since 1976
since 1976
By Lee Pang Seng
FANCY the option of fitting Pirelli Cinturato tyres for your Crossover or SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) for the next tyre change? Well, you have that choice now as Pirelli has expanded its Cinturato tyre range to include such vehicles in the tyre replacement market.
Pirelli calls it the Cinturato Rosso and it’s apparently developed for the Asia-Pacific region owing to the growing demand from Crossover and SUV owners. Prior to the Cinturato Rosso launch, Pirelli has the Scorpion tyre range to meet this market demand. Apparently, the Scorpion range would continue to be sold but vehicle owners who prefer the Cinturato option could choose that now.
Previously, the Cinturato range was targeted at car owners that also include those owning MPVs (multipurpose vehicles). In Malaysia, the Cinturato P1and P6 were among the tyre models made available to car and MPV owners.
As the Cinturato range has been around since the 1950s, it has duly earned its place in the tyre replacement market over the years as a sound choice for overall performance in grip, ride and comfort without making too much noise. Expanding the range to include Crossovers and SUVs makes good business sense as it panders to the potential of a growing market.
The development targets of the Cinturato Rosso encompass areas that are highly relevant to daily driving such as safety, comfort and mileage. In the first instance, Pirelli says the Cinturato Rosso is ‘engineered to offer incredible safety’ in dry and wet conditions besides enhancing water drainage.
Driving on wet roads is something Malaysian drivers are most familiar with, what with the climate change bringing more rain than usual these days. The Cinturato Rosso boasts improved wet weather grip with the five longitudinal channels to clear water away quickly. This function is aided by the reduced risk of aquaplaning with the variable depths of the transversal grooves to serve as an effective conduit for fast water dispersal.
Good grip and braking performance are other areas of safety that are not overlooked. Here the tyre footprint on the road plays a key role. When the tyre is static (not moving), its footprint on the road is sizeably extensive. During braking, this footprint is extended by six per cent to ensure even better grip to allow the vehicle to come to a stop over a shorter distance.
During the recent tyre launch at the Sepang International Circuit, Pirelli organised braking experiences for the media on dry and simulated wet surfaces. Two Toyota Camry Hybrids were used for each of the braking experience; one was fitted with Cinturato P1 (215/55 R17) and the other with Cinturato Rosso (235/50 R18). The drive routine was to accelerate up to 80km/h and hit the brakes hard.
We started with dry road braking that saw us stopping the Camry Hybrid with Cinturato P1 over a distance of 29 metres and taking 2.9 seconds to come to a complete stop. Following the same routine with the Cinturato Rosso Camry Hybrid, we improved on our stopping distance at 28 metres and a complete stop time of 2.778 seconds.
Expecting similar results for our wet road braking experience, we came away a little disappointed. According to Pirelli, the simulated wet stretch had 0.5 to 1mm of water on the road surface. Driving the Camry Hybrid with Cinturato P1, we came to a dead stop over the same distance achieved on the dry road run – 29 metres at 2.9 seconds.
Our expectations of a shorter braking distance with the Cinturato Rosso on the wet road surface fell flat as we came to a complete stop over 30 metres and a time of 3.0 seconds. By comparison, our ‘co-driver’ who took his turn at the wheel achieved 31 metres on the P1 and 27 metres on the Rosso.
Such drive experiences are well and good but there are many variables that could come into play to affect the results. This includes the different cars with their respective rate of depreciated brake performance with each successive run. Another variable is the different ‘instructor’ for each car to call out when to hit the brake pedal hard.
At the end of the day, we could deduce from the braking experience that both the Cinturato P1 and Cinturato Rosso impressed us with the braking performance. The stopping distance is relatively short and that could mean avoiding ramming into the rear of another vehicle on wet roads.
In the area of comfort, a much-desired feature in today’s vehicles, Pirelli says one could cruise in ‘exceptional comfort’ with the Cinturato Rosso. This is due to the tyre being designed with improved noise reduction and high levels of comfort for long and short drives. The full grooved rib pattern across the tyre tread surface is the new design factor that plays its part here.
Pirelli says in-house tests have led to improvements in subjective comfort; the Cinturato Rosso is four per cent more comfortable than the Cinturato P1. The noise level measured inside the vehicle also showed an improvement of 1dB (decibel) when running on the Rosso against the P1. The tested sizes for subjective Pirelli evaluation were 245/40 R18 and 185.65 R15.
We were given a subjective evaluation in a Toyota Alphard fitted with Cinturato Rosso tyres. The 15km plus route included a drive near the circuit and covered a fair variety of road surfaces. We took turns driving the Alphard and being a passenger so that we could have an overall impression of the tyre’s quiet and comfortable performance.
That subjective experience convinced us that the Cinturato Rosso complemented the quiet running of the Alphard, a premium MPV that is very popular in Malaysia. We heard little of the road roar when driven up to 100km/h and beyond and felt little of the road over the many road bumps and dips. It was pointed out during the drive that the sound of road impacts over the bumps were effectively muted, thanks to the tyre!
With regard to the Cinturato Rosso’s grip, Pirelli says the high shoulder curvature of the tread area improves braking and handling performance. So, if you feel like driving fast along winding stretches, the Cinturato Rosso’s good grip properties should let you do that with a good measure of confidence.
Lastly, good mileage is another feature that Malaysian vehicle owners want and that for the tyres is no exception. Here too, Pirelli expresses confidence that the Cinturato Rosso would meet such demands nicely. Tested against the Cinturato P1, the Cinturato Rosso is said to provide increased mileage and efficiency by eight per cent.
This improvement is again due to good tread design. Pirelli says the additional sipes on the central rib leads to a more uniform tread pattern stiffness and this leads to increased mileage and efficiency.
If you want to check out the Cinturato Rosso, it is available in more than 50 sizes, ranging from 15-inch to 21-inch options.
Video link here
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