Pirelli Cinturato WeatherActive vs Bridgestone Weatherpeak tires

For some drivers, the all-weather designation for tires is likely to be unfamiliar. All-weather tires have a lot of common ground with all-season tires, with rubber formulations, construction, and tread patterns that are all pretty similar. The key difference is that all-weather tires are developed with more of an emphasis on winter traction, and their rubber formulations and tread patterns are designed with that in mind. That means that in most cases, these tires are going to have the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) certification for severe winter service, although their winter performance in heavy snow or ice is still likely to fall short of what you’d expect with a dedicated winter tire.

When it comes down to the Pirelli Cinturato WeatherActive vs Bridgestone Weatherpeak, the two manufacturers are pretty much at the top of the game in the premium tire business. Both have decades of experience in designing and making tires of every description, and both have extensive pedigrees in the world of motorsports that they can leverage into their tire designs.

As we discuss the Cinturato WeatherActive vs the Weatherpeak, you’ll see us frequently referring to their SimpleScore numbers. If you aren’t familiar with SimpleScore, it’s the system that our team at SimpleTire has devised to assign a numerical value for the categories of traction, handling, and longevity along with an overall average SimpleScore for each tire. We look at various data points and information from reviews and then distill that down to arrive at a SimpleScore number or rating. For the Pirelli Cinturato WeatherActive and Bridgestone Weatherpeak, the SimpleScore numbers break down as follows:

Pirelli Cinturato WeatherActive:

• Traction: 9.8
• Handling: 9.8
• Longevity: 9.2
• Overall average SimpleScore: 9.6

Bridgestone WeatherPeak:

• Traction: 9.8
• Handling: 9.5
• Longevity: 9.8
• Overall average SimpleScore: 9.7

As you can see, these are tires that compare favorably to each other and are pretty closely matched as far as performance and value, making our head-to-head comparison a little more challenging. The SimpleScore numbers don’t tell the whole story, though, so let’s get into it a little deeper and see what these tires are all about in terms of performance and value:

Pirelli Cinturato WeatherActive tires

For drivers who live in parts of the country that see tough winter weather with snow and slush that might pile up on the roads and stay there for days or weeks at a time, they’ve probably already found out the hard way that most all-season tires just aren’t up to the job and aren’t capable of confidently getting from point A to point B and back again. Pirelli set out to change all that with the Cinturato WeatherActive.

The Pirelli Cinturato WeatherActive starts with a specialized tread formulation with a custom blend of polymers, resins, silica, and carbon black, designed to stay flexible and provide traction in subfreezing weather as well as long, even wear. It’s molded into a directional tread pattern with sweeping V-shaped grooves, a central zigzag groove, and trumpet-shaped lateral grooves, all working as a system for enhanced traction on wet or dry roads. Winter traction gets a boost from deep sipes and shoulder notches, more than enough to earn the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certification for severe winter service.

Handling is enhanced by a narrow, long contact patch and a 3-rib tread that’s reinforced for extra rigidity, resisting the deformation and tread squirm that go along with hard maneuvers and keeping the tire’s tread planted firmly on the pavement. The internal construction of the Cinturato WeatherActive includes a polyester casing with two steel belts and a 2-ply polyamide reinforcement layer for excellent ride quality and stability. Pirelli covers the Cinturato WeatherActive with a 60,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty.

Bridgestone Weatherpeak tires

Bridgestone set about designing the Weatherpeak as a one-time, year-round solution for drivers who have to contend with challenging winter conditions, but without sufficient snowfall and icy conditions to warrant a set of winter-only tires. Packed with innovative features, the Weatherpeak is designed around a specialized tread compound that delivers year-round traction and long wear. That tread formulation is molded into an asymmetric tread pattern that’s been developed to provide secure traction and handling in a variety of weather conditions.

The Bridgestone Weatherpeak features Bridgestone’s unique Snow Vices design, grooves that trap and retain snow to develop snow-to-snow friction in winter weather. Bridgestone’s Evolving Sipes in the tread’s center section are molded deep into the tread so they actually expand and continue to provide traction as the tread depth wears down, as well as helping to enhance tread element rigidity for sharp handling and response.

