Pirelli Scorpion WeatherActive vs Firestone Weathergrip tires

All-weather tires are a new-ish category in the tire business and might still be unfamiliar to many drivers. So, what’s the difference between all-season tires (the biggest-selling tire category) and all-weather tires? It’s pretty simple; the tread designs, sipe patterns, tread formulations, shoulders, and internal construction of all-weather tires are designed for an edge in winter traction in snow and slush, which is an area where many all-season tires fall short and can’t get the job done. Aside from that, all-weather tires are designed for the same handling properties, long wear, low noise, stable road manners, and comfortable ride that you’d expect from premium Grand Touring or all-season tires. All-weather tires might not deliver quite the same level of traction in snow and slush as dedicated winter tires, but the flipside is that winter tires will wear quickly on warmer days and shouldn’t be used if temperatures are above 40-45 degrees F. With that in mind, there’s no denying that most drivers don’t want the hassle of changing the tires on their vehicle unless it’s just an absolute necessity.

That brings us to today’s comparison, the Pirelli Scorpion WeatherActive vs Firestone Weathergrip. Both tires are capable, top-quality performers with many similarities and key differences. To help with that compare-and-contrast aspect of this review, you’ll see us refer to the tires’ SimpleScore ratings. If you’re unfamiliar with SimpleScore, that’s the system the SimpleTire team devised to give you an at-a-glance overview of what a tire can deliver. We look at specs, user reviews, and other data points, then distill that information down to a numerical value for the categories of handling, traction, and longevity, as well as an overall average SimpleScore for each tire. For the Pirelli Scorpion WeatherActive and Firestone Weathergrip, the SimpleScore ratings shake out as follows:

Pirelli Scorpion WeatherActive

• Traction: 9.8
• Handling: 9.6
• Longevity: 9.2
• Overall average SimpleScore: 9.5

Firestone Weathergrip

• Traction: 8.6
• Handling: 8.6
• Longevity: 9.2
• Overall average SimpleScore: 8.7

While SimpleScore numbers are handy, they’re also a 30,000 foot view that doesn’t give you a more detailed idea of a tire’s strengths and weaknesses. Let’s go ahead and go in for a closer look at what the Pirelli and the Firestone are all about:

Pirelli Scorpion WeatherActive tires

The Scorpion WeatherActive from Pirelli is an all-weather tire that’s designed for light trucks, SUVs, and crossovers (the most common vehicles on American roads today) and is engineered to accommodate the weight, power, torque, braking, and overall handling properties of those vehicles. The Scorpion WeatherActive is designed around a specialized all-weather tread formulation that stays flexible for traction in subfreezing weather when many other tires might stiffen up and lose grip (think about a flexible rubber boot vs a hard rubber hockey puck). Its directional tread pattern includes trumpet-shaped, sweeping lateral grooves and a zigzag central groove. It works to cut through snow, slush, or standing water for assured traction and short braking distances. Winter traction in snow and slush gets a boost from a dense network of full-depth sipes designed to provide superb grip even as the tire’s tread depth wears down.

The 3-rib tread block design of the Scorpion WeatherActive gives the tire’s tread the rigidity it needs for great steering response and cornering, resisting the inertia and momentum that come with hard maneuvers and ensuring the tread stays planted firmly on the road. Pirelli’s noise/vibration/harshness team has also tuned the tread design of the Scorpion WeatherActive to keep road noise to a minimum by neutralizing certain frequencies and overtones. The contact patch of the Scorpion Weatheractive has been optimized for a narrow, long shape that provides great braking and handling, long, even wear, and balanced performance and traction.

The Pirelli Scorpion WeatherActive has the tire industry’s 3 Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) rating for severe winter service and is covered by a 60,000 mile manufacturer’s tread life warranty.

