Many recognize Pirelli's P6 and P7 as trusted names in performance tires. P7 was, after all, the tire which brought Pirelli worldwide recognition in the '70s on the world championship-winning Lancia Stratos rally car. The P6 is known as being among the first ultra-low profile tires-certainly unforgettable in the history of the performance tires. Pirelli is hoping to capitalize on that history by reintroducing the P6 and P7 names on its two latest entries to the market.
The P6 and P7 together will replace the P6000 family, which has proven itself to be Pirelli's most successful O.E. tire line of all time. The new tires, however, will address two separate needs, according to the company. P6 is designed for and marketed toward the driver that desires comfort and quiet use while P7 will lean toward performance driving. Still positioned below Pirelli's top-of-the-line, ultra-high-performance P Zero, it will fill the niche left by the aging P7000.
In addition, because of the American desire for a do-everything-all-the-time tire, Pirelli has launched the P6 four season to the U.S. market.
On sale since May of this year in both Europe and Japan, P6 and P7 sales are expected to reach 1.5 million units by the end of 2001 and eventually stabilize at 10 million annually thereafter. A significant portion of P6 and P7 production is slated for O.E. sales. Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz,Volvo, Fiat, Jaguar, Peugeot and Ford have already worked toward approving the new tires for various models.
The biggest technological steps with the new tires come through what Pirelli calls its STEP platform. Short for Safety from Technical Engineering Profile, this new design process allows for improved tire structure and better distribution of pressure in the road contact area. It provides the P6 and P7 profiles the ability to control deformation in the sidewalls and beads-both of which can significantly affect performance. The focus of the new design was to allow these fundamental improvements to remain constant throughout the tire's life, according to Pirelli.
By moving the sidewall flexpoint of both tires higher, belt edge movements are reduced, thereby increasing the tires' effective footprint and redistributing pressure throughout the contact patch. When compared to the P6000, the new P6 and P7 profiles exhibit more evenly distributed pressure across the contact patch under both vertical and lateral loads.
Consistent wear and reduced profile changes over the life of the tire maintain aquaplaning performance. Pirelli spent considerable effort during the development of the P6 and P7 benchmarking competitor tires' aquaplaning and noise performance during durability testing. In fact, in wear tests exceeding 11,000 miles, Pirelli's new tires show no significant profile changes.
The P6 and P7 also benefit from a two-layer "cap and base" tread compound, which allows distinct benefits suitable for the market of both tires. The cap layer on both designs is 100 percent silica to aid wet and dry grip while the base compound differs significantly for each design. P7 is treated to a more rigid base compound to aid performance driving, while P6 comes with a softer base material to create ride comfort.
On the road, the difference between P6 and P7 isn't as great as Pirelli would have you think. Both are comfortable tires and the compromises made in P6 for ride quality and noise don't seem to hurt its at-the-limit grip as much as we anticipated. In fact, on a wet and dry racetrack, the difference was negligible at best. However, comparisons weren't made on identical vehicles, so conclusions are limited.
Both P6 and P7 are stable, comfortable and relatively grippy given their target market. Breakaway at the limit is easily recoverable and both tires handle high-slip angles with confidence, comfortably returning to their original course without drama. Both also seemed to handle track use as well or better than other comparable tires (despite the fact that a racetrack certainly isn't their usual playground).
Bottom line, it seems that the new P6 and P7 aren't the top-line UHP products they once were. However, with P Zero now filling that role, it becomes obvious where the Italian tire maker is going with the new products. Cashing in on the proven P6 and P7 names is certainly a smart idea. And, from the look of things, there's a smart product to back them up.