F12 Tyres - Michelin or Pirelli

I've always had Pirelli's so i can't comment fairly on the difference. But i will say that i absolutely love my Pirelli's and I'm putting a fresh set on the car today.

 

I prefer Michelin...you can request them but no guarantee you will get them over pirelli. It depends on supply at the time of build

 

Michelin hands-down. I've had both on both my F12 and FF's - I've even now switched to Alpin for winter as opposed to Sottozero's

 

Michelin Pilot Supersport K2 on the F12. You can request and they will attempt to honor the request.

PS- I just don't like how the Pirelli PZero feel, but I've had other Pirelli tires, most specifically their SottoZero snow tires for my daily car which I think are excellent. So some of this is just personal preference. Beyond the subjective, I believe Michelin is more consistent in the manufacture of their tires than Pirelli. Over the years I've had about 10 Pirelli tires replaced due to manufacturing defects. I did once have a bad set of Pilot Sport 2 tires which Michelin replaced for me- so thats 10-4...(good buddy?! lol)

 

Race drivers say: if you can have Michelin - go for them

If your right foot is not so sensitive put the manettino to wet and tires wont matter.

 

Michelin is definitely more preferable.

 

Michelin Pilot Super Sports that's the way to go.

 

I had Michelin Pilot Sports on both my 458 and now on my F12. They are really excellent. You have made the best choice.

 

any suggestions on Winter tires for the F12 .. experiences?

 

Tyre choice is limited to say the least.

But you could get a set of 458 rims and mount narrower tyres. The Pirelli SottoZero Serie 2 is available in 245/35R20 and 275/40R20. Diameter will be close to OE and it's not a bad idea to run narrower tyres in the winter if you really want to do some snow cruising in the F12.

 

Is anyone running winter tires? If so what works for u? Would love to hear user experiences..
thanks in advance to all of the winter warriors

 

not sure how to push the right buttons with Ferrari on tyre choice but I sure tried to specify the Michelins.. spoke to my dealer numerous times about the choice and the F12 came in with Pirelli's... trying to wear them out soon !!

 

When you put your order in there is a spot for the dealer to state the client requests Michelin (or Pirelli). You may still not get your preference if they do not have the tires on hand when they build your car.

 

My experience on my California's and FF's is Pirelli stick better when not heated up but don't last as long. If you own a Ferrari that shouldn't matter to you! The Michelin's when cold are VERY slippery and take a few miles to warm up, then they stick OK. That's summer tires. Winters I've only used Pirelli SotoZero's and they are wonderful on both cars, I assume the same with a F12. They really stick even on ice and snow although they don't stick nearly as well as summer tires on a hot day, the tread design is obviously not as good on dry roads. Given that the only other problem is you are limited to 149 mph with the snows, both my Cali T and FF have that warning sticker in the driver's door. Does the F12 have the same sticker?

 

Thats interesting Rick about the tires. Its basically the opposite experience I have with Michelin and Pirelli tires. I find Pirelli always feel harder and exhibit less grip, at all temps, for me they feel like they are running over the road, whereas the Michelin feel like they are gripping into the road.... I have to say my dislike of P Zeros does not carry over to SottoZeros, which I think are wonderful winter performance tires (and I also like the Michelin Pilot Alpins). I will check about the driver door sticker for winter tires- I don't recall seeing it, but I can go and have a look and report back.

 

I was getting on an expressway with my 2012 Cali when new which I failed to specify tires and it came with Michelins. I was not pushing at all and the backend came flying out on me, scared the crap out of me and I'd put 30,000+ miles on my '10 Cali with nothing like that ever happening. I probably should have gone over that piece of road again to see if someone dumped a pile of sand or whatever on that spot but didn't. A week later I scrapped the Michelins for PZero's and was happy after that. My FF has Michelin summers but have not had the trouble I had in the Cali. My T has PZero's too but is wearing brand new SottoZeros today.

 

I'm thinking your tires must have been cold. The difference between mpss and p zero is massively obvious in favour of mpss.

 

I remember your horrific story. I'm glad the worst that happened was a scare. My experience is just the opposite. Every time I've had a car with Pirelli tires, at least one was out of round. On my FF all 4 brand new P Zeros were over 40lbs road force, 1 was over 100lbs an one was something around 80. Brand new tires... So for anyone reading this, you'll see experiences will vary.

Anyway, the sticker is present on my 2017 F12berlinetta, it states: "Warning! The maximum speed with winter tyres is: 240 km/h (149mph)"

 

Depends really. The MPSS is the equivalent of the P Zero Corsa which is even stickier. Anyway, there is a new P Zero that has just been launched and everybody says that it is very impressive indeed.

 

Same here. We run our 458 on MPSS and they perform better than the Pirellis I've tried on other 458's in any conditions - same goes for the drives in other MPSS equipped F cars.

Rick, I still don't understand the claim from you that your Cali from '12 behaved badly on factory installed MPSS tyres. I've asked you this before as I simply don't understand how you could have MPSS tyres on your Cali from '12. AfaIk the Cali was never supplied with MPSS, but rather the much older Michelin Pilot Sport PS2, and if not those, either the Bridgestones or Pirellis.

Why I'm so keen about this difference is because I think those two Michelin tyres are a world apart. I used to run MPS2 on our Audi S6 Avant as my DD and I think they were great back then for what they were. But the difference between the MPS2 and the MPSS is massive imo, and so is the difference between the MPSS and the PZero. This not only on our 458, but also on my DD 991 and my wifes car. Cold or hot, wet or dry, noise and comfort, I can't find one place where I see that the Pirelli is better than the Michelin Pilot Supersport. Better than the MPS2? Yes. Better than the MPSS? I can't see where.

Please don't take this as a personal thing. I'm just trying to figure out what's what. We all have different opinions and perceptions, and that's how it is with tyres.

 

149mph max speed for winter tires...I can't imagine going anywhere over 100mph if the weather's condition dictates having on winter tires.