Firestone Weathergrip tires

Firestone designed the Weathergrip as a one-time solution for drivers who have to contend with hard winter conditions but don’t want the headache of switching to purpose-built winter tires and then switching back again by spring. The Weathergrip has a semi-directional all-weather tread design with chamfered shoulder blocks that put more rubber in contact with the road and aid with the Weathergrip’s cornering ability and steering response. Firestone’s TractionTech package includes interlocking grooves and high-density zigzag sipes for enhanced performance on wet or slippery roads. The Weathergrip’s Snow Traction Claw system is incorporated into the center of the tire. It includes snow vices in the tire’s intermediate ribs, trapping and retaining snow to build snow-to-snow friction.

The internal construction of the Firestone Weathergrip includes a single-ply polyester casing reinforced by two high-tensile steel belts and a nylon reinforcement ply for improved stability and durability. The Weathergrip is covered by a 65,000 mile manufacturer’s warranty and has the 3PMSF rating for severe winter service.

Pirelli Scorpion WeatherActive vs Firestone Weathergrip tires on traction

In the traction category, the Pirelli Scorpion WeatherActive weighs in with a SimpleScore of 9.8, while the Firestone Weathergrip shows a SimpleScore of 8.6. That’s quite a disparity in SimpleScore numbers – the innovative sweeping grooves and full-depth sipes of the Pirelli give that tire a distinct advantage when it comes to traction in bad winter weather. The snow vices and Traction tech suite of the Firestone give it capable winter traction, but it’s just not up to the level of the Pirelli in this area. Reviews point to Firestone falling behind in lateral grip in dry conditions. While both tires have the 3PMSF rating for winter weather, this one’s a clear-cut choice, with the Pirelli coming out on top.

ADVANTAGE: Pirelli Scorpion WeatherActive

Pirelli Scorpion WeatherActive vs. Firestone Weathergrip tires on handling

How do these tires do on SimpleScore ratings for handling? It comes down to a SimpleScore of 9.6 for the Pirelli vs 8.6 for the Firestone. Generations of drivers have come to love Pirelli tires for their sharp cornering ability, nimble steering response, and dependable road manners, and the Scorpion WeatherActive is no exception. The rigidity across the tread face of the Scorpion WeatherActive gives it an edge in cornering ability, along with that redesigned, optimized contact patch that puts more rubber planted on the road. Our call on this one:

ADVANTAGE: Pirelli Scorpion WeatherActive

Pirelli Scorpion WeatherActive vs. Firestone Weathergrip tires on longevity

Here’s a tougher one since the Weathergrip and the WeatherActive come in with identical SimpleScores of 9.2 in the traction category. The tread formulations of both tires are designed for long, even wear properties, and the Pirelli has a 60,000 mile warranty vs 65,000 miles for the Firestone. That makes them pretty evenly matched, reflected in their identical SimpleScore numbers. This one’s a tossup, so our decision is:

ADVANTAGE: TIE

When to use each

As we said from the outset, all-weather tires are a great choice for drivers who have to get through winter weather that might mean several inches of snow that stays on the roads for days at a time but don’t want to invest in a separate set of winter tires that have to be mounted for a couple of months and then dismounted and stored again. If that sounds like your situation and you need a 3PMSF-rated tire that’s just as capable in winter conditions as it is on a summer day, then all-weather tires like the Pirelli Scorpion WeatherActive and Firestone Weathergrip could be a great choice for you.

Which one should you choose?

This is where we should probably mention the price. Pirelli designed the Scorpion WeatherActive as a Swiss Army knife of the tire world – a tire that performs admirably year-round and not just in winter weather, and they’ve succeeded with that goal. It’s a well-designed tire that delivers a quiet and refined ride with predictable, neutral handling, crisp steering response, secure road manners, and stability on the highway. But – the Pirelli comes in with a starting price of $220.49 per tire vs $125.99 for the Firestone. That said, the Firestone Weathergrip is also a very dependable and versatile tire year-round, although it falls slightly short of what the Pirelli offers. Our opinion here at the SimpleTire team is that you can’t really go wrong with either tire, so it might just come down to your budget and what you’re able to spend.

Still unsure which tire to buy? Fortunately, SimpleTire is here to help. Our helpful agents are more than happy to assist you in selecting the right tire for your ride and budget.