I recently switched from 225/45/16 Pirelli PZero Assimetricos to 215/45/16 Falken Azenis. I though some people may be interested in a comparison of the two. Unfortunately, PZeros do not come in a 15" size that will fit on an R, so this will only be of interest to people with 16"+ wheels.

Price The 225/45/16 PZeros are $136 each. 215/45/16 Azenis are about $100 each.

Weight They are both heavy tyres - 23 lbs each in the above sizes. Both have very stiff sidewalls.

Noise Both tyres are fairly quite at highway speeds. The noise levels of both tyres are about the same, and both are quieter than the stock RE010s.

Wear I got 10k miles out of the PZeros, slightly more than the 7k miles that I got out of the RE010s. I suspect that the Azenis will not last long either.

Feel Steering repsponse is much sloppier with the Azenis and turn-in feel is significantly diminished. PZeros have wonderful road feel with great turn in. The Azenis are terrible in this regard.

Dry Grip In normal daily driving, these tyres seem to offer identical levels of dry grip. However, on energetic canyon runs, the Azenis may have a slight edge in ultimate grip. However, I am not 100% sure of this claim. One would have to run back-to-back lap time comparisons on a track to be sure - they are that close.

Wet Grip The PZeros are amazing in the rain with incredible levels of grip. I have no wet experience witht the Azenis (has not rained for months here) but I would guess that they are terrible.

Overall As a street tyre, the PZeros are significantly better than the Azenis. They have better road feel and turn in and can be used without drama in the rain. While the Azenis may have slightly better dry grip, one would have to be going at over 2x the posted limit on an off-ramp to actually feel this difference. The $140 or so higher cost for a set of PZeros is easily justified. I can see why these tyres are OEM on many $100k+ cars.

A track comparison of these tyres would be interesting. My guess is that the Azenis would have an edge in the dry. Because of their tread block design, they may also be more resistant to chunking.

BTW, don't confuse the Assimetricos with the new PZero Rossos. The newer tyres have supposedly better wet grip, but, according to the manufacturer, the Assimetricos are superior in the dry.



[Modified by norice, 11:17 AM 8/15/2002]

 

...thx for the impressions. I was considering getting a set of Azenis next time around, but I'll guess I'll stick with Assimetricos. I love them so much I am on my second set (getting ready to buy a 3rd).

BTW, have you ever had flat spot problems with the PZeros? It will seem like your wheels aren't balanced even thougth they are. And the problem is there sometimes but not others. It's worse in the morning after the car sits all night. I used to think it was all in my head until I read the "reviews" of the PZero *** on Tire Racks website, and quite a few people were complaining about the flatspotting. Pirelli has even replaced some of the sets for the owners that really bitched up a storm.

Anyways, my first set had zero issues. This wierd balance vibration that comes and goes has only been with the second set. Wierd...

- Slater

 

So the Pzeros are worth almost 150 bucks more?

 

Isn't it suppose to be the other way around???

Nice review

What's the differenece between the Direzionale and Asimmetrico???

 

> BTW, have you ever had flat spot problems with the PZeros?

No problems at all with flat spotting (and I have left my car unused for two 1-month-long periods).

> So the Pzeros are worth almost 150 bucks more?

If you don't see rain, perhaps not. If you do, I think they are worth it. Turn-in and steering feel of the PZeros is nice too. The PZeros may also be longer wearing, though I don't know this for sure.

>What's the differenece between the Direzionale and Asimmetrico???

The Directionales are supposedly most suited to mid or rear engined cars.


[Modified by norice, 11:13 AM 8/15/2002]

 

can you explain the tread wear. is lower better?

 

What about the Bridgestone S03? According to Tirerack user survey, they are better than Pirelli. Any thoughts?

 

good review.

I have been thinking about getting 16x7 wheels and think i might use the Pirelli PZero on them... that is when i buy them

 

Considered S03s when I was switching but could not find any data other than the Tirerack surveys, which I really don't give much weight to.

