Randy1960

Hi, Yesterday when I picked up my car from the Porsche dealer I was told that if I ran my tires in 5 degrees Celsius or lower that I risked them cracking and that if I ran it at freezing or lower that they would definitely crack and when the temperature rose again that they would basically fall apart. Anybody every hear of this? Thanks

LexVan

Sounds like the Porsche dealership has some winter tire inventory to move. That's crazy talk. PZeros won't provide good traction in those conditions, but they won't grenade either.

Randy1960

Hi, Sounded fishy to me also but thanks for the reply.

LexVan

Think of all the Porsches hibernated for the winter in unheated garages.

Randy1960

Luckily i live in a bit warmer winter climate that Chicago. Stay warm.

djantlive

Sounds questionable and unbelievable.

Tires do weather faster by element and cold weather can harden tires. But this happens everyday and just accelerated by more extreme weather

shizzle

I've seen them prematurely chunk when run hard in near 0C conditions. I've personally driven PZeros in near 0C conditions, but for under 30 minutes. Grip was really poor, but they didn't crack. I've left them on over the winter in my garage, and didn't have any cracking problems at all.

jennifer911

Randy, what model of P Zeros, there are all-season P Zeros low, medium, high and ultra high performance P Zeros and also P Zero Trofeo R tires. The Trofeo’s are one of the new breed of racing tires that have a dot street rating. Like many racing tires, it is inadvisable to mount these tires, or even drive the car at low speeds in freezing weather. The tires won’t fall apart but they will develop micro cracks on the exterior that will hugely shorten their life. Depending on the model of P Zeros you got, the warning is sage or stupid wrong.

G M has sent bulletins to dealers advising them not to mount the tires, or move new Corvette Z06 and Camaro Z28 around their lots at under 20 degrees. Here is a link to a picture of the cracking or the tire treads.
http://www.torquenews.com/106/michel...-move-car-cold

993GT

I've run Pzero Rosso's in snow without issue after...

Randy1960

Thanks Everyone for the reply's. Long and short of it is they won't be destroyed by a short easy trip in freezing or near freezing conditions. Whew.

Viajero

Was this as Porsche Centre Vancouver or Porsche Centre Langley?

P Zeros are a summer-only tire and Pirelli does not warranty them if they are operated below 7*C. However, this does mean they will just fall apart at those temperatures. The rubber compound is not designed for those temperatures and it will get hard and lose grip, so it would not be good practice to drive around in near-freezing or below. Potentially cracking can occur at lower temps and prolonged use. A few short trips should not be an issue, especially in this mild climate. For people who drive their P-cars year round it's really best practice to get another set of rims and throw on some good performance all-seasons for the rainier/colder months. Cheers.

Randy1960

Hi, It was at Langley. This is my everyday car but we are a two car family and should we have a run of cooler than normal weather I'll just park it. Cheers and thanks.

jennifer911

Randy, a Pirelli P Zero is not a tire model as such, but a family of more than a dozen tire models. Some, like a P Zero Rosso are meant more for comfort, long life and quiet running than ultra high performance and will not crack in cold temperatures. On the other hand, some models like the Corsa and Trofeo, are extreme performance, streetable tires that are really racing tires at heart. If you flex these tires by driving around in below freezing temperatures, they will develop micro cracks in the tread rubber.

Like many things in life, ‘the devil is in the details’. If you don’t state what model of P Zero you have nobody can give you any useful guidance. For example, there is even a model of all-season P Zero that does very well in cold temperatures.