[Elrod]

After just reading Murgie's report on his experience with the Yoko NRF, I was motivated to provide a report on my recent trials on the Pirelli Cinturato P7 Runflat. I had the opportunity to ride two good spirited sessions mixed in with a good number of gentle country roads, in all kinds of weather. Its performance characteristics didn't seem to change much with the weather.

The Basics
195/55R16 Runflat
Weight: 21 pounds!
LRR Asymmetric tread
Tire pressure, spirited: 37 psi
Tire pressure, commuting: 33 psi

The Good
The low weight (21#) for a runflat makes it VERY nimble in compound curves.
If your style is a smooth, easy-flowing, easy on and off the throttle style, this tire is good.
It displaces water very well.

The Not-So-Good
Regardless of the road surface conditions, it simply will not take much hard throttle when on a lean. It did fine if you were easy on and off the throttle, but as soon as you cranked hard while on a decent lean, it would spin loose. It would slide sideways every time; how far depended on the road grip. I imagine there might be some folks that might enjoy a 'drifting' tire, but I am not one of them. On two occasions it spun while straight up coming out of a tight hairpin in second gear. It felt like the sidewall was flexing laterally when under cornering stresses. Increasing the tire pressure might have helped that, but it would have also become too bouncy.

It also generated more heat that other good CTs under similar riding conditions. Simply commuting, it would quickly gain ~6 psi and top out at ~8 psi gain, which is equivalent to an 80F increase. Under spirited conditions, it gained 10 psi, equivalent to 100F. On a hot day, that is simply too much gain to trust.

Bottom Line
Simply put, this tire does not have the grip necessary to trust it under spirited riding conditions. After 4500 miles, I am going to just use it up going back and forth to work. The edges have a little left and the center has a lot left. I do not recommend this tire for spirited riding and at the $160+ price, there are other better tires for the money.

 

[UNCLEJOHN]

thanks for your input .

 

[ohiowinger]

Thanks for the write up Bill!

 

[alaron]

Direction of tire

After just reading Murgie's report on his experience with the Yoko NRF, I was motivated to provide a report on my recent trials on the Pirelli Cinturato P7 Runflat. I had the opportunity to ride two good spirited sessions mixed in with a good number of gentle country roads, in all kinds of weather. Its performance characteristics didn't seem to change much with the weather.

The Basics
195/55R16 Runflat
Weight: 21 pounds!
LRR Asymmetric tread
Tire pressure, spirited: 37 psi
Tire pressure, commuting: 33 psi

The Good
The low weight (21#) for a runflat makes it VERY nimble in compound curves.
If your style is a smooth, easy-flowing, easy on and off the throttle style, this tire is good.
It displaces water very well.

The Not-So-Good
Regardless of the road surface conditions, it simply will not take much hard throttle when on a lean. It did fine if you were easy on and off the throttle, but as soon as you cranked hard while on a decent lean, it would spin loose. It would slide sideways every time; how far depended on the road grip. I imagine there might be some folks that might enjoy a 'drifting' tire, but I am not one of them. On two occasions it spun while straight up coming out of a tight hairpin in second gear. It felt like the sidewall was flexing laterally when under cornering stresses. Increasing the tire pressure might have helped that, but it would have also become too bouncy.

It also generated more heat that other good CTs under similar riding conditions. Simply commuting, it would quickly gain ~6 psi and top out at ~8 psi gain, which is equivalent to an 80F increase. Under spirited conditions, it gained 10 psi, equivalent to 100F. On a hot day, that is simply too much gain to trust.

Bottom Line
Simply put, this tire does not have the grip necessary to trust it under spirited riding conditions. After 4500 miles, I am going to just use it up going back and forth to work. The edges have a little left and the center has a lot left. I do not recommend this tire for spirited riding and at the $160+ price, there are other better tires for the money.

What is the differnce between the P1 And P7 ?
If the P7 is mounted with the outside to the right, would that make a difference ?

 

[Elrod]

What is the differnce between the P1 And P7 ?
If the P7 is mounted with the outside to the right, would that make a difference ?

This is the response I gave in the other thread:

Having now ridden both, I have a better frame of reference. When I tried the P1, I spent a weekend trying my best to make it fail. One day was very wet and the next day was dry. The P1 never slipped, regardless of surface or moisture. Ended up getting 4700 miles out of it, but you must understand it wasn't babied. Perhaps its best feature is its weight: 21#. This puts it ~4# less than other runflats, making it of high value in compound curves. I recommend this tire.

The P7 did not perform nearly as well. It did well on dry, clean pavement and also at 21#, it performed well in compound curves. But once the road became a bit dirty (like WV coal roads) or wet, it basically became a drifting tire. If you like sliding around corners, this tire is it. But I don't like riding with that much uncertainty about grip. I do not recommend this tire.

Regarding the 'inside' and 'outside' mounting, here is what I understand. The outside is usually the harder wearing side. Since left turns are the longer turns in the US, it makes sense to put the harder wearing surface on the side that will be leaning into curves the most, so it is a way to balance the wear evenly side-to-side. That is the thinking I use.