Cupping Pirellis, Part II

**imported_nihoole** · 11-19-2001, 02:55 PM

My mother in law has a beautiful off white Cadillac special order color.She always makes compliments on my cars and how good and clean they look.She has been asking if I want to clean it for her and let her pay me instead of someone she does not really know.I would feel kinda bad taking her money but she has plenty and would not let me do this if I did not take payment.So my question is if I were going to put Zaino on her car for the winter how would I prep the car?I have no idea what (wax,sealant,ETC)these guys have been using on the paint.Should I wash with alcohol and dawn?Need some advice Please.Thanks

**DETAILKING** · 11-19-2001, 03:36 PM

If the car is not really clean and smooth, use some clay and a paint cleanser first.

**Don2000g** · 11-22-2001, 12:12 PM

For a brand new vechicle, I would prefer to use a product such as Pinnacle Paintwork Cleansing Lotion or Isopropyl Alcohol or even Dawn to remove any waxes that you have on it. You may very well need two strong washes of Dawn (at least) to completely remove a sealant such as Klasse though. Remember to let the product such as Dawn or I.A. to sit on your car for a minute or so before you clean it off with running water. Laters

**Husker Z** · 05-19-2010, 08:42 AM

Okay, I replaced my original Pirellis (came on our CPO XC90 brand new) at about 13,000 miles and they were shot, especially the middle of them, cupped REALLY bad. Well, without going into a super long story, I put the same tires back on it, the Pirelli Scorpion Asimmetricos. When I had the new ones installed, I had the tire place do a courtesy check on the suspension to make sure everything seemed okay and I also got an alignment right after the install, to rule that out as well.

Well, I`m 6,000 miles into this new set, the freaking nipples on them are still in tact and I rotated at 3,000 miles and the center has MUCH more wear again and is noticeable to the naked eye, even without using a gauge.

Now, I know that the common cause for cupping is over inflation, so I have been VERY meticulous about keeping the PSI on these right at 34 on the front and 35 on the back. But, nothing has made any difference at all, once again, these will be lucky to make it 10K miles!!

WTF is wrong?? Are these tires just THAT shi**y? They aren`t a great tire, even new, so if they wear like this, I`m not sure how they could still be on the market.

ANY advice would be greatly appreciated! I can`t afford to drop $1k on tires every 9-10 months!

These are on a 2007 XC90 Sport, 255/50/19

**imported_Flash Gordon** · 05-19-2010, 11:04 AM

Originally Posted by Husker Z

Okay, I replaced my original Pirellis (came on our CPO XC90 brand new) at about 13,000 miles and they were shot, especially the middle of them, cupped REALLY bad. Well, without going into a super long story, I put the same tires back on it, the Pirelli Scorpion Asimmetricos. When I had the new ones installed, I had the tire place do a courtesy check on the suspension to make sure everything seemed okay and I also got an alignment right after the install, to rule that out as well.

Well, I`m 6,000 miles into this new set, the freaking nipples on them are still in tact and I rotated at 3,000 miles and the center has MUCH more wear again and is noticeable to the naked eye, even without using a gauge.

Now, I know that the common cause for cupping is over inflation, so I have been VERY meticulous about keeping the PSI on these right at 34 on the front and 35 on the back. But, nothing has made any difference at all, once again, these will be lucky to make it 10K miles!!

WTF is wrong?? Are these tires just THAT shi**y? They aren`t a great tire, even new, so if they wear like this, I`m not sure how they could still be on the market.

ANY advice would be greatly appreciated! I can`t afford to drop $1k on tires every 9-10 months!

