Pirelli Winter Sottozero Serie II Sizes & review

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The Winter Sottozero Serie II is Pirelli’s second generation of Sottozero Performance Winter / Snow tires developed for the drivers of premium, high performance vehicles facing challenging wintertime road conditions. The Winter Sottozero Serie II was developed with the philosophy that winter / snow tires must perform in a variety of unpredictable weather conditions and aren’t just for use in the snowbelt states. Winter Sottozero Serie II tires are designed not just as winter / snow tires, but as seasonal tires suitable for the weather and road conditions typically experienced in parts of the U.S. between November and April by providing traction and handling in cold, dry, wet and wintry conditions.

Winter Sottozero Serie II tires use a tread compound featuring new polymers and mixing processes that allow them to be ecologically friendlier because they are free of aromatic oils. Pirelli’s Temperature Dynamic Compound technology optimizes the compound for wet and icy surfaces to provide improved traction in winter’s near-freezing and lower temperatures. The tread blocks feature Pirelli’s Interactive Brickwork Siping where the sipes create a brickwork pattern that increases both lateral and longitudinal stability while providing more biting edges to increase snow traction. The tire’s internal structure includes twin steel belts reinforced by spirally wrapped polyamide that enhances thermal stability and makes the tires less sensitive to road and air temperature changes.

Winter Sottozero Serie II winter / snow tires meet the industry’s severe snow service requirements and are branded with the three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) symbol.

Install Winter Sottozero Serie II tires in sets of four only.

Due to the traction capabilities of the Winter Sottozero Serie II tires, Pirelli recommends using them only in sets of four to provide the best handling characteristics and tire performance.

29 COMMENTS

  1. I am a very cautious driver. That being said, I am using these tires in snow/ice mode on my car and the slightest press of the peddle with my toe and the rears loose traction. Keep in mind I’m driving a car with 455hp to the rear wheels. The tires have excellent turning and braking ability on snow however you cannot use this on a RWD car in the snow when turning at all. You need to be very very careful when any throttle is applied at all.

  2. I am writing this review as I order 2 additional tires. My wife suffered a pothole blowout this morning. We have felt quite secure with this set of tires through this winter. Generally we don’t use this car for deep snow. But everything else has been sure footed.

  3. Tires were great at the start but even then there were a few problems. The 255/40/R19 were a touch larger and you could hear the tread rub on the inside wheel well. Overall the tires were OK but didn’t have fantastic grip on snow or wet roads. The worst came when the tires were a few years old and one let go on the freeway and partially delaminated creating a lot of damage on the wheel well, rear fender and bumper bar causing shop time for repairs. Since when do tire de-laminated these days? Certainly wouldn’t buy them again.

  4. The Sotozeros performed well for a winter tire. I felt that they provided good feedback and cornered well. A little softer than my summer tire and slight slipping around tight medium speed corners but very good for a performance winter tire.

  5. I was a bit leary of breaking my pattern of high end Michelin performance snows, but am glad I took a chance on the Pirellis. This Sottozero II is easily the best performance snow tire I have driven. It is notably better in four areas: dry and wet grip, road noise, wear, and snow handling. About the same in deep snow. Even in the 255/35-19 size, it handled every extreme of an upstate NY winter. Makes me want to consider the P Zero Nero when my OEM Continentals wear out (which will be too soon), over the Michelin Pilot A3+. P.S. It helps to have a AWD great car!

  6. I have 3,000 miles (about half on snow/ice) on my Tesla Performance Model 3. This tire is a driver’s tire. It’s wonderfully predictably and easy to drive near the limit without surprises. I’ve had winter tires with better snow/ice traction but I couldn’t wait for spring to come so I could take them off. These tires I’ll take off reluctantly in the spring because they are so pleasant to drive on any road surface. The AWD/Performance Tesla Model 3 has exceptional electronic traction and stability controls, very quick to react and very progressive, so no heavy-handed and obvious intervention. You can enter a snowy corner too fast and it’s like the hand of — reaching down to hold you on your line. Most drivers wouldn’t even know they had help if they didn’t look down and see the indication of electronic driver aids kicking on. Because the Tesla is so sure-footed on snow and ice this tire is a great match. It doesn’t have the most ice/snow traction compared to other good winter tires but the Model 3 doesn’t need that much to drive confidently in a relaxed manner. These are good tires for performance driving on cold, wet or dry roads or more normal driving on treacherous ice and snow. Plenty of winter tires will offer a bit more traction on snow and ice and if you are willing to live with the poor driving dynamics on bare or bare/wet highways and the extra noise and imprecise feel that most winter tires offer, then go with those. This is a great winter tire for those who can’t stand typical winter tires and love to drive curvy backroads.

