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Head-to-head Updated

Pirelli P Zero vs Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): 60% professional tests, 40% owner reviews.

Potenza RE980AS leads, 63–62 Narrow edge

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Tire APirelli

P Zero

Summer

Tests 73 · 3 tests Owners 51 · 3,469 reviews

“So many people seem to hate the p zero but I’ve got along with them so well, but yes they can go rock hard when they’re cold but once they’ve got some heat in them especially in the wet they grip so well for me. I have noticed though that anything below 4-5°c is when they become hard to keep heat in but once you work the tyre properly they’re brilliant. I have run them all winter on my 300bhp fwd car and can’t complain, I don’t get why no one likes them🤷‍♂️”

Category by category

Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.

  1. 73

    Dry

    P Zero +6
    67
    Why this score
    SourceP ZeroPotenza RE980AS
    Professional tests (TWG score)79–
    Reviews found online6467
  2. 71

    Wet

    P Zero +3
    68
    Why this score
    SourceP ZeroPotenza RE980AS
    Professional tests (TWG score)80–
    Reviews found online5768
  3. 50

    Snow

    Potenza RE980AS +6
    56
    Why this score
    SourceP ZeroPotenza RE980AS
    Reviews found online3747
  4. 62

    Comfort

    Level
    62
    Why this score
    SourceP ZeroPotenza RE980AS
    Professional tests (TWG score)70–
    Reviews found online5154
  5. 59

    Noise

    Potenza RE980AS +5
    64
    Why this score
    SourceP ZeroPotenza RE980AS
    Professional tests (TWG score)61–
    Reviews found online5560
  6. 53

    Treadwear

    Potenza RE980AS +7
    60
    Why this score
    SourceP ZeroPotenza RE980AS
    Professional tests (TWG score)65–
    Reviews found online3456
  7. 58

    Handling

    Potenza RE980AS +3
    61
    Why this score
    SourceP ZeroPotenza RE980AS
    Reviews found online5861
Scores at a glance
CategoryPirelli P ZeroBridgestone Potenza RE980AS
Relative Score 62 63
Dry 73 67
Wet 71 68
Snow 50 56
Comfort 62 62
Noise 59 64
Treadwear 53 60
Handling 58 61

Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip and treadwear start at “Important” — the two things buyers rank highest. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

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Recomputed
Headline score

P Zero

Potenza RE980AS

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A P Zero

Pros

  • Outstanding dry grip and handling performance
  • Precise steering feedback and high-speed stability
  • Good wet-weather braking and cornering when warm

Cons

  • Rapid and uneven tread wear, often requiring replacement much sooner than expected
  • Poor grip and unpredictable traction in cold temperatures (below 7°C/45°F)
  • Prone to tramlining and tracking road imperfections
All owner themes in the P Zero review

Tire B Potenza RE980AS

Pros

  • Excellent dry grip and sporty handling characteristics
  • Sharp and responsive initial turn-in
  • Competitive pricing within the premium high-performance category

Cons

  • Increased road noise as the tread wears down
  • Poor snow and ice traction compared to other all-season options
  • Stiffer sidewall impact comfort relative to competitors like Michelin
All owner themes in the Potenza RE980AS review

What real owners are saying

From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score

Tire A

Pirelli P Zero

Mixed

Community opinions on the Pirelli P Zero lineup are heavily polarized depending on the specific sub-model and application (automotive vs. cycling). While performance summer variants and the newer AS Plus 3 or PZ5 tyres receive strong praise for dry grip, steering feel, and value compared to Michelin or Continental alternatives, older OEM specs and certain summer variants face heavy criticism for poor wet weather traction, fast wear rates, and difficult mounting.

r/CheckpointClub ·47 upvotes ·2026-09-13

“New rubber for the road wheels Pirelli P-Zero RS TLR 30mm, measuring 33mm on 25mm inner rim width. Rides like a dream, but the center thread is narrow, so I'd not feel confident if I raced anything with tighter cornering.”
r/mazda3 ·3 upvotes ·2026-04-07

“I put a set of Pirelli P Zero AS3's on my 2019 Mazda 3. After driving about 1,500 miles, I can say that I love them. The steering has a very direct feel - it turns in almost immediately. Needless to say the grip is fantastic. ... and that is only with outside air temps in the 50's. I can't wait to see how they perform when it gets to be in the 70's and they can get some heat in them. One of the reasons I was attracted to this tire is that Pirelli claims to have incorporated technology that helps the tires maintain the same level of performance as they wear over time. I have been frustrated in the past to see how tires loose their grip long before the treadwear gets low. Also, it didn't hurt that Pirelli had a $100 instant rebate!”
r/MachE ·16 upvotes ·2025-12-10

“New Pirelli P Zero at 36k miles I got 36k miles out of the stock tires. After reading some people reviews and watching some videos I went with the Pirelli P Zero. When I order them the sales rep was trying to sell me the Pirelli Scorpion. He mentioned that I would get 70k miles compared to the 50k miles the p zero will give me. I wanted tires that stick and do well in rain. Here in SoCal it does not rain much but when it does I want to make sure I am sticking to the ground. I value contact versus mileage. What do you all think ate the scorpions just as good as the p zero?”
Top themes
#Wet weather grip performance#Treadwear and mileage longevity#Ride comfort and low noise#Difficult tire mounting process#Comparison with Michelin and Continental

Based on 107 community posts

Tire B

Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS

We haven't collected enough community discussion about this tire yet.

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Pirelli P Zero B · Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS
CategorySummerAll Season
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available1941
Rim diameters17″ – 24″17″
Tread depth10/32″10/32″
UTQG220 A A500 A A
Treadwear warranty—50,000 mi
SidewallBlackwallBlackwall
Max pressure50 psi51 psi

Which one should you actually buy?

Pirelli P Zero

Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS

Too close to call: Pirelli P Zero and Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS are within 2 points overall. Pirelli P Zero is stronger on dry and wet. Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS is stronger on treadwear, snow and noise.

Pick tire B You want the longest tread life

Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS scores 60 vs 53 on treadwear.

Pick tire A You want the most grip on dry roads

Pirelli P Zero scores 73 vs 67 on dry.

Pick tire B You drive through snowy winters

Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS scores 56 vs 50 on snow.

Pick tire B You want a quieter cabin

Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS scores 64 vs 59 on noise.

Tire A · Pirelli P Zero
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Tire B · Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS
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How do we compare tires?

Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements), each result compared with every other tire in the same test and newer tests counting more. 40% comes from owner reviews found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates. Both use one scale: the average tested tire gets 70, the best 100. When a tire has only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from the other and the score stays closer to average; with no road test and fewer than five owner reviews it gets no score yet.

Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score.

63

Narrow edge

Potenza RE980AS

Amazon