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PERFORMANCE TIRE GIANT –
PIRELLI VS. MICHELIN
For decades, Pirelli and Michelin dominated the summer
performance tire market. Michelin had the Power Sport that first made an
appearance in the early 50s.
Pirelli had the P Zero that served them so well in formula
racing. Both companies are over a hundred years old, but they took different
roads to arrive at the top of the pile. Michelin has always been the
transparent company focusing on the quality and features of their rubber. While
Pirelli hooked its star to the success of glamorous brands resulting in
relationships with Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, and other exotic Italian
brands.
That said, Michelin and Pirelli both have a lot in common
as well and are often comparable. Both take great pride in the quality of their
products. As a result, both companies have always invested heavily in research
and product development and it’s not surprising that both have contributed
innovations to the tire industry. Established by innovators,
Michelin has by far the most important contributions to tire
technology.
Pirelli made smaller adjustments to its product but the
most important in the performance area was the tire developed for the Lancia
Stratos rally car. The Lancia rally racing tires were a cross ply
design that enhanced their reliability and had great gripping
characteristics. But cross ply tires were heavy, so Pirelli created a radial
tire with a small sidewall that gave super cornering maneuverability,
great grip and durability. Today all rally tires are radials.
The rest of the competition was not sitting by idly. Advances in
tire technology resulted in other brands seriously chasing the performance tire
market particularly Continental and Bridgestone. Not one to sit on their
laurels, Michelin and Pirelli made major changes and the Michelin Pilot Sport 4
S and a new line of options for the Pirelli P Zero appeared
Pirelli vs. Michelin - Best Summer/Performance Tires
“Best” is a subjective term. Best is
determined by end user satisfaction and that goes double for performance tires.
If you are a performance enthusiast and you want rubber that gives your everyday
ride the grip and go its great big engine provides, you are going to have
different expectations than the driver who is hardcore and spends all the time
on the track. And that’s why both Pirelli and Michelin offer different tires
for different needs. If end user satisfaction can be demonstrated by the number
of tires purchased, both Pirelli and Michelin remain at the top of the heap for
performance rubber.
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