Have noticed over the past few years that nearly every $100k+ high performance car comes with PZeros though, for what that it worth. The 911 Turbos and Ferrari 360 Modena come to mind

 

no the higher the better 540 is really good

 

i would imagine the tires above are < 200 tread wear.

 

Some how, it don't add up to say a narrower tire isn't as good as a wider one though...


Zeus who has yet to try the P Zeros...

 

Question for norice:

Do you think the sloppy feel will improve after they've worn a bit?

Miscellaneous observations for other people:

Remember that Azenis tires are overly wide for their rated size -- I wouldn't be surprised if the 215 is the same width as the PZero 225.

I've read that the PZero Assimmetrico should be used for FWD, and the Directionale should be used on the rear tires of RWD (this may not be exactly right, but I'm pretty sure FF cars are supposed to use only the Assimmetrico all around). Some place I read further explained that this had to do with controlling water with the A-front D-rear combo -- something about the narrower fronts clearing a path for the wider rears. [Don't quote me on this -- if you really want to know, go read Pirelli, Tire Rack, and possibly that SCC tire guide.]

Remember that treadwear ratings can only be compared within the same brand, because they reference a "standard" tire, and each manufacturer can use a different one.

 

Yes, the initial sloppy feel of the Azenis does go away after they've been broken in.

 

It depeds on what you are looking for. If you want performance, the lower the number the better... i.e. stock tires on the R are 140 treadwear, I think. Higher treadwear equals higher milage, in most cases. And the lower the treadwear, the softer the tire. R compound tires have very low treadwear, I've seen them at 60 before.

 

i think it's the other way around... the direzionales should go on the front to clear the way for the assymetricos on the rear for rear wheel drive vehicles. i had this setup a long time ago on my e36 m3. either that, or i was tricked...

 

yep

 

That makes more sense, actually -- presumably the idea is to pump more water from the front by replacing it with a different tire.

 

Yeah, but treadwear measures treadwear, not grip. It's not wise to infer too much from that. You could certainly make a crappy tire with poor grip *and* poor treadwear, and you can certainly make a good tire with good grip *and* good treadwear. So, particularly when you're comparing, say, a premium Pirelli with a budget Falken, you'll probably not want to read too much into their relative treadwear numbers.


[Modified by 98R-1003 US, 1:38 AM 8/16/2002]

 

Very much so...

 

A bunch of people on here are proving otherwise...as long as alignment is good and you rotate tires regularly.
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=253740
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=241859

Why would you guess this? I've driven my (205/50/15) Azenis in a freakin' monsoon and they gripped VERY well on wet surfaces. Granted, I wasn't driving like a maniac, but I did push them harder than I'd normally drive in the rain. When the puddles came they were awful, but I'm talking big-*** mississippi river-puddles; the kind I've only seen twice in the past 4 years. I'm willing to drive 25mph on the highway with everyone else on the rare occasion this happens

 

I have actually compared the two side-to-side - they are almost identical in width. As other people have mentioned, the 215 Azenis are closer to 225.

As for the sloppy steering feel going away - yes it gets better. However, these tyres do not have the turn-in of PZeros or the RE010s. It is almost like there is a short delay between turning the wheel and the car responding. After 2k miles this has not gone away. It is really not nice, particularly on a Type-R which has instant responses for almost everything.

I should note that I have my power steering belt removed, which will amplify the difference. With power steering, the less precise feel of the Azenis may not be as evident.

For a $50 tyre (in 15" size) these are amazing value - at $100 for 16" tyres, these are not the best thing since sliced bread.


[Modified by norice, 10:30 AM 8/16/2002]

 

How many miles were the Azenis broken in. Everyone has told me 500mile break in time and they feel amazing after that. Did you heat cycle them? Were the Pirelli's heat cycled?
Thanks.
Jimmy

 

Pirellis were not heat cycled (bought them used with 2k on them with a set of MF-10s).

I did a poor man's heat cycle with the Azenis - immediately after mounting I drove 80 miles on the highway and then let the car sit for 10 hours or so. Tyres now have 2k miles.

 

nuff said.