Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Wheels & Tires All Seasons - Pirelli & Continental

I'm looking into some nice all-season tires and have narrowed down my selection to two:

Continental ContiExtremeContact
Pirelli Pzero Nero M&S

From what info I've been able to unearth, I get the feeling that the Pirelli's are better summer performers than the Continentals, but are not so good in the snow. Conversely, the Conti's seem competent in both environments, but offer less summer action than the Pirellis.

Unfortunatly, I live in Cleveland and have to deal with a good bit of snow. That said, has anyone had any personal experiences with the Pirellis? Anyone know if my brief summary is close?

Final note - Winter tires are not an option.

Thanks for the input!

Go with the Contis.

The difference between two "performance" all-seasons in summer is going to be neglible.

The contis hold their own when pushed, not as good as a performance tire, but I can't complain.

Also, I think the contis are cheaper.

P-Zero Nero is a better tire but its also $30 more per tire.

I went with Conti Extremes, no snow here but the tread rating was desirable and the price was right. Reading the Tire-Racks ratings said these were rated right behind the Nero's as the 2nd best tire in the group of 20 listed as All-Season high performance.

Been on my car for 13-months and they wear well and handle pretty damn good too.

You may have already considered these, but I was looking at the same types of tires and ended up going with the Sumitomo HTR+. Their reviews and ratings on Tire Rack were pretty good, and the price was unbeatable. I bought mine from Tire Rack for $68 shipped, plus another $60 to have them installed. I haven't had them in the snow yet (thank God!), but on dry and wet I've been really impressed. Just my two pennies...

I asked Luke@Tirerack about both of these tires. He said I would be VERY disappointed with the handling performance of the ContiExtremes. He would not recommend those for an SVT; it was my impression from his comments that they have too soft a sidewall for any kind of spirited driving. The PZero Nero M+S, according to Luke, was a very good performer for an all-season tire; perhaps the best for the twisties. Though he also stated it would probably not be the tire you would want to drive regularly in snow.

Luke offered another option, the Yokohama Avid H4S. It was cheaper than the Pirelli, had a better treadwear rating, would be better in snow, and offers much more handling performance than the ContiExtremes. The Avid H4S is the tire I purchased about 15k ago so I am slightly biased. They have been great tires but I cannot as of yet speak to their winter performance.

Call Luke at TireRack, ext 362; he's always very helpful and might even offer you an option you hadn't been considering.

The "P" for Pirelli also goes with the "P" for POOP

The contis do fine handling wise as far as all seasons go. Not as good as the pirellis, but they're cheaper and better in snow. Really no all-season is gonna give you great handling. If it were me, I'd get two sets of wheels, one with performance tires, other with winter tires. If that can't be done, then I would just get whatever all-season has the best mix of treadwear rating, price, and snow capability. I wouldn't even bring handling into the equation.

Not sure if I have done it right but the thread below includes a fair amount of discussion of these type of tires. I have the Pirellis and am very happy with them, posted my review on the thread. That was early last winter and we never did get more than maybe two inches at once here last year, so I still can't comment on their performance in real snow like you get in Cleveland.

I might be a little concerned about them in your area, here snow is not such a concern.

hope the link works, I have never tried that. Probably jacked it up. You can search for it if I did. I have noticed that I said mine were 18's in the thread. They are 17's, I just wasn't paying attention when i typed i guess.

good luck

tire review