Pirelli's poor consistancy a reflection of their road tires?

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mcdenife
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Re: Pirelli's poor consistancy a reflection of their road ti

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I 'd say the very vast majority of people (at least in western countries)do not look at the published tyre test data when buying tyre. So bhallg2k is right, for most people the tyres on their cars are of no consequence (unless you race). I have 2 cars and cant tell you what brand of tyres are on them even though I bought them myself and just as further proof I have just emailed a straw poll or questionaire around my company to find out how many people can tell what brand of tyre is on their car without looking. And the answer........not one. (btw the company has 1000s of employees across europe).
Long experience has taught me this about the status of mankind with regards to matters requiring thought. The less people know and understand about them, the more positively they attempt to argue concerning them; while on the other hand, to know and understand a multitude of things renders men cautious in passing judgement upon anything new. - Galileo..

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Re: Pirelli's poor consistancy a reflection of their road ti

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Slightly related..

I race motorcycles and the tyre to use is the Pirelli Supercorsa Diablo.

I would say that something like 80% of (UK club) riders use this tyre for their bike. A few use michelin, some use bridgestone and there are a couple of dunlops out there. The majority are on Pirellis

I used to be a Bridgestone man (still have them on my road bike and track bike) but once I found the Pirellis there was not really much to go against.

Pirelli supply the world superbike/superstock/ 600 stock grid with awesome tyres.

In my experience - Pirelli make superb tyres. they are certainly not a second rate supplier.

Anyways...before bridgestone had an easy run in F1, we all knew goodyear was the tyre to have eh??
IMPERATOR REX ANGLORUM

Just_a_fan
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Re: Pirelli's poor consistancy a reflection of their road ti

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mcdenife wrote:I 'd say the very vast majority of people (at least in western countries)do not look at the published tyre test data when buying tyre. So bhallg2k is right, for most people the tyres on their cars are of no consequence (unless you race). I have 2 cars and cant tell you what brand of tyres are on them even though I bought them myself and just as further proof I have just emailed a straw poll or questionaire around my company to find out how many people can tell what brand of tyre is on their car without looking. And the answer........not one. (btw the company has 1000s of employees across europe).
It doesn't surprise me at all. I guess it's an example of why so many tyre places are so bad - the people handing over money don't give a stuff.

Is there any other saftey-related item that people buy without thinking about it?

It's amazing that people will spend tens of thousands of £/$ on a car and then save a few pounds on the tyres.

As my Mum says - "now't so queer as folk"
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747heavy
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Re: Pirelli's poor consistancy a reflection of their road ti

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Just_a_fan wrote: Is there any other saftey-related item that people buy without thinking about it?
IMHO - replacement brake disc´s/pad and shockabsorbers/dampers

I would agree with the posters on her who say, that F1 tire technology and road tire technology is not direct relatet.
There ae some very good/decent road car tires out there, from companies who don´t engage in any kind of motorsport´s. It´s horses for coures - IMHO

I do think, that their is some crossover effect in terms of technology between the two, and that there is something to be learned for the companies involved, but motorsport is still mainly a marketing excercise for the tire companies (OEM) involved.

There are probably some (relative) small companies such as Avon and Hoosier etc. who do racing tires for a living, but the majory of the OEM´s will make their money elsewhere.

Apart from the marketing value/exposure, securing Tier 1 supply deals with the automobile industry, is one of the motivations for their (tire companies) engagement in motorsports, similar to what oil companies do.

If you listened to the comments of drivers, engineers and team managers after the last WRC round. Most praised the durability of the Pirelli tires from last year, compared to this years Michelins, in terms of punctures.
Autosport wrote: "I think there will be an issue with punctures this year," said Black. "The sidewalls on the gravel tyre are not as strong as the Pirellis were last year and that's generally where you get punctures. We were also disappointed to get punctures coming through the tread of the tyre in testing."


A Michelin spokesman said the firm had completed two seasons' worth of mileage without a significant number of failures.

"We are not worried," he said. "We know our tyres, we know what development has gone into them and we are sure of their performance.

"On the other hand, this is our return to rally after five years, so we have to learn and we are very humble as we look to improve. Yes, we are good at producing tyres, but we are not God."

full article here: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/89534
So as you see, it takes time, even for the best, to adapt to a new challenge.
Let´s give Pirelli some credit, and see what they come up with for this season.
Rome was not build in a day, and you have to start somewhere.

