the freeway. I'm going to have the Yokohama YK580's put back on because of this, however the car is so stiff that I'll never be able to get rid of the tramlining completely. Wheel alignment didn't help.
The 2011 or 2012 Cruze 1LT I had as a loaner last year glided over the grooves on the freeway like they weren't there, I believe partly due to the more forgiving suspension and the tires. I should have looked at what tires they were but never did. Dummy!


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Not all tires work on all cars. Read the reviews on Tire Rack and to a lessor extent on Discount Tire (fewer reviews) and you can see this.


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## steve333 (Oct 23, 2010)

Yes, some people love a tire and other reviews say they hate them. The Pirelli P7 gets really great reviews so far. I think with a car with a more forgiving suspension they would be fine.
Michelin Primacy tires for example get great reviews but on my Cobalt they felt like bricks. The Yokohama's felt much better on the car.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

I would happily give up a few MPG for a better-gripping set of tires. Of the OEM's offered on the Cruze models, the Conti's are pretty good (never driven the Michelins, but I tend to hate the ride on low profile tires). The Firestones and Goodyears are just downright terrible in the handling department, especially at OEM pressures.

The last set of Pirellis I used was back in 2004 on my Saab, but your review (and others on Tire Rack) make them sound like a pretty good all-round performer.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Update: These tires will tramline. This afternoon I was able to stay in the far right lane on I-25 southbound through the Denver Tech Center and that one lane is grooved. The tires very definitely followed the groove. It's supposed to snow later this week. If it does I'll update for snow.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

obermd said:


> Besides, no one will do a "free" alignment check, so you end up paying for the alignment even if nothing is needed.


When you buy a set of 4 tires at pomps tires, they put your car on the alignment rack to verify the alignment, if it out they let you know and recommend you do the alignment. That check cost you nothing. Like I said on my old car I bought three sets of tires and didn't need an alignment every time they checked. They also gave me the alignment printout each time they checked I did not pay anything extra.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

spacedout said:


> When you buy a set of 4 tires at pomps tires, they put your car on the alignment rack to verify the alignment, if it out they let you know and recommend you do the alignment. That check cost you nothing. Like I said on my old car I bought three sets of tires and didn't need an alignment every time they checked. They also gave me the alignment printout each time they checked I did not pay anything extra.


566 miles one way is a little far to go to get a free alignment check when I purchase tires.  Point taken though, in some areas you can get a free alignment check.


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## steve333 (Oct 23, 2010)

obermd said:


> Update: These tires will tramline. This afternoon I was able to stay in the far right lane on I-25 southbound through the Denver Tech Center and that one lane is grooved. The tires very definitely followed the groove. It's supposed to snow later this week. If it does I'll update for snow.


That's what I am feeling. The car has never felt worse, I'm going in tomorrow to get new wheels and switch the Pirelli's for Yokohama YK580's.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

The Perelli tram-lining wasn't nearly as bad as the Yokohamas that shipped OEM on my Lancer. The Lancer sometimes felt like it was going to be thrown off the road.


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## steve333 (Oct 23, 2010)

oem tires tend to suck whatever brand they are-even Michelin.
Different tires within the same brand have differing tread patterns of course. The YK580 has a different pattern than their other models


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

obermd said:


> The Perelli tram-lining wasn't nearly as bad as the Yokohamas that shipped OEM on my Lancer. The Lancer sometimes felt like it was going to be thrown off the road.


I ran a few sets of yokohma Avid TRZ that I loved in most conditions(except snow/ice), However these were the worst tires I ever had for tram-lining. On a 65mph road I would have to slow 10 mph to feel safe. 

BTW: I have no problem admitting I had not heard that phrase before(tram-lining), for all the other slow people its when driving on a grooved surface the tires get pulled left and right slightly.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

As promised - a snow report.

Woke up this morning to about two inches of snow. From the condition of the roads I think we had some melt on the roads before it started accumulating. Normally I'm one of the slower cars on the road. This morning I was the fastest car on the road. These Perellis handle the snow. They're not sure about ice however. Remember, they're M+S rated and not winter tires. They have a lot of starting traction, to the extent that I was able to out accelerate 4x4s this morning from a uphill start. I can't say too much about stopping traction because I practice DWB (Driving Without Breaks) year round and the few times I had to use my brakes the car slowed down as expected.

