Pirelli  Winter Sottozero Serie II

Despite all the major winter tire tests finding that this is an average winter performance tire, I took a risk based on positive user reviews on US and Canadian websites. I have to say, I think the Sottozero 240 serie II is fantastic for a winter tire. Hard wet braking is very good with minimal engagement of ABS in a straight line. Cornering in wet and dry is excellent for a winter tire with a little noticable squirm on very hard corners.



Cold weather performance has been remarkable although I'm sure some of that is due to Subaru AWD. I've plowed through foot deep dry snow in the mountains, tackled snowy and icy hills, and never felt like I was going to get stuck. We had a storm a week ago with snow and ice that crippled most of the city but I had zero issues. Noise and comfort are surprisingly good and is similar to the stock Dunlop SP Sport 01 (which is very quiet and comfortable in my opinion). Overall I would definitely recommend these for someone who wants a performance oriented winter tire. I wouldn't say you'll get maximum snow/ice traction from these, but they are very very good for a performance winter tire.

I was a bit leary of breaking my pattern of high end Michelin performance snows, but am glad I took a chance on the Pirellis. This Sottozero II is easily the best performance snow tire I have driven. It is notably better in four areas: dry and wet grip, road noise, wear, and snow handling. About the same in deep snow. Even in the 255/35-19 size, it handled every extreme of an upstate NY winter. Makes me want to consider the P Zero Nero when my OEM Continentals wear out (which will be too soon), over the Michelin Pilot A3+. P.S. It helps to have a AWD great car!

Bought these one size narrower as they were closed out last year for like $70 per tire by Tirerack...I couldn't pass it up. I have used them all winter on my 485 hp Scat Pack Charger and it has been a very serviceable daily driver. The most snow I had it in was probably about 5 inches and it did as well as my old wrx did on all seasons if not better. What really impresses me is the wet traction especially under acceleration. I am often surprised they aren't breaking loose under the amount of throttle applied. I sometimes think the stock Goodyear F1's spin on dry pavement more often under the same throttle application as the Pirelli's in the wet. I am tempted to run them year round they perform so well, but the 235's look too skinny on the car so I will probably swap the F1's back on for summer until they are toast in another 5,000 miles or so. Good job on these Pirelli.

I have had these tires twice, once on a Subaru and now I put them on a JCW Mini Coupe. The dealer ordered them from Tire Rack for me and put them on before I picked up my new car. It was December in Colorado.

I absolutely love these tires. I have used the Blizzaks and Michelins on other vehicles and this is my favorite. The primary thing I like is that the snow traction is terrific but what makes it exceptional is the dry traction. In this season I have used the tire on every type of snow and ice possible in Colorado. Outside of slush which no tire does well the tire is excellent. I will also tell you that if you drive a stiff suspension sports car you will like the ride with the non runflats. I believe that I could drive this tire competently in virtually all conditions short of track work.

With a front wheel drive and these tires you can drive with confidence. I went out to unplowed lots and put the tires to the limits, even turning off traction controls. I would purposely cut hard, throw up some rooster takls and try to slide and recover. It was easy.

I strongly and confidently recommend these tires to my fellow enthusiasts.

Admittedly this is the first sports car I've owned so I can't compare to other tires. Bought my car two months ago and immediately put these on for the NY winter. Combined with all wheel drive the traction overall is amazing.

I went with these performance winter tires vice the regular ones because although there is plenty of snow here, the majority of the time the roads are well plowed and you have solid contact with the pavement and I didn't want to give up performance for half of the year. These do not disappoint.

Although I can't compare the traction vs. summer tires yet, it's pretty good on dry roads. I have to try pretty hard to lose grip while cornering, and with all wheel drive they never lose grip due to acceleration. They are quick to regain traction when they do slip, and inspire a lot of confidence. I have no complaints about the ride or noise, but I have a noisy car with an extremely stiff suspension.

The tires handle similarly on wet pavement, obviously a little more give but overall they have tenacious grip.

Snow is the fun part. I have been on several drives in search of un-plowed roads around me and have gotten to have plenty of fun in the snow this winter. It handles up to about 5 inches of snow (the clearance) amazingly. If you drive conservatively (and by that, I mean more like an average driver on dry roads) you will NOT slip, anywhere (w/AWD). If you punch it in 3-5 in snow, you will get some fun fishtailing until 3rd gear or so and then there is too much traction to stay loose. Even high speed freeway driving is fantastic, I don't even really need to slow down for winter conditions.