  7. I’ve had these tires for ’10 Cadillac CTS-V for about 3 1/2 years now – only for winter! Being a high horsepower rear wheel drive performance sedan, this is normally not known for winter driving. Getting snow tires for it was the best decision. I originally purchased the tires while living in NY on Long Island – lots of snow and cold weather. These tires performed better the colder it gets. There were several 2-4″ snows that my car was able to go along normally compared to seeing other trucks and SUVs in the ditches. This turned my good weather only sport sedan into a year round performance vehicle!

  8. We just got them installed today. Love them. They grip the road. We usually keep summer tires on year round, but this winter is supposed to be really cold and snowy, so we decided to try these. We usually watch how cold it gets for the summer tires and don’t drive on them below 35 degrees. It’s already been below that, and with these tires, we don’t have to worry. This is the fourth time we have ordered from Tire Rack and they are amazing. Whenever we have called with questions, they have been very helpful.

  9. Got this for the New England winters for the 911 991.2 Base. Haven’t had snow or even ice to drive in yet this winter but plenty of driving in cold subzero temps, as well as above 45 degree warmer weather as well. Also auto-crossed the tire at a winter PCA event. My impressions so far: Most amazing thing about this tire is its comfort, period. It’s the most comfortable winter tire I’ve ever had, in 20 years of driving on all sorts of dedicated winter tires on all sorts of vehicles. Magic carpet smooth and quiet in 12 degrees F or even in 50 degrees F. Yet, they still perform to support my hard-driven 911. Despite their comfort, I want for no other tire when it’s colder than 40 F degrees or so. At 30 degrees F, they harden really nicely and are even trackable, capable of supporting Hooningan driving. Above 45 F, they start to get soft and mushy like most winter tires, and you have to dial back hard braking, lest you’ll invoke some ABS. In the colder temps where they shine, dynamic driving is well supported on HWY, local roads and under extreme pre-corner braking. I couldn’t be happier with these tires and I don’t care that Pirelli since came out with a Sottozero 3. These are all I need for dry winter driving, hard. As for snow and ice, and tread-wear, I’ll get back to you on that when I have the experience to report. If you’re wondering whether to pick these up on clearance deals or what have you, don’t hesitate. These tires way exceeded my expectations. If you need a tire to give you summertime performance in the dead of winter cold, look no further. If you need snow capability, I defer to others who may have tested that.

  10. These Sottozero Series II have been excellent on snow packed (1-3ft) roads before turning into ice with some sliding on icy conditions where it was unexpected.On dry roads they perform like all season tires, quite and smooth riding during cold mornings (below 40F), however I can fell the tire vibration on warmer mornings. Excellent rain traction and responsive on we roads. I have enjoyed them so far for how they have performed. I was able to make it to my work on mornings which some bridges were packed with snow and ice.

  11. I was very happy with the traction and handling delivered from these tires. However, after only one winter of use the tires were ruined. I only put about 4-5K miles on the tires. In that time all 4 developed a budge on the inside wall of the tire caused by a small crack on the inside of the tire. Unfortunately for me these tires were used on German roads so Tire Racks warranty did not cover them. I was very disappointed in the quality especially after being so happy with my P-Zero Summer tires. Bottom line – the traction I received was not worth the 1K I spent to have them last only one winter. I would not recommend these tires.

  12. This set was a replacement of the Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50 as it was getting too old. As compared to the Blizzak when both were new, the Sottozero has noticeably less traction in snow and ice. Traction control was triggered more frequently. It is quieter than the Blizzak and more comfortable.

  13. This tire has good tread quality. I’ve used this winter tire for two snow seasons and still the tread looks like new.But I’m not satisfied with the grip it has even on cold dry road. When doing a hard acceleration, traction control light turns on immediately and the car keep fish tailing until I let go off the accelerator. But overall, this is a good tire. Just that it’s not an apt tire for a rear wheel drive CTS-V

  14. I live in Boulder Colorado and purchased this set of tires for the winter season. They perform excellent at lower temperatures on dry surface, but if you plan on driving in light snow and slush, I would highly recommend buying a set of the Bridgestone Blizzack winter tires. The Pirelli Winter Sottozero Serie II tires do not perform well at all on a RWD CAMARO with 455HP. The only reason why I purchased the Pirelli’s tires was strictly for lower temperatures DRY performance. On day’s with snow accumulation less than 2″ , I will drive to work very cautiously and slow due to the sketchy traction in snow.