The only really strange feedback I got was when I was decelerating to make a right turn. As I was letting the clutch out going into 2nd gear the front ABS triggered at the exact same time as I was reengaging at the friction point. The ECU didn't know what to do and raced the engine far more than a normal downshift from 3 to 2 at this speed. Now I know why people are freaked out when they feel the ABS self test for the first time while shifting into 2nd.

Now to go find a parking lot to get the donuts out of my system.


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## JCarlson (Jun 11, 2013)

obermd said:


> The reason I get the alignment is that I've had tires show no uneven wear and then the next set of tires immediately start to pull. Old tires simply don't grip the road as well as new tires. Besides, no one will do a "free" alignment check, so you end up paying for the alignment even if nothing is needed. Back when Sears offered unlimited lifetime alignments I purchased that and aligned every time I rotated and balanced the tires.


Doesn't Firestone offer unlimited lifetime alignments? Or is that no longer offered?


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

More snow. The OEM Goodyear FuelMax Assurance are slightly better than the Perelli Cinturato P7s in the snow. The Goodyears handle ruts better.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

The OE tyres on my car are continental and I haven't noticed any tram lining that is a problem, and then only in deep depressions in the road made by heavy trucks. I run my tyres at 36F and 34R which gives a reasonable handling and ride balance. Really high pressures that some on this forum run just don't cut it for me.


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## steve333 (Oct 23, 2010)

What type of Continental tires?


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

steve333 said:


> What type of Continental tires?


[h=1]Continental ContiSportContact 3 225/50 R17 I have been quite happy with these tyres so far as grip is good both in the wet or dry.[/h]


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## Mikeske (Jun 19, 2012)

I just got a set of these Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus tires for my Cruze Diesel after several failures of the Goodyears that came on the car. I did notice one thing about these tires in the rain. They are flat out were much more confidence inspiring on a wet road that is incorrectly sloped around a 90 degree turn where water runs across the road. The Goodyear tires at this location would hydroplane a bit if I was going to fast. Not so with the Pirelli's they flat out performed the old tires. The Michelin's that are on my Buick never hydroplane at the same place. I was driving and i have noticed a big difference in wet weather driving with the Pirelli's 

These tires do not have the weird high pitch that the Goodyear tires had and are much quieter.


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## milehigh (Nov 24, 2012)

Mike- How are these tires in our most recent Denver snow? I am tire shopping and this is one on my list. I'm at 28k and down to 5/32nds- getting dicey in winter conditions. Thanks!


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## cruze01 (Mar 25, 2011)

I pulled the trigger yesterday! Had the Pirelli's put on my Cruze. Only 50 miles so far but I can tell a real deference between these and the Firestone's. They ride smooth and much quieter! Felt more secure in the rain last night to. Since these are also ECO rated I expect to see some MPG improvement , I'll give an update after the first tank of gas!


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Put the P7's on the girlfriend's Camry SE yesterday.

There is an INCREDIBLE difference in ride quality, they grip well under hard acceleration, and still have quite a bit of road noise (I think Toyota put almost 0 sound insulation in this car). 

Overall, quite happy with the ride quality - it has a stiffer suspension setup than the LE model, and I have to say it almost rides better than the Cruze now. It used to hit potholes and bumps like a truck full of bricks (it wore Bridgestone Turanza EL400 from the factory).


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## cruze01 (Mar 25, 2011)

I've got a couple hundred miles on mine now. Still love them, they are VERY responsive, grip the road like crazy and are much quieter than the Firestone's were. Only thing I don't think I like is that you can literally feel every bump, nook and cranny on the road, not used to that, cant say its a bad thing but different for sure. I'll probably get used to it in a week or two.


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## cruze01 (Mar 25, 2011)

Got about 600 miles on them now. Still glad I bought them but the ECO rating isn't worth a crap! I've seen no MPG increase, in fact, I think I lost a few. I'm hitting about 27 mpg. I usually get 29-30.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

cruze01 said:


> Got about 600 miles on them now. Still glad I bought them but the ECO rating isn't worth a crap! I've seen no MPG increase, in fact, I think I lost a few. I'm hitting about 27 mpg. I usually get 29-30.


