Pirelli P Nero - What a rip off!!!
Discussion
I have a 2009 Brera V6 S Prodrive. Pirelli P Nero's fitted as standard. 11,200 miles and both fronts are shot. Even wear across the tread so it's not a tracking issue and I don't tear off from standing (much). At £265 a pop I feel completely jipped. How can Pirelli really justify the price of these tyres on anything other than an Aston??? The Brera is not an Aston and I don't make the kinda money Aston drivers do, so what gives? I accept that on 19" wheels these size/type tyres are rare, but even so, 11,000 miles from such expensive tyres.... I want to 
Not sure where you're coming from in suggesting that the price may be justifiable if fitted to an Aston, but not an Alfa. They would be the same tyre would they not; just fitted to a different car? Do you want buyers of more expensive cars to subsidise the price you pay?
To be honest they're top quality tyres and you're running 19" wheels. Surely you didn't expect them to be particularly cheap. Oh, and 11k in a FWD car with a V6 up front; not too bad IMO.
To be honest they're top quality tyres and you're running 19" wheels. Surely you didn't expect them to be particularly cheap. Oh, and 11k in a FWD car with a V6 up front; not too bad IMO.
It's a decent wear rate to be honest on a FWD. I don't think I've ever got over 12,000 out of some fronts.
P Zero Neros are not great tyres in my opinion though. They give a very wooden feeling to the steering. Don't know if they have stiff sidewalls or something, but I've only had them once and won't bother again.
P Zero Neros are not great tyres in my opinion though. They give a very wooden feeling to the steering. Don't know if they have stiff sidewalls or something, but I've only had them once and won't bother again.
RicksAlfas said:
It's a decent wear rate to be honest on a FWD. I don't think I've ever got over 12,000 out of some fronts.
P Zero Neros are not great tyres in my opinion though. They give a very wooden feeling to the steering. Don't know if they have stiff sidewalls or something, but I've only had them once and won't bother again.
I agree with Rick. 12000 out of a set of fronts isn't too bad although I have managed just over that on my GTA which I think is lighter than the Brera (can't be bothered checking weights at the mo). P Zero Neros are not good tyres in my opinion and as Rick said, they don't given a good sterring feel, or level of grip for that matter. The Goodyear Eagle GSD3's were much much better and a lot cheaper, although I am now led to believe they aren't made anymore. P Zero Neros are not great tyres in my opinion though. They give a very wooden feeling to the steering. Don't know if they have stiff sidewalls or something, but I've only had them once and won't bother again.
YRRunner said:
I have a 2009 Brera V6 S Prodrive. Pirelli P Nero's fitted as standard. 11,200 miles and both fronts are shot. Even wear across the tread so it's not a tracking issue and I don't tear off from standing (much). At £265 a pop I feel completely jipped. How can Pirelli really justify the price of these tyres on anything other than an Aston??? The Brera is not an Aston and I don't make the kinda money Aston drivers do, so what gives? I accept that on 19" wheels these size/type tyres are rare, but even so, 11,000 miles from such expensive tyres.... I want to
Best post I've read for ages, have a 
mate! 
still laughing... Heathwood said:
Not sure where you're coming from in suggesting that the price may be justifiable if fitted to an Aston, but not an Alfa. They would be the same tyre would they not; just fitted to a different car? Do you want buyers of more expensive cars to subsidise the price you pay?
To be honest they're top quality tyres and you're running 19" wheels. Surely you didn't expect them to be particularly cheap. Oh, and 11k in a FWD car with a V6 up front; not too bad IMO.
Why? Try the following:To be honest they're top quality tyres and you're running 19" wheels. Surely you didn't expect them to be particularly cheap. Oh, and 11k in a FWD car with a V6 up front; not too bad IMO.
£100k + car vs £24.5k car
420 BHP, 4.7 ltr V8 vs 260 BHP, 3.2 ltr V6
180 mph vs 149 mph
Simply put, these tyres (and the price of them) cannot be justified for this car. Don't get me wrong - I love the car, but it's my everyday driver - not my pleasure car, which happens to be a TVR Sagaris (hugely more powerful, 19" wheels and about a £100 cheaper per tyre)!!!
Furthermore, you're misguided. Pirelli's are good (not "top quality"), but having spent more years than I care to remember in the motor trade (particularly tyres, exhausts & paints) I can categorically say that (although reasonably good in the wet) these tyres are soft and not as good as many of their rivals. It's only the fact that few other rubber companies make this particular size and this, seemingly, affords Pirelli the opportunity to take the p
ss and monopolise. Buy an Aston and expect these costs - Buy a Brera and may the buyer beware (Accepted, I should have done my homework). By the way, I owned an M5 with very, very soft Yokohama AVS intermediates. A far better tyre with far better response and grip than the Pirelli's. Price? £223 (still £50 cheaper than the P Nero's)! There you go. Edited by YRRunner on Tuesday 8th February 21:32
what do you want people to say? 
