=5th Pirelli P Zero
IF you’re haunted by that moment when the motorway traffic in front of you concertinas and brake lights flare, then the P Zero is the tyre to be on, as it nailed our wet and dry braking tests.
While Michelin came closest across the two surfaces, the Pirelli had the edge. Continental was 30cm off in the wet, but needed a metre more to stop in the dry. A great performance, although as we’ve seen before, the test winner needs to get good results across all the disciplines.
And the P Zero was close with a fourth in dry handling, where it felt quick and was just a tenth or two off the winning Michelin. It felt good, too, without the softness of some rivals and strong grip on the throttle through the long turns.
It felt even better in the wet, with sharp turn-in grip lasting longer than most competitors’. The high front grip allows you to stay on the throttle longer and get back on it earlier. Despite this, there was no rear movement. It’s no surprise that this was backed up by a close third place in the wet circle.
But from here the results drop off, particularly in the deeper water of the aquaplaning tests where the main factor in grip switches from compound to the tread pattern. Here the P Zero struggled.
Perhaps a bigger concern is the rolling resistance result, which was not just a long way off the brilliant Bridgestone, but also the chasing pack. Not what we would expect from a relatively new tyre.
LAST time we tested the Pilot Sport 4 it won our 16-inch test. In 2018 the 17-inch version has to settle for a very close joint second. In this size it couldn’t repeat the string of podium finishes, although it was close to the leaders when it did drop out of the top three.
As it’s more of a replacement for the Super Sport than the Sport 3, it was no surprise to see it happiest in the dry. It was quickest around the new handling track, revelling in the fast changes of direction at the end of the lap. It might not feel as sharp as the Continental, but it’s close and a step above most rivals.
The Michelin gave confidence-inspiring grip through the fast sweeps and the tighter turns; something few of its rivals could. It backed that dry performance in braking, where it was third and less than a metre behind the winner.
In the wet it was less assured, with grip dropping away as lock increased after good initial turn-in. A little under two seconds separated the Pilot Sport 4 from the winning Continental, but it was in the thick of the five-way midfield battle that was covered by two tenths of a second.
Braking saw an improvement; it was just 30cm behind the winner. As we saw last time, it isn’t the quietest tyre and was well down the list. Fuel economy is no longer a Michelin priority as indicated by its C label rating and its result here.