Pirelli CN36 tyres - any experience?

[Alex]

I'm looking to replace the tyres on my Sprint GT. Currently using Avon CR6-ZZ 175/70-15 and, although excellent, are just too stiff for the poorly-maintained roads in this country .

Although there are modern tyres in similar sizes fitted to the BMW-Mini Cooper (but in 65-series profile) I'm thinking about the recently reproduced Pirelli CN36 in the same size as the Avons.

My only concern is that these tyres might not be so good for a car such as mine fitted with stiffer/lower Alfaholics springs and Koni Yellows which, instinct tells me, would need a more supple suspension set-up.

And yet these Pirellis were preferred fitment to many performance cars in the late 60s. So does anyone have real experience with these tyres? I'd like to hear from you!

[Alex]

Bump. Still looking for some kind of 'answer' to this one!

[lowmileage]

My last experience with Pirelli's was on my Jeep Cherokee. They (severely) started to dry rot within 2 years and their customer service replies to me sucked. I had 10K of miles on them and ended up junking them. Just added to the list of companies I don't buy from anymore. My .02. What about Michelins or Dunlops?

[super1750]

Hi Alex

I was recently on the market for new tires/tyres and was recommended by my dealer to keep away from Pirellis for the same reason that lowmileage has stated. He said it was so bad that manufacturers that do retreading won't use pirellis. He also showed me some examples of three and five year old pirellis that were already very porous after three years and had cracked at the bead after 5 years.

This is all just hear-say but it convinced me... I ended up buying Falken SN828 and am pleased so far but haven't really had a chance to test them properly yet.

Regards
Bob

[Alleggerita]

I don't have any experience with the current batch, but have driven both the original ones in many sizes on many different cars including Alfas, as well as earlier reproduction CN36's on a Giulietta.

I used to have several sets of the original ones on 105 Alfas and they were definitely my favourite tire.

The earlier reproduction CN36's (175/70-14) were purported to use a P7 structure with softer compound. They were exceedingly expensive at the time, much more than their current price. They drove very well (but I say that about the Avons as well) but I certainly wouldn't call them soft or comfortable. I was told by the owner of the car that the tires were capable of better lap times than Dunlop Racings. They were not as sticky as the Avons.

I currently have Avons on two Alfas (185/70-14; hard compound) and have driven them on other Alfas (185/70-15; hard compound and 185/70-14; soft compound) on many surfaces including rough roads and gravel. All cars have front spring rates at least as stiff or stiffer than the Alfaholics fast road package with either Bilstein (specially valved) or Spax. They are all motorsport oriented cars but all of them have road registration.

I personally do not think of the Avons as uncomfortable. If anything, their sidewall, even though stiff, is very tall and consequently quite supple. I am not sure whether you would get an improvement with the CN36's. My only complaint about the Avons, if that is one, is that you have to go at ridiculous speeds on public roads to manage to break them loose ... especially for such tall vintage looking tires. The CN36's I drove were very good but not in the same league.

I suspect that the Koni Yellows may have more to do with ride comfort on bad roads ... certainly did not like a GT junior with Koni Yellows on bad roads - but I am not a Koni fan for road use.

[Alex]

Thanks to all for the replies. I'm going to pass on the comments regarding the indifferent quality of some of the Pirelli tyres to the company selling the CN36's in the UK, Longstone Tyres, and await their reply. I don't quite know what the 'P7' structure refers to, but I've always felt that the inner carcass of my Avons was appreciably stiffer than other tyres I have seen, regardless of the compound (I chose the harder compound for longevity reasons). So much so that I run about 24 p.s.i. at the front and 22 p.s.i. at the rear (for road use) with no ill effects, which indicates just how stiff these Avon sidewalls are! They are also very heavy tyres which required many more stick-on wheel weights inside the rim than I had anticpated, so a weight comparison with the CN36's might be interesting.

Thanks also for the thoughts on the Koni Yellows. I like what they're doing at the front, but I have been considering a set of Reds for the rear even though the Yellows are currently set at full soft. Alfaholics sold me the matching set on their recommendation but it might not be for everyone.

My car doesn't see any track use, but getting its suspension tuned to my liking for fast (and stable) road use has taken a lot longer than I ever realised!

Thanks again and watch this space,

Alex.

[Alleggerita]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex I don't quite know what the 'P7' structure refers to

[lowmileage]

In reference to Pirelli quality in the (very) early 70's, the 165 x 14 Centurato's on my '69 GTV were a completely different matter.

[Andrew]

CN36s were one of the hottest street tires of the time (mid 70s) before the new tech super-wide, super-low P7 type design came into use. Very popular on 911s and other tricky cars. Great looking and driving tire for the time, now far superseded I'm sure by 35 years of tire technological progress. Probably still great on a vintage car for street use, but not comparable to anything modern for track use.

I had 'em on a Fiat 850 1977ish and loved them. Of course, that car could not overpower really any tire.

Andrew

[348azeus]

I have a full set of original CN36's which I fitted to my spider in 1984 which still have only done around 2000 miles - they are not going back on the car due to age but they are indistinguishable from new - no cracking at all.

At the time they were one of the best tyres money could buy.

[conedriver]

I also used the CN36 tires way back when and remember a special "Bollo Rosso" (Red Dot) version available in the Pirelli race tire catalog, with differences as described below.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alleggerita ... The earlier reproduction CN36's (175/70-14) were purported to use a P7 structure with softer compound. They were exceedingly expensive at the time, much more than their current price.....