Maserati takes to the snow
Maserati and The Tire Rack Partner: All Weather Pleasure

Few owners of exotic cars would ever consider driving their prized possession year-round, unless they were blessed to live without fear of snow-covered roads. Maserati cars, however, have been engineered to excel through all seasons and in all climates.

There is no question that the Maserati Quattroporte and GranTurismo are superior performers. Among the factors that make them perform so capably are the carefully selected tires. Maserati worked closely with Pirelli, Michelin, Goodyear and Continental to develop tires that optimize the handling characteristics in varying conditions.

Their high performance and exotic names make it easy to mistake modern Maseratis for solely warm-weather cars. The truth is that all variants of the Quattroporte and GranTurismo – even the new and more powerful S versions – are transformed into masters of winter roads simply by fitting the right equipment for the conditions. When the temperatures dip towards freezing and the roads become slick, all it takes is the right set of winter tires.

Maserati North America and The Tire Rack, the largest distributor of tires in North America, have now formed a partnership whereby The Tire Rack will maintain stock of all standard Maserati tire sizes and types. Their superb operation, which includes UPS shipping points integrated right into their five major distribution centers, promises to deliver the tires owners need, whether a full set or a single replacement, to virtually every Maserati dealer overnight. Their relationships with all the leading tire manufacturers have, in turn, allowed them to gain commitment from their suppliers to help make sure they never run out of stock.

But why should a Maserati need special tires to cope with winter conditions when so many other vehicles utilize all-season tires?  Indeed we asked ourselves this because we happen to have experienced a Quattroporte Executive GT shod with sticky Pirelli P Zero Rossos on ice, and with the aid of Maserati's traction control and stability program, and the very clever 'ice' setting for the transmission, it was benignly out-handling everything else on the road, including our Lexus camera car!  But that's not good enough: Maserati doesn’t compromise.  Maserati is about being the best, and the best handling is achieved by performance winter tires in the winter and the performance summer tires with which Maseratis are equipped when they leave the factory.

The Tire Rack recently kicked off the new partnership by hosting Maserati dealers from the northern states at their headquarters in South Bend, Indiana. The event was a revelation, even for automotive professionals.

The Tire Rack’s Director of Tire Information Services and tire guru, John Rastetter, led an in-depth discussion of tire design and construction covering all the areas in which a tire is expected to excel: cornering, acceleration, braking, noise, comfort, durability, adhering to difference road surfaces, appearance, safety, and more; he imparted wisdom about how rubber compounds are engineered to perform within specific temperature ranges; he explained how grooves and tread blocks and the minute details of a tire’s tread design help summer and winter performance tires achieve their intended performance goals. And he backed up every facet of the discussion with remarkably simple practical demonstrations!

John’s classroom session was certainly convincing, but can winter tires live up to the hype? Can they really make cars like the Maserati GranTurismo and Quattroporte safer and more practical in the snow?  We all remember the winter tires of not so long ago. You remember them… they were big, blocky, and ugly.  They were noisy and spongy.  And they refused to grip even a dry road as soon as you leaned on them just a little.  But at least they were better in the snow than your other tires.

The tiremakers have, fortunately, learned much in the last 20 years.  While most of us know that summer performance tires have improved steadily, as it turns out, winter tires have matched their summer counterparts in evolutionary terms. The truth was exposed in tests on both snow and dry road driving; tests that were as much fun as they were revealing.

The Tire Rack has very kindly supplied video that clearly demonstrates the vast performance difference experienced in real-world winter driving between a GranTurismo S fitted with original equipment Pirelli P Zero summer performance tires, and one fitted with Pirelli’s Sottozero performance winter tire.  From a standing start on snow-covered pavement the car equipped with winter tires covered 200 ft in 11 seconds, while the GranTurismo with summer tires took a painful 28 seconds.  More jaw-dropping was the difference in stopping distance on the snow-covered surface: a panic stop in 35 feet on winter tires versus 95 feet on summer tires. That could be the difference between a near miss or a more unfortunate outcome! The only thing, as it turns out, to prevent a Maserati from being a reliable partner in the winter is when the snow on the road simply gets too deep.

There was little snow during our visit to Indiana.  However, experiencing the two tires in typical late fall / early spring weather led to some surprises. With the temperatures hovering close to freezing, on bare pavement both tires performed with aplomb! What this means to Maserati owners is that performance need not be compromised during the transition from summer to winter driving.  Traction, grip and responsiveness in these conditions were remarkably similar between the tires. But as conditions deteriorate further the winter tires really begin to shine.

Though the Quattroporte and GranTurismo are both rear wheel drive performance cars, their layout yields a rear-biased weight distribution, which enhances traction and improves braking balance. With the rearward weight balance and cutting edge electronics and stability control aided by winter tires, there is little reason to avoid the winter roads with your Maserati.  Indeed, you can positively enjoy winter driving, which is what a Maserati is designed for.

The Tire Rack also demonstrated some of the tire characteristics that we often take for granted, noticing only when they are unacceptable: noise and comfort. A traditional weakness of winter rubber, the Pirelli Sottozero was as quiet and comfortable as the P Zero summer tire over every road surface tested during the demonstration. A route covering a wide variety of public roads highlighted the fact that responsiveness in dry, near-freezing conditions is also virtually on par between the Sottozero and P Zero. With just a little ice or snow, however, the Sottozero once again shines.

With the might of The Tire Rack ensuring availability for authorized Maserati dealers – and a tour of The Tire Rack’s headquarters and largest distribution facility confirmed that this impressive organization does indeed operate with amazing efficiency – the new partnership is sure to benefit every Maserati owner, even if they don’t opt to explore the amazing year-round potential of their Maserati.

Pirelli famously advertised, “Power is nothing without control.”  And miraculously, it turns out that with the right winter rubber, the power of a modern Maserati can be controlled when the going gets slippery. The Tire Rack’s John Rastetter was heard to say, “I would rather be in a Maserati on winter tires than any four-wheel-drive with the wrong tires for the conditions!”

Contact your local authorized Maserati dealer to learn more about the Tire Rack partnership, and how it can ensure you get the right set of tires for your Maserati – whatever the weather.