Another Tire Post? Yes, but specific to Pirelli Cinturato

Greetings everyone. I am the proud owner of an '81 308gtsi, just purchased from the original owner with just under 30k miles. Excited to join this club!

I have the 16" rims, so know that I will be getting the 205/55/16 and 225/50/16 tires.

I have done all the research that I can (on this site as well as tirerack, and other tire companies) and can see that there are a number of great choices out there- as well as a lot of opinions on what tires are best! (We all have our own personal preferences and name brand biases.) After all this, I am now heavily leaning towards the Pirelli Cinturato P-7 tires. These appear to have a very good rating for performance, quiteness and comfort, (as well as longevity, but that is not a factor for a car that won't see a significant number of miles each year). They also get a good response from owners when asked if they would purchase them again.

So I am checking in with this community to see how many are specifically running this tire and what there short and long term experiences with it have been. Are your experiences as favorable as what I am led to believe? The more detailed your response is the more valuable it will be to me, and all others looking at this tire as a potential replacement. Thanks in advance from Sunny Ventura CA!!
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Wow those are some sticky tires you have there....;-)

 

Sorry I cant comment on the tires, but welcome and congrats - it looks like a beautiful car and color combo!

Ruben

 

I have P7C's on my 328 - they are one of the few tyres we can still buy in the UK that come in both 205/50 & 225/55.

I had Good Year F1 GSD3s on there before (NLA) . The Pirellis are OK -pretty predictable & probably better than the Goodyear's when its cold. For out & out grip I'm not so sure they are better

But this is a 328, not a 488! Overall they are more than fine.

 

Welcome!

 

When I saw your post notification on my phone, Bell Bloke, I was wondering what that was all about. Then pulled up my actual post today and you are right, the old tires are exceptionally sticky!! lol

(Sorry bout that and if I can figure out how to edit the picture I will....)

Just tried another picture. Right side up on my desktop, selected for this post, and then posts upside down. Maybe I'm on the wrong side of the equator!

 

I'm running these on my minivan, in 215/60R-16. It's not a Ferrari by a long shot, but I've been very pleased with them. My 3 previous sets of tires were inferior to this set in wet grip and grip off the line. Heh, heh. I like to peel out in my minivan, and now I can't do that any more.

 

Ha ha sorry Frank, I couldn't resist ;-)

 

I have them installed on my 308 GTB, two months ago: they turn. This is all what i can tell you as the car at the moment is on restore...

But I had them (same sizes) on my '87 Porsche 911 too and they worked very well

ciao

 

I have the All Season version of the P7s on my GTI and they work good. Got cut off recently and had to put my brake pedal on the floor, they grabbed the road and wouldn't let go. I tend to think more about what happens when I put my foot on the brake than on the gas when it comes to tires, and they definitely passed the test.

The regular P7 has a similar tread pattern and was on my short list for the 308. I went with Bridgestones but I think the P7 would have been great as well.

 

I’ve had a set of Pirelli P7 Cinturato on my 328 for two years, done about 5000km. They have performed well and seem to suit the car (side wall flex etc.)

 

I'm not sure about the GTB/S but P7s were optional on the GT/4 and so period correct.

 

THANKS Ruben! I think the same thing and marvel at how blessed I am....

 

Congrats on your 308!

 

Iain. Thanks for the reply. If you had an alternative available to you, would you have opted for another tire? In doing my research, they appeared to be a good combination of comfort and performance while not being a total performance tire. (Based on what I read on this forum and others, I shouldn't necessarily be looking at the best performance tire, like the Michellin Pilot Sports that I have on my P car- but for something a bit less sticky or less modern.)

 

THANKS!

 

Thanks for responding, Julia, and I'm sorry that these tires give you so much grip that you can't spin your tires out of the box. Maybe you'll just need to wait until winter time and the first snow to have fun in!

 

Can't blame you! Cheers....

 

From my extensive reading they are a very good tire. HOWEVER, some say there are quality and balancing issues, so I wet with Bridgestone.

 

Triple D: Did you go for the RE 760's? That was one of my top choices but I was a bit concerned about the noise ratings. I know that it is a mid-engine car so that may be less of an issue for us, but was wondering if you could comment more on the positive and negative characteristics of your tire choice. Mahalo!

 

Not Triple D...but I put a set of RE760's on my 328 last year and couldn't be happier...I don't notice any excessive noise, and they perform very well in the dry (I never drive in the wet, so I can't comment on that!). I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again.

 

The only thing I would have used would have been another set of Good Year F1 GSD3s. I think we have to be realistic here & also mindful that pretty much all modern tyres are likely as not way better than what was put on the car 26 years ago.

My overall feeling of the Pirellis is that they are not a "performance tyre" in the modern context - but they are more than good enough for the job. I have not found them wanting in general road use. They are also relatively inexpensive. Wear is not an issue because I'll never do enough miles to wear them out before I throw them away because they are old.

If I was using the car on the track then I might have looked at something a bit stickier like some Toyo Proxes but, at the same time, I'd want to stiffen the whole thing up a lot before I'd bother doing that in the first place.

 

Thanks for the input Wilson! Curious as to why you went with the Bridgestones, and which model (Re-760?) that you went with. I need to pull the trigger on this soon and that is on the short list...

 

Thanks for the input!

 

Good to know this too! Mahalo!!