So far, it looks like that these tires are a "different animal" to what was out there for the last couple of years.
It will take the drivers and engineers some time, to get their head around them. It´s part of the challenge of (F1) racing - IMHO.
Let´s see who can get it "right" faster then the next guy.
It could make for an interesting season, some like it, others not.
I for one, don´t mind the additional dimension, and some room for "out of the box" strategies. I´m sure the best team(s) and diver(s) will still win in the end, but perhaps, the best is not the fastest when measured in "raw speed".
Looks like you need "brain & balls" with these tires and not just the later.
A safety car at the "wrong" time, can f... u.. the best laid plans, when you have no tires left at the restart.
Let´s see how it turns out.

and finally just a statistic for the interested:
you read from it what you like, I guess JT still likes this statistic :wink:

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mcdenife
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Re: Pirelli's poor consistancy a reflection of their road ti

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Just_a_fan wrote:Is there any other saftey-related item that people buy without thinking about it?
Its not bought without though, its about practicality, and use. The vast majority of people certainly dont buy tyres for performance reasons and depending on test parameters/data or how you define "safe" you would be hard pushed to show that a road bridgestone tyre is more or less safe than a pirelli, michelin, continental, dunlop, goodyear etc...take your pick. Especially when the data mostly available say things like %wet grip or %dry grip etc and even so you would have to be queer indeed to want to peruse reams and reams of data for the different types of tyres of different specs from different manufacturers (not that I ve seen ever seen any info in their product docs on "braking performance") just to reduce your braking distance by 0.5μm wet and 0.05μm dry. No thanks, I go with what the manufacturer recommend regarding specification and what the garage recommnends depending price, durability, guarantee.
Long experience has taught me this about the status of mankind with regards to matters requiring thought. The less people know and understand about them, the more positively they attempt to argue concerning them; while on the other hand, to know and understand a multitude of things renders men cautious in passing judgement upon anything new. - Galileo..

The noblest of dogs is the hot dog. It feeds the hand that bites it.

Just_a_fan
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Re: Pirelli's poor consistancy a reflection of their road ti

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747heavy wrote:
Just_a_fan wrote: Is there any other saftey-related item that people buy without thinking about it?
IMHO - replacement brake disc´s/pad and shockabsorbers/dampers
Ah yes. True enough.
There are probably some (relative) small companies such as Avon and Hoosier etc. who do racing tires for a living, but the majory of the OEM´s will make their money elsewhere.
Avon make road car tyres too but no idea of the relative % of race / road tyres.
"Yes, we are good at producing tyres, but we are not God."
from the French this is positively humble! :wink: :lol:
So as you see, it takes time, even for the best, to adapt to a new challenge. Let´s give Pirelli some credit, and see what they come up with for this season. Rome was not build in a day, and you have to start somewhere.
Hear hear. The proof will be whether we all look back at the season and say "wow, great season" or "wow, the season was ruined by Pirelli". So long as there is plenty of to-and-fro in the racing over the season we won't care too much. If tyres determine a result it will be as much down to the car and driver's ability to use those tyres as it will be the tyres' fault. Indeed, with a single supplier, the tyre can't really be seen as at fault if a certain car fails to succeed.
If you are more fortunate than others, build a larger table not a taller fence.

Just_a_fan
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Re: Pirelli's poor consistancy a reflection of their road ti

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mcdenife wrote:Its not bought without though, its about practicality, and use.
If someone just says to the garage "put me two new tyres on" then that's "bought without thought" in my book.
The vast majority of people certainly dont buy tyres for performance reasons and depending on test parameters/data or how you define "safe" you would be hard pushed to show that a road bridgestone tyre is more or less safe than a pirelli, michelin, continental, dunlop, goodyear etc...take your pick.
"Safe" is difficult to define. My take on it is how well they brake in both wet and dry conditions. Very few people use close to the lateral grip limit of their tyres but they will almost certainly have to "slam on the anchors" at some point.
Especially when the data mostly available say things like %wet grip or %dry grip etc and even so you would have to be queer indeed to want to peruse reams and reams of data for the different types of tyres of different specs from different manufacturers (not that I ve seen ever seen any info in their product docs on "braking performance") just to reduce your braking distance by 0.5μm wet and 0.05μm dry.
There are a number of magazine tests done that report performance in terms of "distance to stop in metres" from given speeds in wet and dry conditions. These are then easy to compare. It's eye-opening how badly some of the cheap stuff does in these comparisons.
No thanks, I go with what the manufacturer recommend regarding specification and what the garage recommnends depending price, durability, guarantee.
Taking the car manufacturer's recommendations is fine because that's what the car is effectively homologated on. As for garages, I've yet to find one who know any more about it than a well-read punter does. Durability tends to be inversely proportional to ultimate grip so if you want a long life tyre you'll be sacrificing some performance elsewhere.

