[Nuvolari]

The date code of tires is blown way out of proportion on 'enthusiast' forums mainly by people who only know what someone else 'told them'. Tire manufacturers themselves recommend a 10 year service life on tires and even then that is a very conservative estimate pushed more by lawyers than engineers.

I don't give road tires a second thought until 10 years from the time they are put into service (not the manufacture date). My Murci has 2017 date code P Zero Rossos all around and I would not think twice about driving them in any fashion. 30 years of international car racing and vehicle development including manufacturer work with tire companies have taught me a lot.

As for the tires you ask about. Those are the very first P Zero design dating back to 1987 and the Ferrari F40. This was the beginning of the P Zero nameplate for Pirelli and tire technology and design has come an awful long way in the last 34 years. Pirelli continues to make these in small batches for cars like the Diablo and late Countach (early cars had the P7 which is also being re-made) and because of this they are very expensive due to the low manufacturing volumes. They are to be concours correct and do not represent modern tire technology. I personally would not put them on my Murci and I ESPECIALLY would not only install two of them. Matching tires all around or nothing.

 

[nnnick]

Thanks, that's helpful. Going to cancel my order but would love other opinions. I suppose if mine are week 39 of 2017, then I have until at least week 39 of 2023 to figure something out erring on the conservative side? My wife made me promise to be extra careful (she is not a car person, but after explaining the Paul Walker incident she is now paranoid about tire age, even though it wasn't quite that simple...but I digress).

 

[ClickClackShift]

The date code of tires is blown way out of proportion on 'enthusiast' forums mainly by people who only know what someone else 'told them'. Tire manufacturers themselves recommend a 10 year service life on tires and even then that is a very conservative estimate pushed more by lawyers than engineers.

I don't give road tires a second thought until 10 years from the time they are put into service (not the manufacture date). My Murci has 2017 date code P Zero Rossos all around and I would not think twice about driving them in any fashion. 30 years of international car racing and vehicle development including manufacturer work with tire companies have taught me a lot.

As for the tires you ask about. Those are the very first P Zero design dating back to 1987 and the Ferrari F40. This was the beginning of the P Zero nameplate for Pirelli and tire technology and design has come an awful long way in the last 34 years. Pirelli continues to make these in small batches for cars like the Diablo and late Countach (early cars had the P7 which is also being re-made) and because of this they are very expensive due to the low manufacturing volumes. They are to be concours correct and do not represent modern tire technology. I personally would not put them on my Murci and I ESPECIALLY would not only install two of them. Matching tires all around or nothing.

I respect Nuvolari and his knowledge but totally disagree with this.

Be safe and get new tires every few years.

 

[Nuvolari]

I certainly do not want to start a debate but will say that there is a big difference between what you can actually measure and what someone is comfortable with. One is based on facts and figures and the other has all kinds of intangibles that are infinitely varied.

For those interested in FACTS here is some of the stuff I learned over the years in racing and tire testing (and hundreds of sets of tires):

1. A brand new tire is always the best. Every single time you use it, the tire is a little less grippy than the time before.
2. The degradation curve for a road tire is very linear and progressive
3. Exposure to UV and thermal cycles is much more degrading to a tire's grip than physical wear
4. For low use vehicles age is a much better metric for gauging tire life than tread depth
5. Heavy or daily use vehicles can use tread depth as their metric for wear because they will run out of tread before running out of time
6. Structural tire failures (blowouts) are almost always due to a manufacturing defect which is super rare or an external damage to the tire from use.

Again everyone can decide their comfort level. In a perfect world you would use a new set every time you drive but taking a set to 10 years is very much inside of the design parameters with a huge safety margin. All this talk about 'change your tires now or you risk a blowout' are total nonsense and not based on anything other than unfounded fear.

As for the Paul Walker accident, extreme speed and an inherently difficult to handle car (even in the hands of a skilled driver) were much more the contributing factors than the age of the tires. Michelin really got shafted by the media on that one and the facts do not support the headlines.

 

[JanDaMan]

I'm dealing with the same thing. I thought Lamborghini would support enthusiasts and owners to ensure parts availability to cover owners needs such as working with Perilli, but it seems not the case when it comes to tires. Lamborghini says to use P Zero as OEM but if we can't get them then we just ride on old stuff or try off brands and hope our AWD accepts it without damage. Mine are at 6 years old with about 1,400 miles and I was thinking of just replacing the front P zero (available) for now due to visible cracking, but even with that slight 1,400 milage the rolling radius would be off with old rear and new front and probably not good for an AWD. Even the manual states to always change all four. I like Nuvolaris tips, but would like to add it may be a good idea to also do some good visual inspection for cracks as time passes and don't entirely rely on date. Don't show this photo to your wife or she'll have you on your knees checking your old tires daily...haha.

