Cold Weather Experience with Pirelli PZero's
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Joined: Apr 2007
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From: Devon, United Kingdom
When I still had PZeros on my RWD V8R I drove 120 miles to take it to the dealer I bought it from for some remdial works. When I set off around 6am it was -2C (28F) and when I arrived for 9am it was about 5C (41F). It had been snowing the day before on top of melt that refroze so the unsalted roads were certainly challenging but it handled the trip just fine. I had it in winter mode the entire trip and the was actually surprised at how little the DSC stepped in, and it was controllable on a steep decline with a sharp bend at the base near my home. Granted I was doing about 5mph the entire way out of town until I hit the salted roads. When you are expecting trouble you instinctively drive defensively.
It is important to note that we routinely salt our main roads in the UK all year round when the temperatures are projected to freeze. It is only really residental and rural roads that are left untreated.
The only time I really worried about the PZeros was when turning from stand still onto a T-junction. If it was even slightly cold outside and had been or was raining the rear of the car would usually step out too much to the point I learnt to basically crawl out of any junction much to the annoyance of other road users. I suspect if I was in winter mode it may not have been an issue, but I'm talking about 5C (41F) when there is no freezing so it is easy to forget it.
It is important to note that we routinely salt our main roads in the UK all year round when the temperatures are projected to freeze. It is only really residental and rural roads that are left untreated.
The only time I really worried about the PZeros was when turning from stand still onto a T-junction. If it was even slightly cold outside and had been or was raining the rear of the car would usually step out too much to the point I learnt to basically crawl out of any junction much to the annoyance of other road users. I suspect if I was in winter mode it may not have been an issue, but I'm talking about 5C (41F) when there is no freezing so it is easy to forget it.
So I had a set of sticky summer P Zero's on Challenger 392 with a 6 speed manual. Was taking in N to WA from AZ in late spring. Started snowing on me and it got deep I kept going as hook up wasn't bad. Was in a big valley and was pretty flat and I could still do 50. Ruts got deeper. If I pulled off now I would never get going again. Push on. Now the front splitter is shaving snow off the berm and it coming over the hood. Semi now comes up on me. I pull into the on coming late and let the pass and follow the trail he is blazing. I stop for gas. Snow has filled the radiator and front with 3 or 400 hundred pounds of ice. It took 2 days to melt out in my heated garage in WA but I wasn't don yet. Next batch of snow was coming up the east side of Mt Hood. As we approached the summit traffic letting out from the resort had things all messed up. I was forced to stop on a
pretty good hill and no trouble. Couldn't get her going forward after a couple of attempts. I rolled back a bit and did the 4K clutch dump. That got every ones attention, lol. Who the idiot with the racing slicks. But she was moving and I stayed on the throttle. Was doing about 4 with the speedo doing 80. Traffic coming to a stop again on steeper section of the hill. Homey don't play that. Stay on the throttle and jump into the oncoming lane to keep moving. Oncoming traffic see's my dilemma and move over to give me room. Her comes the summit should I pull over for the night. Hell no. It's all down hill from here. To be honest I was very impressed and not sure all season would have been much more help. Don't be scared. Ok I had white knuckle's a few times and tested the limits of traction but she did pretty well. Use to race snowmobiles all over the west and drag trailers. I have a bit of snow driving experience but that trip tested all my skills, lol.
pretty good hill and no trouble. Couldn't get her going forward after a couple of attempts. I rolled back a bit and did the 4K clutch dump. That got every ones attention, lol. Who the idiot with the racing slicks. But she was moving and I stayed on the throttle. Was doing about 4 with the speedo doing 80. Traffic coming to a stop again on steeper section of the hill. Homey don't play that. Stay on the throttle and jump into the oncoming lane to keep moving. Oncoming traffic see's my dilemma and move over to give me room. Her comes the summit should I pull over for the night. Hell no. It's all down hill from here. To be honest I was very impressed and not sure all season would have been much more help. Don't be scared. Ok I had white knuckle's a few times and tested the limits of traction but she did pretty well. Use to race snowmobiles all over the west and drag trailers. I have a bit of snow driving experience but that trip tested all my skills, lol.
My car still had the original P-Zero's on it when I picked it up in late February 2019.
Coming from an ND MX5 with Firestone Firehawk Indy 500's that I had installed, those old P-Zero's felt much more like plastic than rubber in those temperatures (around -2 C).
Reminded me a little of this GT episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e4SDoHIJd0
To be fair, a 4-year old set of used tires hardly provide a fair representation of the brand/model.
Coming from an ND MX5 with Firestone Firehawk Indy 500's that I had installed, those old P-Zero's felt much more like plastic than rubber in those temperatures (around -2 C).
Reminded me a little of this GT episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e4SDoHIJd0
To be fair, a 4-year old set of used tires hardly provide a fair representation of the brand/model.
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