And what guarantee are you referring to?
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strad
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Re: Pirelli's poor consistancy a reflection of their road ti

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I have not found a tire that works better all round on my SVT Cobra than the Pirelli PZero Nero.

mcdenife wrote:
No thanks, I go with what the manufacturer recommend regarding specification and what the garage recommnends depending price, durability, guarantee
You're kidding right? You Gotta Be Kidding!
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Re: Pirelli's poor consistancy a reflection of their road ti

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FWIW: I have sold about 1,000 cars in the past 5 years. About 5-10 people have inquired about the brand; only 1 or 2 requested a particular brand (they demanded Michelin and ANYTHING except Firestone).

As co-owner of an auto repair shop (LONG ago), I found people wanted #1 CHEAP, #2 brand name OR the mechanic's recommended brand.

I run Nitto NeoGens (Michelin Pilots on my wife's car), IBC Green pads, Tein coilovers; had good luck with Pirellis; bad luck with Dunlops.
Enzo Ferrari was a great man. But he was not a good man. -- Phil Hill

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Ciro Pabón
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Re: Pirelli's poor consistancy a reflection of their road ti

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Oh, for the love of Pete. So, now the subject is tyre quality in general and I'm nagged because I left the slide rule in the dealer door... :)

If you're so worried about ABS and the such, Mr. Engineering Prudence Impersonated (most of the posts here have been written by him, using sock puppets, I know him well), then tell me what's worst: to have a "Super Pirelli Louis Vouitton Cat Grip Terminator Nikihura Road III" in your car with half an inch of thread or a "Cheapo-China-Brand-With-60000-km-Guarantee-Sold-By-A-Good-Nice-Dealer-You-Have-Known-For-Ages-So-He-Will-Have-To-Stand-Behind-The-Guarantee-So-He-Will-Do-The-Math-On-Quality-For-You" and two inches of thread.

So, for guys like me, with a limited budget and three kids, is better to change tyres faster. As grippier tyres by necessity wear faster (ehem) then, Mr. Prudence, what's your saying? It is safer for regular persons like me to buy expensive tyres that wear faster or change tyres more frequently? Now, racing tyres in regular cars are for guys that race on roads, something I prefer not to do either.

As for the racing tyres, people, in the name of Gottlieb Daimler hat... I have to confess I also DO NOT have enough money to buy the best racing tyres. I use karts for fun, the day I agonize over the brand of my tyres, that'll be the day... Besides, you have to give some advantage to rich rookies for victory to taste better.
Ciro

mcdenife
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Re: Pirelli's poor consistancy a reflection of their road ti

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strad wrote:I have not found a tire that works better all round on my SVT Cobra than the Pirelli PZero Nero.

mcdenife wrote:
No thanks, I go with what the manufacturer recommend regarding specification and what the garage recommnends depending price, durability, guarantee
You're kidding right? You Gotta Be Kidding!
Kidding about what? That I am not anal about choosing road tyres for my car?
Long experience has taught me this about the status of mankind with regards to matters requiring thought. The less people know and understand about them, the more positively they attempt to argue concerning them; while on the other hand, to know and understand a multitude of things renders men cautious in passing judgement upon anything new. - Galileo..

The noblest of dogs is the hot dog. It feeds the hand that bites it.

Agenda_Is_Incorrect
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Re: Pirelli's poor consistancy a reflection of their road ti

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Don't know if you are referring to me as a sock puppet of someone or the contrary Ciro, but I'm not. At least not me.

And I'll tell you something, some of those cheaper tires around where we live are actually worse than a worn good tire even when new. Rethreads for instance commonly tear apart at highway speeds and I have never seen a dealer standing by them to the point to pay the repairs on your car. Heck, most sellers will tell you anything on their store is good and you'll rely them to the day something goes wrong. And I don't think anyone here was saying you need to have the most expensive road tires you can have, but putting a little more money on a good tire from a reliable brand is worth it.

Reliable doesn't mean racing-pedigree brands only as well and I'm sure that if you can afford to defeat the rich rookies in the kart and brag about it then you can buy a good road tire. And it will make a difference, pressure adjusted or not. Actually, for the same money many times you can get a way better tire. The F700 and the G3 I used as examples usually cost about the same where I live, the second one is hugely superior and will last the same as not necessarily a grippier tire wears faster. Neither of them are racing tires, nor you put racing tires to proper use in the streets. There's plenty of good options with good cost and even low cost and plenty of bad tires for the same price, that's why you just don't put any tire or save 50 bucks on a set of bad ones and say they are all the same.

