Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 vs Pirelli P Zero — Compared (September 2026)

“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”