YRRunner said:
Heathwood said:
Not sure where you're coming from in suggesting that the price may be justifiable if fitted to an Aston, but not an Alfa. They would be the same tyre would they not; just fitted to a different car? Do you want buyers of more expensive cars to subsidise the price you pay?
To be honest they're top quality tyres and you're running 19" wheels. Surely you didn't expect them to be particularly cheap. Oh, and 11k in a FWD car with a V6 up front; not too bad IMO.
Why? Try the following:To be honest they're top quality tyres and you're running 19" wheels. Surely you didn't expect them to be particularly cheap. Oh, and 11k in a FWD car with a V6 up front; not too bad IMO.
£100k + car vs £24.5k car
420 BHP, 4.7 ltr V8 vs 260 BHP, 3.2 ltr V6
180 mph vs 149 mph
Simply put, these tyres (and the price of them) cannot be justified for this car. Don't get me wrong - I love the car, but it's my everyday driver - not my pleasure car, which happens to be a TVR Sagaris (hugely more powerful, 19" wheels and about a £100 cheaper per tyre)!!!
YRRunner said:
Not bleating mate. Venting maybe. Just thought any potential owner might want to take the tyre issue into consideration before buying that's all.
Thanks JR. I'll try Camskill now.
Fair enough. FWIW that's about the same as I got from 17" F1s on my GTV and I didn't get much more from the Pirellis, 14,500 IIRC.Thanks JR. I'll try Camskill now.
YRRunner said:
Just thought any potential owner might want to take the tyre issue into consideration before buying that's all.
Did you not look at the car when you bought it? Surely the fact that it has 19in wheels as standard, along with a suspension setup designed to give extra grip and direct handling, might make you think that it might need more than a 30 quid set of remoulds every 5 years?I also have a Brera S and a large part of its appeal was the way it looked with the 19in wheels and wider than standard rubber. I also thought that wider wheels on bigger rims are going to cost more, but was happy to accept that. I am even more happy to accept that when you see other non S spec Brera out of the road and depending upon which wheels they have specified, many of the early ones look like they are running on sofa castors.
BTW - I have done 22k in mine, and am just onto my 3rd set - if you are getting 11k out of a set then you are not pushing hard enough
(in fairness I do live in Milton Keynes which is known to kill tyres earlier than most places because of the constant roundabouts)All I'm saying is that you wouldn't necessarily expect to pay the equivalent of 5% of the entire new cars value, just in rubber FFS! Nor would you necessarily expect to pay 10p per mile for the priviledge of using P Nero's! As I eluded to earlier, I'm just miffed that Pirelli's pricing appears to have the DB9 owner in mind, in that these tyres are specifically designed for the DB9. I agree it's not Pirelli's fault, although I still say (as others have done) that it's not a particularly great tyre. I guess it's more to do with Alfa's choice of rim. I do however feel that the type of tyre used is slightly overkill for this car. Anyhow, thanks to all posters, even the quite vociferous Alfa fascista's out there 
Anyway, I've gone with the Continentals this time. We'll see how they last and handle.
Footnote: Nice to see how many TVR owners also own Alfa Romeo's though. Intersting. Thanks again to all.
Anyway, I've gone with the Continentals this time. We'll see how they last and handle.Footnote: Nice to see how many TVR owners also own Alfa Romeo's though. Intersting. Thanks again to all.
JR said:
YRRunner said:
Not bleating mate. Venting maybe. Just thought any potential owner might want to take the tyre issue into consideration before buying that's all.
Thanks JR. I'll try Camskill now.
Fair enough. FWIW that's about the same as I got from 17" F1s on my GTV and I didn't get much more from the Pirellis, 14,500 IIRC.Thanks JR. I'll try Camskill now.
YRRunner said:
I'm just miffed that Pirelli's pricing appears to have the DB9 owner in mind, in that these tyres are specifically designed for the DB9. I agree it's not Pirelli's fault
DB9's and V8 Vanatges on 19" rims generally use Bridgestone RE050A, can't say I have seen people choosing to use Pirelli's on their Aston so to to imply that their pricing policy is aligned with the owners of these vehicles in mind and not Alfa's or Vauxhalls is just absurd.Chill out everyone!
The main problem is the weird sizing Alfa have chosen. It's the same on the 18" rims too. They have deliberately used quite a high profile which at least gives a half decent ride. If you change the profile fractionally you can get access to a much wider choice of tyres.
The main problem is the weird sizing Alfa have chosen. It's the same on the 18" rims too. They have deliberately used quite a high profile which at least gives a half decent ride. If you change the profile fractionally you can get access to a much wider choice of tyres.
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