On topic, Pirelli has loads of low cost good options. The P4 for 14 and 15 inches comes to mind and the P6 for 15 and 16 inches. The old P6000 was awesome for its cost, it lasted over 70k KM and wouldn't blister on a go on the track. And yes, it was a street tire common even in not expensive cars as you might know. The P7 for 16 and 17 inches is a bit expensive and you can get better offers from other makers, at least around here.
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RH1300S
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Re: Pirelli's poor consistancy a reflection of their road ti

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G-Rock wrote:It's been interesting to note that the massive differences in tire degration, grip and overall consistancy may reflect badly on a potential Pirelli's buyers decisions to purchase a road tire. It would for me.
I'd hate to sound rude, but that's a pretty poor way to choose which tyre suits your road car the best. Most buyers are intelligent enough to at least fit the tyres the manufacturer recommends and after that a well known brand of the correct fitment. More sophisticated buyers may have tried different tyres and have learned to have a preference to suit their style. Perhaps if your car is a shopping trolley you will let price be a main driver. But really I doubt that many people will watch a race and decide Pirellis don't work because they only happen to last a few miles.

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Ciro Pabón
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Re: Pirelli's poor consistancy a reflection of their road ti

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Agenda_Is_Incorrect wrote:Don't know if you are referring to me as a sock puppet of someone or the contrary Ciro, but I'm not. At least not me.
That's what you say, Prudence... 8) (sorry, sorry, it's just a joke. Not a very good one, but...).

I still believe that the key to a safe car is a deep tread.

Same "good brand" tyres, different tread depth, TV program, professional drivers, pretty low speeds = embarrassing accident
Image

I copy and paste the legend of that picture:
The Fifth Gear TV program performed a graphic demonstration of the problem by equipping two cars with different tyres. The lead car had 3mm of tread left, the trailing car had 1.6mm. The cars were driven at 50mph at a distance of 3 car lengths apart - not safe, but representative of the real-world. When the lead driver performed an emergency stop, the trailing driver reacted nearly instantly, but despite years of training and an ABS-equipped car, he slammed into the lead vehicle still doing 35mph.
I can tell this again: the difference in how worn your tyres are, influences your car behaviour far more than the brand. Waaaaay more, Prudence. And stop using so many nicks, you're confusing me... now you are posting using RH account.

Actually, I can add this: it is because of huge difference in braking, caused by wear, that the US program of automated highways failed (remember? They were saying back in the 90's that cars will be automated so they will have small gaps between them at cruise speeds, so larger densities, so better roads with less congestion, etc. etc.). When you take in account the differences in grip caused by tread wear, the cars have to be more or less at the safety distance given by this difference, a difference that your brain intuitively recognizes and already respects, so the automated roads project went the way of dinosaurs.

So, I'd say that next time you stop your "safe car" in the wet, with excellent tyres, Louis Vouitton brand, brace for the guy braking behind you with 1 mm depth of tread in a Yugo. You might be not as safe as you think.

It's not only stopping your car, it's also NOT stopping much better than the guy behind you, unless it is me driving that Yugo, an old guy with less reflexes than your grandma and Cheapo China brand on all wheels, but all of them with a good tread depth... and, on a side note on this already out of thread post, I've avoided much more accidents by using the steering wheel than the brakes, because you're not alone in the road.
Last edited by Ciro Pabón on 25 Feb 2011, 15:31, edited 3 times in total.
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JohnsonsEvilTwin
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Re: Pirelli's poor consistancy a reflection of their road ti

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People arent stupid.

I would reflect RHS1300's sentiments on the basis that most people will know Pirelli were asked to make a high wear tyre by the FIA. I'm absolutley certain of Pirelli agreeing to it on the basis the FIA "educated" the fans through commentary and media information.

We are seeing forums etc lighting up across the internet regards the degredation and how it will affect teams. Also we need to look at Pirelli's demographic...Men in their 20's 30's and 40's who like to drive. These are the people actually buying the tyres and they will know more than any other demographic about F1 and its workings.
The correlation between production and F1 tyre is near non existant. Chalk and cheese...

Pirelli are on safe ground if people are told why the tyres are going off. Its an FIA mandate at the end of the day.
More could have been done.
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