It will be a few thousand miles for them to break in and get back to your typical mileage. Been that way with every tire I've bought.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

*Two year review of the Cinturato P7s*

It's been two years and 30 to35 thousand miles since I put these on my ECO MT. Other than one tire that has a slow leak, which is a result of running over something last spring that left a hole in the tread that you could push a soda straw through, these tires are living up to my initial expectations. My fuel economy has improved as the tires have aged - it took about 10,000 miles for the fuel economy to recover. I've run these tires as high as 50 PSI but backed off to 45 PSI. At 50 PSI it felt like I was riding on solid rubber. 45 PSI keeps me from jarring the suspension on every little bump.

Dry traction is still excellent. Wet traction is very good and the tires don't hydroplane even at speed. Snow/slush/ice traction is reasonable. Denver isn't known for heavy wet snow but we have had some and these tires are far better in heavy wet snow than the OEM Goodyear FuelMax Assurance tires. In Denver's normally dry snow they're about the same. 

As far as I can tell the tread wear rating for these tires is reasonably accurate with about half the usable tread left.

In my initial report I commented on these tires being borderline twitchy. That ended when I got my steering rack replaced last December - the twitches were a side effect of the faulty steering gear. These tires, while not twitchy on their own, are definitely responsive to steering input so if you're looking for a touring tire, they probably aren't for you. If you're looking for a responsive LRR tire put these on your short list.


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## The_Madcat (Oct 6, 2012)

I also just put a set of 4 on my 2LT @ 28,500 miles. The original ContiProContact tires were absolute garbage. 3 years ago, when the car was new, those contipro tires were like having ski's in the snow. Absolutely the worst tire I have ever had. Could not wait to get rid of them. These Pirelli's though, I really like em. I only have about 500 miles on them so I don't have any extended experience to give a real review but so far, quieter, softer ride, very responsive to steering input. 

But....

I found out yesterday, when looking at some other things, that Pirelli is no longer Italian owned - Chinese chemical company buys Pirelli for $7.7B

Kind of killed my excitement. I would not have bought them if I knew that. Still a good tire but won't buy another pirelli product.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

The_Madcat said:


> I also just put a set of 4 on my 2LT @ 28,500 miles. The original ContiProContact tires were absolute garbage. 3 years ago, when the car was new, those contipro tires were like having ski's in the snow. Absolutely the worst tire I have ever had. Could not wait to get rid of them. These Pirelli's though, I really like em. I only have about 500 miles on them so I don't have any extended experience to give a real review but so far, quieter, softer ride, very responsive to steering input.
> 
> But....
> 
> ...


That answers my question about purchasing another set of P7s. As much as I like these tires I won't knowingly support the Chinese government unless I have no other options.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Ok, I take back what I said about road noise. VERY quiet at 60-70 MPH now that they've got 2000 miles or so on em. Huge, huge, huge difference from before.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

obermd said:


> More snow. The OEM Goodyear FuelMax Assurance are slightly better than the Perelli Cinturato P7s in the snow. The Goodyears handle ruts better.


So now that my Perelli's down to about 3/32" I'm looking for new tires. I'm probably going to go back to the OEM Goodyear FuelMax Assurance.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

obermd said:


> So now that my Perelli's down to about 3/32" I'm looking for new tires. I'm probably going to go back to the OEM Goodyear FuelMax Assurance.


How many miles did you get out of them?


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

One thing I've noticed with the P7s is they are starting to get squirrelly on the road. They're still around 3/32 but the steering isn't nearly as crisp. They're also starting to howl which makes me wonder if I'm hitting a wear bar on one of the tires.


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## jsusanka (Jan 31, 2011)

obermd said:


> One thing I've noticed with the P7s is they are starting to get squirrelly on the road. They're still around 3/32 but the steering isn't nearly as crisp. They're also starting to howl which makes me wonder if I'm hitting a wear bar on one of the tires.


Noticed the original firestones I still have on and are getting thin are getting a lot louder. Will be replacing them next week. Ordered some pirelli's p4's four season + with a 90,000 miles warranty. 

Too bad a chinese company bought them.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

I took my car in to Ed Bozarth with a noise that sounds very much like a bad wheel bearing. The tech was able to hear the noise while driving my car but unable to duplicate it on the lift while listening with a stethoscope to the wheels and transmission. Looks like these tires have cupped, which would also explain why the sound goes away as I pass 60 MPH.


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