Haven't encountered a ton of ice but it seems to do well as long as it's not a lateral slip, I think that's normal though.

I highly recommend this tire if high performance is desired along with great winter traction.

Awesome in the cold! Couldnt even move with my regular Rossos - highly recommend! my Gt was passing trucks!

I drive a 393 WHEEL horsepower Subaru STi and these tires have been awesome!

I was worried about giving up dry weather perforamnce for snow tires, but the Soto 240's have been very good in both dry/wet/cold wet/light snow.

Driving today in 5 inches of snow, they stuck to the road like glue!!! VERY GOOD TIRES!!

R.Robb Vancouver, WA.

Overall, these have been great tires over the first 1500 miles. They have great dry grip and give me confidence in the cold weather. While I haven't driven in deeper snow conditions (I have an SUV for that), I have been caught in minor snow-storms and these tires did the job admirably.

Got this for the New England winters for the 911 991.2 Base. Haven't had snow or even ice to drive in yet this winter but plenty of driving in cold subzero temps, as well as above 45 degree warmer weather as well. Also auto-crossed the tire at a winter PCA event. My impressions so far: Most amazing thing about this tire is its comfort, period. It's the most comfortable winter tire I've ever had, in 20 years of driving on all sorts of dedicated winter tires on all sorts of vehicles. Magic carpet smooth and quiet in 12 degrees F or even in 50 degrees F. Yet, they still perform to support my hard-driven 911. Despite their comfort, I want for no other tire when it's colder than 40 F degrees or so. At 30 degrees F, they harden really nicely and are even trackable, capable of supporting Hooningan driving. Above 45 F, they start to get soft and mushy like most winter tires, and you have to dial back hard braking, lest you'll invoke some ABS. In the colder temps where they shine, dynamic driving is well supported on HWY, local roads and under extreme pre-corner braking. I couldn't be happier with these tires and I don't care that Pirelli since came out with a Sottozero 3. These are all I need for dry winter driving, hard.

As for snow and ice, and tread-wear, I'll get back to you on that when I have the experience to report. If you're wondering whether to pick these up on clearance deals or what have you, don't hesitate. These tires way exceeded my expectations. If you need a tire to give you summertime performance in the dead of winter cold, look no further. If you need snow capability, I defer to others who may have tested that.

Just an initial opinion in the first week of owning these tires. Initially I thought I was going to just garage the Stang and go with another option for my winter driving. But I always intended to use this as a daily driver so after reading that the Benz and BMW crews were having good reviews on this tire on all their RWD cars and a few Porsche owners a Corvette Owner and Even a Mustang owner on the predecessor to the Serie II Scottozero.. I sprung for them. And Well so far I'm not disappointed. Already had them out on a light dusting and then some sleet the next day. And this model of tire stuck and performed like It was any dry road for the Summer tires. In fact these tires are possibly one of just a few with a factory speed rating to match driving in many high performance vehicles. Most seem to cap at 119MPH and really when you are more about enjoying the driving experience in the vehicle you bought to match your desire to step on the throttle. Well these bad boys seem to deliver. Although I've read good reviews in heavier snow, I've yet to experience that. So I'm kinda looking forward to it. I hope they won't disappoint. I'll update as soon as I do hit deeper snow conditions. For the moment I feel confident in colder temperatures taking the tight turns with these tires. And as for the noise complaints. I drive a loud as -------- Muscle car with a totally custom exhaust. And even if I didn't have the exhaust, the cabin of the car is sufficiently noise dampened to block out the road noise. So who really cares these tires are noisy. If you can hear them... maybe its time to get a current car?

I drive my 911 C4S year 'round, mainly on two-lane blacktop, and sometimes over the mountain passes in the Cascades. During the winter, on any given trip I may encounter highway conditions, secondary roads, cold-and-wet roads and light snow, with temperatures ranging from mid-40's near sea level to below freezing, in the mountains. I needed a versatile, high performance tire that is also comfortable and quiet for touring. I am very pleased with the Pirelli 240 Sottozero Serie II. While the tire has many strengths, its performance on cold, wet roads (high 30's and low/mid 40's) is its best feature - and about 40% of my driving in the winter months.