 

[AngelOfMurci]

I'm dealing with the same thing. I thought Lamborghini would support enthusiasts and owners to ensure parts availability to cover owners needs such as working with Perilli, but it seems not the case when it comes to tires. Lamborghini says to use P Zero as OEM but if we can't get them then we just ride on old stuff or try off brands and hope our AWD accepts it without damage. Mine are at 6 years old with about 1,400 miles and I was thinking of just replacing the front P zero (available) for now due to visible cracking, but even with that slight 1,400 milage the rolling radius would be off with old rear and new front and probably not good for an AWD. Even the manual states to always change all four. I like Nuvolaris tips, but would like to add it may be a good idea to also do some good visual inspection for cracks as time passes and don't entirely rely on date. Don't show this photo to your wife or she'll have you on your knees checking your old tires daily...haha.

View attachment 323855 View attachment 323856

I would think that a modern car would have DoT requirements for readily available safety components.
litigation anyone?

 

[Nuvolari]

I'm dealing with the same thing. I thought Lamborghini would support enthusiasts and owners to ensure parts availability to cover owners needs such as working with Perilli, but it seems not the case when it comes to tires. Lamborghini says to use P Zero as OEM but if we can't get them then we just ride on old stuff or try off brands and hope our AWD accepts it without damage. Mine are at 6 years old with about 1,400 miles and I was thinking of just replacing the front P zero (available) for now due to visible cracking, but even with that slight 1,400 milage the rolling radius would be off with old rear and new front and probably not good for an AWD. Even the manual states to always change all four. I like Nuvolaris tips, but would like to add it may be a good idea to also do some good visual inspection for cracks as time passes and don't entirely rely on date. Don't show this photo to your wife or she'll have you on your knees checking your old tires daily...haha.

View attachment 323855 View attachment 323856

That cracking is not nice at all. I would not say it is something where you should park the car but it is not ideal either. Normally cracks like this come when high performance tires are subjected to freezing temperatures.

 

[JanDaMan]

That cracking is not nice at all. I would not say it is something where you should park the car but it is not ideal either. Normally cracks like this come when high performance tires are subjected to freezing temperatures.

Yeah, Pirelli won't even warranty tires in less than 45 degree weather. Im in Southern CA and we get that on occasion at night but I suspect the tires were probably subject to temp extremes in some state prior to the Lambo dealer getting them and putting them on.

 

[sprite]

I would think that a modern car would have DoT requirements for readily available safety components.
litigation anyone?

Does no one here have a contact at Lamborghini or Pirelli that's connected enough to get an answer. It seems from this forum alone there are quite a few owners interested in a pair of tires.

 

[AngelOfMurci]

Does no one here have a contact at Lamborghini or Pirelli that's connected enough to get an answer. It seems from this forum alone there are quite a few owners interested in a pair of tires.

I’m pretty sure with the current void of tires… we would be acquiring multiple sets and set them next to the cases of covid toilet paper we’ve amassed.

 

[JanDaMan]

I’m pretty sure with the current void of tires… we would be acquiring multiple sets and set them next to the cases of covid toilet paper we’ve amassed.

Ha ha true, however unlike toilet paper extra tires on the shelf for a few years probably isn't good for tire rubber age. I had 20+ year old tires on my Pantera that looked brand new visually until tire rack finally got them in post pandemic. I cheered like a little kid. All I want to do is ride my Lambo sensibly with decent tires, but then again at least I'll have a very low mileage Murci without.

 

[nnnick]

FYI I reached out to the guys at Curated in Miami and the correct tires should be out again soon, currently in production per their contact at Pirelli.

 

[JanDaMan]

FYI I reached out to the guys at Curated in Miami and the correct tires should be out again soon, currently in production per their contact at Pirelli.

Thats interesting. I hope that's the case for you. Tire rack contacted Pirelli and they said they were no longer going to make the 335/30/18 but they know they will be making other P zero sizes.

 

[AngelOfMurci]

Thats interesting. I hope that's the case for you. Tire rack contacted Pirelli and they said they were no longer going to make the 335/30/18 but they know they will be making other P zero sizes.

That screen shot says nothing.
They say “do know”
Nothing about whether or not 335/30/18 will be made.
Confusing as sh*t

 

[JanDaMan]

That screen shot says nothing.
They say “do know”
Nothing about whether or not 335/30/18 will be made.
Confusing as sh*t

They later clarified P Zero will be in other sizes but the 335/30/18 will not be made, and to just ask what other people are using. I don't mind, keeps my mileage low.

 

[steveirl]

Received from Pirelli recently following an enquiry by a fellow LP640 owner.

 

[JanDaMan]

Received from Pirelli recently following an enquiry by a fellow LP640 owner.



View attachment 324249

Hey seems you are a fellow Pantea owner as well, nice to see! Thanks for the info, but if these P zero mentioned are the correct diameter I would get them anyway just so I can ride around the block and not ruin my trans with non OEM specs. I hope to see the 335/35/18 soon since I see the front could be bought now.

 

[AngelOfMurci]

I personally don’t understand the issue with tire specs that are slightly off. Having tire pressure off by a few PSI would probably do the same amount of damage as minor differences in rolling diameter.

anyone want to argue?
🥸

 

[nnnick]

It's funny, there was a Murcie on the hoonigans channel yesterday that was still AWD and had entirely different wheels front and back, and he's been running that way for 40K miles. I don't think the system is quite as fragile as everyone suggests, but I have no reason to doubt Curated.