  15. These tires turned my car from unable to be safely driven to drivable on wintry Utah roads. Rear wheel drive with over 500 lb-ft of torque does not work very well in even mild conditions. These tires allow me to safely travel 10-15 miles per day to and from work on barely plowed roads

  16. I purchased this set for my recent 8,000-mile, clockwise trek around the country. Hitting every possible weather and road condition you can imagine – there was a blizzard in NY all the way to MA; torrential downpours and dirt roads in TN and TX – I was able to maintain all legal speed limits with 100% confidence. Being a seasoned track driver, I rely heavily on sensorial communication with the tires, and the response of these tires is their greatest asset, given the circumstances; they actually feel rigid and stop on a dime in all conditions, provided that you’re conscientious and responsible about it. Random spirited canyon runs were still a blast, and I was able to gas up in two feet of snow with zero effort (plowing through, and accelerating out). Best part is, in all miles of temperature, elevation and weather changes traveled, not one tire lost more than a single pound of air pressure, which I think fully bolsters Pirelli’s “thermal stability” concept. That’s pretty amazing, if you ask me. I give these an A+ for comfort and safety, a B+ for overall performance, and an A++ for ensuring my return home. Delighted that I took the leap and tried these out.

  17. This review is for the MO rated version of this tire which I purchased for my Mercedes Benz E350 4Matic. As you would expect from the MO rating, these tires ride extremely well with low noise and high comfort levels. The car responds very well with these tires with very good steering feel and tracking. I have noticed no change in fuel consumption. There is zero penalty for using these in the winter months over the OEM Continentals that Mercedes equips the E Class 4Matic with. However, as you would expect from the performance winter tire category, these tires do not have the ultimate snow grip that one experiences with studless ice and snow tires. But that is a fair trade off for the excellent performance of these tires in all other conditions and considering most of my winter driving in Wisconsin is on fairly well plowed and salted roads that are usually just wet or slightly slushy. Ice traction has been surprisingly good knowing these are performance winter tires. The MO version of these tires definitely fit the characteristic of a Mercedes. I’m very picky about tires and I feel this is a really good tire!

  18. I purchased these tires for my 20 inch oem amg rims.. My mistake was using them the whole year around. Here in the north east we get pretty hot summers, that being said, the tread has held up well. However there is some signs of abuse which again was my fault for using them during the Summer. They handle excellent in dry , rain and great cornering feel. They are good in the snow, light to moderate snow. On slush and ice.. Eehhhhh.. Ok.. But I guess it’s just the laws of physics.. You can feel the slight slip but my 4Matic kicks in and takes control. All in all I would recommend these tires.. Don’t expect to be 100% free of slippage in moderate snow and slush.. They are not bridgestone blizzacks.. They work great in keeping you safe on the road in the winter and early spring seasons.. During the fall season they can also be used.. Low if any noise, smooth , and very stable on the highway..

  19. This is my 2nd winter in Northern Virginia on these set of tires. The key test was last year’s (2016’s) Major snowstorm on Jan 21st. I had to remain at work well after the repeated calls to go home early, and began my drive from Woodbridge,VA to my home in Arlington, VA at 5PM- a mix of back roads, I-395, and the hills of Northern Arlington. A terrible mix of packed snow, ice, slush- these tires made all the difference and got me home safely. I drove cautiously and had 50lbs of salt/sand mix in my trunk. We have been lucky this year so far but I have complete confidence that my 400+RHP car will be able to handle any light/ moderate snow. Will definitely purchase again.

  20. I’ve just finishing my 3rd winter with these tires and they finally got loud after 25,000 miles – now they’re cupping and getting a bit loud on the highway. Other than that, they’ve been the perfect solution for winter driving (in CT that means December 1 to April 1, 0 to 45 degrees, 0-95mph). I drive 35 miles each way to work (30 highway 5 secondary roads), plus road trips to ski country. I’ve had no regrets with these tires. They have good stick in the dry, and good performance in the snow (limited only by my car being 4″ off the ground).