These are on a 2007 XC90 Sport, 255/50/19

I`ve got a client with an AMG S55 and the right rear tire gets eat up/worn out after only 6-8k. The left rear gets eat up also, just not as bad. Amazingly, the front tires can easly get 25k before we start needing to consider replacing

I have had the tire shop look into this, the mercedes dealer, an independent repair shop and last but not least a big rig(18 wheeler)frame shop look into it. None of the above have been able to find the cause and the car has never been involved in an accident

If I`m not mistaking, his tires are 255/55/19 z rated

What we have done was switch from contenintal to an off brand tire. Its not the answer we want, but they are almost 1/2 the cost of the contenintal brand

**Husker Z** · 05-19-2010, 01:35 PM

I went to the installer over lunch to have them take a look at them for me and they were very surprised at the wear as well. They immediately got on the phone with Pirelli and started the ball rolling towards something I guess. All tires were at a minimum 2/32`s more worn in the center than on the shoulders, two were 3/32`s more worn, so something is obviously not right.

The only response anyone could give was over inflation and that is NOT it, unless I`m supposed to run these 6+ PSI lower than the car recommends.

Anyway, I hope they can do something about them, or at least give me some money back on them so I can get something else. I`ll gladly sacrifice performance on them for treadwear, it`s the wife`s car! :biggrin:

I`ll keep my fingers crossed.

**Harleyguy** · 05-19-2010, 08:54 PM

Sounds like you need some Volvo Advice.The Pirelli`s in my opinion suck we had nothing but trouble with them from the time the factory installed them.In 06 they were so bad they had to warranty all of them if the car had less then 15,000 miles on them and less then 2/32 of tread left.They changed them with the ones you bought but they still wear out within 12,000 miles.We now install Hankooks on all our customers cars.So far they have been great.Also make sure they do a 4 wheel alignment.And have the check the rear stay bars that they aren`t bent.Other then that the tire pressure should be 37psi on the front and 39 on the rear look at the label on the b pillar post when you open the door .Any other questions do ask .

**Husker Z** · 05-20-2010, 08:35 AM

Originally Posted by Harleyguy

Sounds like you need some Volvo Advice.The Pirelli`s in my opinion suck we had nothing but trouble with them from the time the factory installed them.In 06 they were so bad they had to warranty all of them if the car had less then 15,000 miles on them and less then 2/32 of tread left.They changed them with the ones you bought but they still wear out within 12,000 miles.We now install Hankooks on all our customers cars.So far they have been great.Also make sure they do a 4 wheel alignment.And have the check the rear stay bars that they aren`t bent.Other then that the tire pressure should be 37psi on the front and 39 on the rear look at the label on the b pillar post when you open the door .Any other questions do ask .

Thanks, I DO need some Volvo advice. I got a call back from the Pirelli rep and was basically told to stick it. BUT, they do have some new and improved ones coming out. I informed the fine gentleman that I wouldn`t put Pirellis on my lawn mower and since I`m not too busy at work, I plan on finding every tire site that accepts ratings/reviews and letting everyone know what kind of tires these are and how outstanding their customer service is when they know they sold you a junk set. Anyway.....

I read about people taking their 90`s back and Volvo replacing them, that`s pretty cool of them actually, most places would not do that.

I will be lucky to get 12K out of these and that will take the center of these tires to the wear bar and beyond. I`ve kept them at 34-35 the entire time and my door jamb recommends 36 (I think the Sports/R-Designs have different pressure recommendations), so they are far from over inflated. I also had it aligned right after these tires were installed and also had the rear sway bar replaced, under warranty shortly after as well. The tires are all wearing exactly the same and very even on the shoulders, it`s just the center that is wearing out.

I don`t know why, but I have a hell of a time with tires man. It seems like I`m dealing with buying new tires every 9 months or so, which stinks. I plan on waiting until winter, if I can make it that long, and getting the new Continental DWS. They are getting awesome reviews from Volvo owners and they have the highest treadwear rating of any tire in my size.

What I don`t get is, my parents just bought a `10 R-Design XC90 with 20" rims on it and ours is 19". They have WAY more options for their tires than I do and WAY cheaper as well. I guess our size is just odd ball and I`m screwed!