Our Relative Score blends 60% objective test data with 40% owner-review signal — so any two tires can be compared even if they were never tested on the same day.
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Each bar is the Relative Score for that category. Expand a tile to see the test results and owner ratings behind it.
| Source | Sport Maxx RT | P Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | – | 86 |
| Tire Rack owners | 86 | 90 |
| Tyre Reviews owners | 88 | 84 |
| SimpleTire owners | 92 | 93 |
| Source | Sport Maxx RT | P Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | – | 84 |
| Tire Rack owners | 79 | 79 |
| Tyre Reviews owners | 84 | 68 |
| SimpleTire owners | 87 | 83 |
| Source | Sport Maxx RT | P Zero |
|---|---|---|
| SimpleTire owners | 73 | 72 |
| Source | Sport Maxx RT | P Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | – | 26 |
| Tire Rack owners | 70 | 80 |
| Tyre Reviews owners | 82 | 63 |
| SimpleTire owners | 95 | 88 |
| Source | Sport Maxx RT | P Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | – | 73 |
| SimpleTire owners | 92 | 84 |
| Source | Sport Maxx RT | P Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Tire Rack owners | 70 | 63 |
| Tyre Reviews owners | 60 | 57 |
| SimpleTire owners | 84 | 73 |
| Source | Sport Maxx RT | P Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Tyre Reviews owners | 81 | 72 |
| DriverReviews owners | – | 84 |
| Category | Dunlop Sport Maxx RT | Pirelli P Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 77 | 67 |
| Dry | 88 | 85 |
| Wet | 84 | 78 |
| Snow | – | 80 |
| Comfort | 82 | 42 |
| Noise | – | 78 |
| Treadwear | 60 | 58 |
| Handling | 81 | 72 |
Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.
Wet grip and treadwear start at “Important” — the two things buyers rank highest. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.
Tire A
Tire B
Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.
Themes extracted from owner reviews across retailers and review sites — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.
The Dunlop SportMaxx RT is widely regarded as a high-performance tire that excels in dry and wet grip, offering a comfortable and quiet ride that often transforms the driving dynamics of the vehicles it is fitted to. While users frequently praise its handling, braking, and confidence-inspiring feedback, the consensus is heavily polarized by its rapid tread wear, which many owners find unacceptable for daily driving.
The Pirelli P Zero is widely regarded as a high-performance summer tire that excels in dry, warm-weather conditions, offering sharp handling and significant grip. However, user consensus is polarized by its rapid tread wear, inconsistent performance in cold or wet weather, and reports of high road noise, leading many owners to favor competitors like Michelin for daily driving.
From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score
We haven't collected enough community discussion about this tire yet.
Community opinion on the Pirelli P Zero lineup is sharply divided based on the specific variant. While summer tires and certain OEM specifications face severe criticism for poor wet weather grip, rapid wear, and difficult installation (particularly in cycling applications), the aftermarket All Season Plus 3 and newer high-performance variants receive strong praise for comfort, quietness, and excellent value compared to Michelin and Continental competitors.
“After one year with Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus Elect 2020 SR+ I replaced the Michelins on my 2020 SR+ at 42,000 miles and 3.5 years with the Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus Elect on my 2020 SR+. Since there are so many "What tire should I buy" posts, I thought I would give a one year review. Background: Live in the Washington, DC area so mild winters and 85% of my miles are local, suburban driving. With local traffic and traffic cameras all around, I drive pretty conservatively only occasionally punching it. Efficiency- Pirellis are about 3% less efficient than Michelins Michelin OEM MXMs 42,006 miles before replacing, 204 Wh/mi lifetime Pirelli P Zero All Season Elect Plus 13,832 miles 210 Wh/mi after 1 year. started out higher for the first 1,000 miles or so, so I expect this to drop to 208 or 209 lifetime. Ride is definitely smoother and quieter. Handling, well, I don't push it, so for me, equal. Grew up locally learning to drive in snow with 60's and 70's RWD cars, so I know how to drive in the light snow we get and the Pirellis handled the snow we got just fine. Just a few inches of heavy, wet snow at a time. Overall I would recommend the Pirellis. I am a bit efficiency minded but am debating taking another hit and getting the caps and pulling the aero covers off, but keeping them for the couple of road trips I do. I expect that would take another 3% hit, so still better than the EPA rated 220 Wh/mi.”
“I put a set of Pirelli P Zero AS3's on my 2019 Mazda 3. After driving about 1,500 miles, I can say that I love them. The steering has a very direct feel - it turns in almost immediately. Needless to say the grip is fantastic. ... and that is only with outside air temps in the 50's. I can't wait to see how they perform when it gets to be in the 70's and they can get some heat in them. One of the reasons I was attracted to this tire is that Pirelli claims to have incorporated technology that helps the tires maintain the same level of performance as they wear over time. I have been frustrated in the past to see how tires loose their grip long before the treadwear gets low. Also, it didn't hurt that Pirelli had a $100 instant rebate!”
“I just put PZ5 on my vehicle! I live in Louisiana ! They are absolutely insanely sticky! Especially in the rain! My vehicle came with the P-zeros. I’ve had Pirelli’s on my car’s in the past and yes, Pirelli’s are soft. The trade off is sticking to the road! I am an aggressive driver & was aware the sacrifice. I have to change my tires every oil change. 9-12k miles. These PZ5’s grip in the rain. Crazy awesome! Pirelli knocked these suckers out!!! I love ‘em!!!”
“I used to ride Conti since the GP4K and switched over to Pirelli when I had my new bike 3 years ago. The P-Zero Race was fine I guess but the P-Zero Race RS TLR were the worst. Nightmare to put on and wore out quite fast as well. Punctured the one in the back after 300km and couldn’t seal it. I’m back on the GP5k STR now with no issues or mounting problems. Probably gonna stick to them for some time longer”
Based on 99 community posts
| Attribute | A · Dunlop Sport Maxx RT | B · Pirelli P Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Category | — | Summer Max Performance tires |
| Vehicle type | — | Passenger Car / Crossover |
| Sizes available | 5 | 89 |
| Rim diameters | 17″ – 19″ | 17″ – 22″ |
| Tread depth | 9/32″ | 10/32″ |
| UTQG | 240 A A | 220 A A |
| Sidewall | Blackwall | Blackwall |
| Max pressure | 50 psi | 50 psi |
Dunlop
Pirelli
Winner: Dunlop Sport Maxx RT — better comfort, handling and wet. It leads or ties in every category we score.
Dunlop Sport Maxx RT scores 82 vs 42 on comfort.
Dunlop Sport Maxx RT scores 81 vs 72 on handling.
Dunlop Sport Maxx RT scores 84 vs 78 on wet.
Dunlop Sport Maxx RT scores 88 vs 85 on dry.
Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements) normalized against the best tire in each test and weighted toward recent tests. 40% comes from thousands of owner reviews collected from retailers and review sites. When a tire has only one of the two, we use what exists and say so.
Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score.