  21. Bought these one size narrower as they were closed out last year for like $70 per tire by Tirerack…I couldn’t pass it up. I have used them all winter on my 485 hp Scat Pack Charger and it has been a very serviceable daily driver. The most snow I had it in was probably about 5 inches and it did as well as my old wrx did on all seasons if not better. What really impresses me is the wet traction especially under acceleration. I am often surprised they aren’t breaking loose under the amount of throttle applied. I sometimes think the stock Goodyear F1’s spin on dry pavement more often under the same throttle application as the Pirelli’s in the wet. I am tempted to run them year round they perform so well, but the 235’s look too skinny on the car so I will probably swap the F1’s back on for summer until they are toast in another 5,000 miles or so. Good job on these Pirelli.

  22. I bought these for winter wheel and tire setup in Michigan. I opted for smaller wheels and bigger tires to absorb the bad Michigan roads, and these tires smoothed out my ride and kept me safe. I never got stuck in deep snow or lost control on icy roads. These tires are really great on cold dry roads. It’s like driving with summer tire traction on freezing roads. Nice and quiet as well.

  23. Excellent winter tire. With this tire on my FWD Impala, am able – most every winter day – to travel up my 500′ long uphill driveway. In addition, driving around town, the tires provide excellent grip and traction in wintry conditions.

  24. Tires are fairly new. I live in the woods of New England and i will say these tires are much better in poor driving conditions than I ever expected. The highway and paved surface driving is much better than my all season tires!

  25. Recently got these for my winter set, which on the Pacific Northwest is mostly rain. But the deep grooves and tread pattern have made driving in very hard rain and standing water very confidence inspiring, no hydroplaning at all that I’ve experienced. The cold weather (2-4 C / sub-40F) traction has been great as well. To top it off, they’re quite a nice, quiet tire, quieter than the summers I have. Very impressed with these. Can’t wait to try them out in some snow!

  26. Purchased for my winter set on a 991.1 C4. We have had some extremely cold dry days as well as a lot of wet days and light snow. Traction has been great and inspires confidence in the snow and wet. I got 19″ winters and they are just as quiet as the 20″ summer tires — and a lot quieter than the Blizzacks on my BMW. Have not seen any wear yet, but this is the first winter for these tires. I would buy them again.

  27. My initial feedback on the first 1000 miles of driving on these tires on both highway and city streets have been excellent. I’ve had a chance to test them in dry, wet and snow ( 2 inches ) and these tires have performed as expected from the ratings. These are actually better than the stock PIRELLI CINTURATO P7 ALL SEASON tires that came stock with the Audi. These feel much tighter in the turns without that soft, sluggish feeling when going into turns. They track better through quick maneuvers as well. The REAL test came yesterday when it was 55 degress out and I had to drive these on the highway. I was worried they would be very soft and squirmy since the weather was warm, but they held up just fine. Of course they felt softer than usual, but what do you expect with a snow tire in 55 degree weather. I will report back when I have logged more miles on these tires.

  28. Oscar, my friendly TR agent researched, found the unlisted size and resurrected this order 45 days after my first deal fell through. Being Porsche NO-certified and using 18″ wheels (normal 20″ Turbo wheels) and shipping from CT to Albany NY, made this a “perfect fit” for my new Panamera S E-Hybrid…virtually next day service just in time for our first Noreaster.I’ve got only 1000 miles on these SottoZero Series II tires, but notice they are even quieter than the OEM Pirellis (all season) that came with the car and they perform VERY well. I live at sea level on the Hudson River and EVERYWHERE is uphill from here…that’s made even more challenging by our city plow team; These have climbed every time, every slick surface. And with 1800 total miles, the computer says my avg (2 mos) MPG is 36.4 not bad for cold temps, new engine break-in and a heavy (4950#), powerful hybrid sedan.I’ll add that I don’t push the traction envelope as much as I used to, and especially not on winter tires with who-knows-what ice around the curve, but these tires perform very stably and quietly…and they don’t even look like chunky M&S tread.Many thanks to Oscar and the TR team for 20 years of high-performance (BMW 5 series) tires.

  29. Have had on for seven seasons now. Good in snow (but not as good as Blizzak WS80s on my Saab). Much quieter, more comfortable, and seem to be more responsive (non-snow) than the Blizzaks. However, I am now seeing quite a bit of degradation on the inner blocks- much more than on the Blizzaks (about same age and mileage). Have not tried swapping CLK/RWD/Pirelli vs 9-3/FWD/Blizzak.

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