Wide circumferential grooves route water away from the tire’s contact patch to resist hydroplaning and large shoulder blocks with lateral notches give the Weatherpeak great cornering ability on wet or dry pavement. The internal construction of the Bridgestone Weatherpeak includes a single-ply polyester casing with a twin steel belt package and a nylon reinforcement ply for durability, high-speed stability, and road manners. The Bridgestone Weatherpeak has the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certification for severe winter service. Bridgestone stands by the Weatherpeak with a 70,000 mile warranty.

Pirelli Cinturato WeatherActive vs Bridgestone Weatherpeak tires on traction

When it comes to traction, the Cinturato WeatherActive from Pirelli and the Weatherpeak from Bridgestone are both very capable performers, albeit with different design details. The directional tread of the Pirelli works with the zigzag central groove and sweeping grooves for excellent grip on wet or dry roads, and its sipe pattern is well-thought-out and delivers surefooted traction on wet, snowy, or slushy pavement. The Bridgestone tire, on the other hand, has a slightly more conventional tread pattern with circumferential and angled grooves, but its Evolving Sipes and Snow Vices design gives a big boost to winter performance. Both tires come in at a SimpleScore of 9.8 for traction, and our ruling is:

ADVANTAGE: Tie

Pirelli Cinturato WeatherActive vs Bridgestone Weatherpeak tires on handling

When it comes to the handling category, this is a little more competitive with the Pirelli getting a SimpleScore of 9.8 vs 9.5 for the Bridgestone. With their rigid, durable internal design, both tires are capable when it comes to steering response, highway-speed stability, driver feedback, and cornering ability. With the Pirelli, though, the reinforced shoulder and sipe pattern give it a bit of an edge in cornering, with handling that’s neutral and predictable even when pushed to the limit. Road feel is light and nimble on wet or dry pavement without ever being touchy or overly sensitive. Lively and responsive, the Pirelli Cinturato WeatherActive does great on the slalom or twisty roads, while the Bridgestone Weatherpeak feels just a bit sluggish in comparison.

ADVANTAGE: Pirelli Cinturato WeatherActive

Pirelli Cinturato WeatherActive vs Bridgestone Weatherpeak tires on longevity

Here’s one where the Bridgestone Weatherpeak comes out on top, with a SimpleScore of 9.8 for longevity vs 9.2 for the Pirelli Cinturato WeatherActive. While both tires have advanced rubber compounds with excellent wear properties and durable internal construction, the manufacturer warranties tell the story and keep the score: 70,000 mile warranty for the Bridgestone, and a 60,000 mile warranty for the Pirelli. Easy call on this one:

ADVANTAGE: Bridgestone Weatherpeak

When to use each

The Weatherpeak and the Cinturato WeatherActive are both great all-around tires and one-tire year-round solutions for drivers who have to contend with navigating through difficult winter conditions. With handling, braking, steering response, noise levels, and ride quality that are all commendable, you can’t go wrong with either tire if you live in an area where all-season tires are likely to fall short in winter traction (and of course, the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certification is a notch in the plus column for the Bridgestone and Pirelli both). Generous treadwear coverage, great performance, and top-notch design and materials make the Pirelli and the Bridgestone both excellent values in all-weather tires.

Which one should you choose?

So we’ve totaled up the SimpleScores, we’ve done a deeper dive into the features and performance, the strengths and weaknesses of both tires. After the compare-and-contrast between the two, it’s pretty plain that the Bridgestone and the Pirelli are both strong performers and great options for drivers. But when it comes down to responsiveness, handling, road manners, braking distances, and ride quality, the Pirelli pulls ahead of the Bridgestone by a nose. Control feels more composed and secure with the Pirelli and general road manners make it an easy tire to live with on the interstate or for day-to-day commutes. With all that taken into account, our team at SimpleTire feels that the Pirelli is the better tire of the two.

Still not sure which tire to buy? Fortunately, SimpleTire is here to help as our helpful agents are more than happy to assist you in selecting the right tire for your ride and budget.