Tyres
#1
11-28-2018, 03:26 AM
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Devon
Age: 76
Posts: 38
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Tyres
My 2008 GT had its 10 year service yesterday .
The car has covered just over 23,000 miles.
The technician who carried out the work pointed out that the front tyres appeared to be the originals , and that due to age the side walls were beginning to crack. Whilst not dangerous at this stage he advised that I should consider replacing them.
The tyres on the car are Pirelli P Zeros.
I confess to never having been a great fan of Pirelli tyres insofar as I find that when partly worn they generate a lot of road noise and do not perform very well on wet roads .
On other high end cars I have been lucky enough to own , 3 Porsches/Lamborghini/Audi R8's , I have always fitted Michelin Pilot Sports which in my view are far superior to Pirellis.
My concern is that Michelin do not specifically recommend their tyres for the Continental GT which raises the issue of the weight of the car .
Has anyone fitted Michelins to their GT and if so how did they perform ?
The car has covered just over 23,000 miles.
The technician who carried out the work pointed out that the front tyres appeared to be the originals , and that due to age the side walls were beginning to crack. Whilst not dangerous at this stage he advised that I should consider replacing them.
The tyres on the car are Pirelli P Zeros.
I confess to never having been a great fan of Pirelli tyres insofar as I find that when partly worn they generate a lot of road noise and do not perform very well on wet roads .
On other high end cars I have been lucky enough to own , 3 Porsches/Lamborghini/Audi R8's , I have always fitted Michelin Pilot Sports which in my view are far superior to Pirellis.
My concern is that Michelin do not specifically recommend their tyres for the Continental GT which raises the issue of the weight of the car .
Has anyone fitted Michelins to their GT and if so how did they perform ?
#2
11-28-2018, 03:59 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: switzerland
Age: 61
Posts: 414
Rep Power: 53 
I,d be interested to hear if anyone is on any other than P zeros too .Reason I put winters on ,the Dunlop wintersports as recommended in the hand book .
I,am on original 19 s Mulliners and twice a year the local tyre filtered swop over the P zeros ( B rated proper ones btw ) for my winters .
I used the same wheels because of the active TPMS , just swop tyres .
The ride on the Dunlop’s is softer , less harsh and quieter .The block pattern on the winters does visually seem more aggressive as well as the sipes compared to the P zeros .
Obviously this is not a like for like comparison as the rubber compound is different .The winters a softer compound that keeps its grip in freezing and sub 8 degrees better .
The summers P zeros a harder that has more headroom on a hot sticky tarmac in the middle of a blazing summer hard charging ( generating lateral forces + heat ) in the corners .
Also theres an an issue with the speed rating the winters if I remember are NOT rated over say 160 mph .
That why I got the Bentley hand book suggested tyre - in case of an insurance row .
I am sure the Pilot sports will be rated to 200 mph or what ever cos they are used in Ferrari world .
But all the same ck with the insurance Co if you plan to move away from the book .
Having said that if those age cracks have been written down and recorded ( service guys ) then you are potentially opening yourself up to an insurance row as well .
In the Ferrari world same problem = age cracking issues particularly with classic sub 1000 mile / annum cars .
The blocks harden off .
using your fingers attempt to squeeze a pair of blocks on your 10 y old tyres , I bet they are rock hard .
Indeed the whole carcass will be hard ,hence the apparent “ hard ride “
Yep I know chucking tyres with sound tread is heartbreaking, but it’s safer .
10 y you had your money’s worth ,
Here in Switzerland We poly bag our tyres ( the ones not on ) in an attempt to create a better atmosphere so decrase the rate of leaching , slow down the hardening process to extend the life ,
I,am in the process of a winter wheel refurb on a Ferrari and will be putting new tyres on even though they are hardly worn as they are rock hard and like yours starting to crack between the outer blocks .
A blowout for me has severe consequences due to the local geography
Last edited by John Fiammetta; 11-28-2018 at 04:04 AM.
#3
11-28-2018, 05:25 AM
There is much written on ten year old tires. 10 years old is considered getting dangerous because of deterioration and nothing to do with the tread wear left on the tire. When I purchased my 2005 a year ago (38K miles), 2 of the tires were dated 2005 and about 60% tread wear left, 2 were dated 2012. That was the first replacement I made the week I purchased the car - all four new Pirelli P Zero Rossos. The tires I replaced were also Rossos.
When I researched tires, the tire stores only recommended 2 tires for the GT - P-Zeros and the slightly more expensive Rossos. No other tire brand or choices were recommended, although I could have found the same size, even weight and speed rating in other brands. I am about ready to experiment though. I just purchased a set of satin black wheels (to finish out my exterior look project in another thread), and I am going to seriously explore a set of tires other than P-Zeros. This set will be used on my car more for show than go. I will match the speed and weight ratings, but hopefully something a little less costly than the Rossos. I'll follow up with what I choose.
When I researched tires, the tire stores only recommended 2 tires for the GT - P-Zeros and the slightly more expensive Rossos. No other tire brand or choices were recommended, although I could have found the same size, even weight and speed rating in other brands. I am about ready to experiment though. I just purchased a set of satin black wheels (to finish out my exterior look project in another thread), and I am going to seriously explore a set of tires other than P-Zeros. This set will be used on my car more for show than go. I will match the speed and weight ratings, but hopefully something a little less costly than the Rossos. I'll follow up with what I choose.
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