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.

My initial feedback on the first 1000 miles of driving on these tires on both highway and city streets have been excellent. I've had a chance to test them in dry, wet and snow ( 2 inches ) and these tires have performed as expected from the ratings. These are actually better than the stock PIRELLI CINTURATO P7 ALL SEASON tires that came stock with the Audi. These feel much tighter in the turns without that soft, sluggish feeling when going into turns. They track better through quick maneuvers as well. The REAL test came yesterday when it was 55 degress out and I had to drive these on the highway. I was worried they would be very soft and squirmy since the weather was warm, but they held up just fine. Of course they felt softer than usual, but what do you expect with a snow tire in 55 degree weather. I will report back when I have logged more miles on these tires.

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.

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.

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.

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!

This tire is by far the best winter tire i have had.
It rides well, has great traction, quiet, and good tread life.
What's not to like?
It is almost no difference between these and my summer tires.
They are a little soft in the corners but for a winter tire, you can't go wrong with these.
I'll post another review after my second season on them.

2007 Honda 2007 Honda Civic TypeS iCTDi 2.2 Absolut DPF.
My car has and ECU mapping and a TarOx B33 10 pots calipers and 335mm/26mm composite vented discs system on front and 315mm composite discs on rear. With Carbon Lorraine fully sintered RC8 pads on front and RC6 on rear. With such a braking setup and 175Bhp under the bonnet with loads of torque, it is easy to detect tires' performances and limits on such a light car (1340kg).
I use 225/40 R18 92V XL (DOT date: 3310 -Germany made-) on 18x8" OZ Ultraleggera rims .
I've read about some complaints here about noise, ultimate grip on heavy snow and treadwear. With given respect I find them unreasonable at a bare minimum.
These tire is NOT presented as a problem solver for extreme winter conditions: I'd go with Pirelli Winter Carving Edge in this case.
I live in Lecco, Lake Como, Northern Italy, roughly speaking 30km from the very Alps, and sorrounded by 1300mt to 2500mt high mountains. Strong dominant and cold winds from North are not an exception in autumn/winter and even though climate is mitigated by the lake, heavy rain with ice spots on roads and some light to medium snow (a couple of times or three per year even hard snow as three days ago) is the rule from mid November until April.
Winding roads "carved" into nearby valleys or digged into mountains with cliffs beneath complete the scenario.
In a 10km range you easily and abruptly find heavy rain, ice, snow in mixed conditions.
These tires are quite quite performing, given that their natural homeland is an all round winter environment: wet, light to medium snow, near freezing (or even below) temperatures with some ice spots, yet without sacrificing dry traction, responsiveness, communication and cornering by a great deal.
IMHO they are superior to any other brand winter tire under any aspect.
Braking efficiency is bullseye predictable, consistent and effective. Something unknown to other winter tires. 10000miles on and 6.5mm left. I X swap them every 5000km.

I have used these tires over 3 seasons driving around Vancouver, and to whistler. Here is what you need to know: dry, wet, light snow at temperatures between -10 and +7 these are fantastic. However, because of the temperature here, rear tread wear is the worst I have ever experienced on any tire summer or winter, and the worst of any Pirelli winter tire I have used. The problem is exacerbated by the suspension design and the fact that wear occurs primarilly at the location of the two vertical grooves leaving you with little or no traction in the rear of the car during winter conditions.
On the front of the car, the grip and precision is excellent, as is the wear.
I will be replacing the rear tires with sotto zero series ones which have a harder compound, and only one grove. I am assuming this should balance out tire wear, and improve long term t.raction in the rear. My previous experience with these out here was good, and sadly Pirellis advice to change to the newer softer tire was not well thought out.
If you reside in a place with real winter, cold temps for several months, these tires could be an excellent choice. However, if you are on the west coast where the weather typically provides above zero temps, and a bit below zero in the mountains, tread wear will be a significant problem on the rear of a rear drive car. The tires are useless in winter conditions when they are at 4 mm or 40%. Rear tires previously typically lasted 2 winters and when worn, front tires are moved to the back (last one season) and new rubber goes on the front to maintain maximum grip on the front of the car. Sotto 2s last 1 1/4 on the back if you are lucky here. That's 20 round trips per season to whistler and some limited local driving, or 40% less than series 1 in my experience. Or in real money terms: these tires have added 1000 dollars of additional expense to replace due wear in the last 3 years.