Just finished our first year with our 2014 JCW CM. The car has been flawless. However at about 5000 miles the tires began to sing. At 15000 miles they have a distinctive beat at all speeds and tend to follow road imperfections. They are driving us nuts and ruining a very nice drive.
Plenty of tread left and rotated on schedule.
Anyone else have problems with the Pirelli P Zero (225/40 R19)? If so any recourse with Mini or Pirelli, other than biting the bullet and putting a better set of tires on the car?
Thank you

 

Have the alignment checked. From the factory its not unusual to have the alignment off a hair from transport That's where you get cupping and feathering on the tires.

 

Interesting. Bought our '13 CM used with 6k, it had 8 last weekend when I rotated the tires(prob initial rotation). Haven't noticed any issues steering or tracking like the OP. The rears looked fine, but there was slight feathering on the outboard blocks on the fronts. I think I'll have the alignment checked on a 4 wheel laser setup

 

My last car had 215/40R18s with electric steering. It loved to follow the crown slope on the roads and tractor trailer ruts in the road. It got worse with treadwear.
I am sorry to say that with 225/40R19 , you are going to follow road imperfections and feel them as well. I think your P Zeros are run flats, the extra thick sidewalls only make it worse. Definitely explain your issue with your dealer. They can check the alignment and if there is a known issue with the tire, then maybe you'll get lucky

 

I had the P-Zeros on this summer and flat wore them out. They stick well but wear too fast. Once they start to wear, and this was after an alignment, tramlining really sets in. I was beginning to think there was an issue with the suspension. When I pulled them for the winter and put the Blizzaks on, it all went away.

It's weird! I never noticed anything like that with Direzza Z1s I've ran in the past. They wore better and lasted MUCH longer.

I won't be mounting Pirellis again. I'm going with the ZII Star Spec this coming summer.

 

From what I could see on tirerack, the P Zeros had a UTQG of 220. They shouldn't last long.
Here is a snippet I grabbed from wickedpedia on tramlining:
Tramlining can usually be blamed on tires...Vehicles with large and wide low profile tires are more prone to the effects as well as vehicles which have reinforced sidewalls.The effects of tramlining can be eased by subjecting the vehicle to an inspection and calibration of the wheels (i.e. a full geometry check) or replacing the tires with non-reinforced (soft sidewall) tires.

 

Thanks everyone.
Thinking maybe it was the car. I had the car alignment check. It was Mini spec, no problems there. While on the lift we looked at the tread. No feathering or abnormal wear. So the conclusion is "P-Zeros suck!"
I think we are going to practice our drifting until we need new tires.
Smoke On!