Pirelli Cinturato C3

I’ve been running these tires on my tuned BMW (250 hp / 350 Nm of torque, RWD), and from a pure driving dynamics standpoint, they are absolutely phenomenal.

The grip is incredible, allowing the car to put the power down and braking effortlessly. The steering response is sharp, precise, and gives you an immediate sense of confidence and control when throwing the car into corners. You always know exactly what the front end is doing, and the overall feeling of safety at high speeds is top-tier.

If there is any room for improvement, it would be the road noise and ride comfort. I definitely wished they were a bit quieter and more forgiving over bumps and potholes. However, I’ve come to realize that you can't have it all. When a tire delivers this level of handling and performance, you naturally sacrifice a bit of plushness. Living in a place with bad roads, I'm still questioning whether the Michelin Primacy 5 would have been a better choice.

Overall, if you drive a dynamic car and prioritize grip and steering feel above all else, these are tough to beat.

I recently replaced my Continental PremiumContact 7 tires with a set of Pirelli Cinturato C3s.

After several hundred miles of mixed driving, including wet conditions, I have been pleasantly surprised by the overall performance. Grip levels are good in both dry and wet weather, steering response is predictable, and the tires feel stable and confidence-inspiring. Compared with the PremiumContact 7, I would say the C3 is slightly quieter and more refined on motorway journeys, which has been a welcome improvement.

Unfortunately, my experience has been let down by the manufacturing finish and quality control. Two tires from the set (DOT 2502) were finished to a very high standard, while the other two (DOT 2503) showed noticeably rough sidewall and shoulder finishing, visible splice marks and uneven trimming. The difference was obvious even though all four tires were the same model and made in Italy.

The tires themselves appear to perform well, and I have not experienced any safety or handling issues. However, for a premium-priced tire from a premium brand, the inconsistency in finish quality is disappointing and below what I would expect from Pirelli.

Overall:
Performance: 8.5/10
Comfort & Noise: 9/10
Quality Control & Finish: 4/10

A very capable tire on the road, but let down by surprisingly poor manufacturing consistency.

Happy new year peeps!

Below are my initial ownership impressions of C3 in 225/45/17 size used on my Honda Civic 2019, 1.6 diesel, 120hp/300nm.

It is early days with C3, but since there are not too many opinions of these, quite new design, tires I thought I will give you my impressions. I have done maybe 2.5-3k km on them so far and also since it is winter here with temps mostly in 0 to 7'C range I am not getting them in their temperature sweet spot.

They seem to shift their behavior into something very promising in 5+ Celsius (which is expected). Pzero Nero (original version of PZ Nero, so UHP vs touring) were waking up around 14+'C.

So in this limited running in less than optimal temperatures I can tell you the following:

1. These are the first tires I used that are that eager to turn in (yes, even more so than original PZero Nero). All other tries I used on any car in the past felt like understeering on turn-in (they did not, but that is how eager these C3 are to turn-in in compare). I actually had to adjust a bit how I drive as after all these past tries these feel so neutral on entry that in compare to usual tries they feel like they are going to oversteer on initial turn-in.

2. Sidewall is stiffer than Bridgstone Turanza R33 (OE tire for my Civic) I had on Honda, and probably not too far off from PZero Nero.

3. Wife says these are quieter than ER33. For me they are similar.

4. They dampen road chatter better than ER33 (so small imperfection of asphalt, like stones etc, joints) but due to stiffer sidewall they are more jarring and harsher on bigger road defects (like pot holes). I mean with pot holes the initial thump is softened due to softer rubber but then stiffer sidewall takes over and makes for harsher jolt action.

5. Breaking grip is night and day but that is expected when moving from worn to brand new (and more advanced) rubber.

6. You can feel what each tire is doing independently from others. The communication is very good (for touring tire).

7. I ran ER33 2.2bar all corners. These seem to like 2.5F 2.4R (ER33 were normal load vs extra load (XL) for C3, so the need for higher pressure is expected). For reference real life weight of my Civic, with full tank and no occupants is 1450kg.

In general so far I like them very much, and cannot wait for warmer temperatures to kick-in so I can truly get to know them.

But they do not feel like any tire that I had before due to turn-in (I like it about them but it requires some adjustment).

These are certainly built to be sportier of touring tires, with all the blessings of heightened communication and responsiveness but also with drawbacks of a tad harsher ride on bigger impacts or more uneven tarmac (jolting).

It is very early into the ownership, but so far, based on initial characteristics, I would probably buy them again.

If you want to know anything else, let me know and I will try to reply.

ohh, yes, almost forgot, I enjoy spirited driving and 99% of the time I drive on deserted b-road / country side roads.

EDIT: One extra note. 225/45/17 is one of the "sportiest" sizes in the range. To the extent that they are even rated 1db lauder than rest of the popular sizes. So keep it in mind, as my remarks about sidewall stiffness and turn-in characteristics might be muted in compare in versions with proportionally taller sidewall.