Your car’s onboard computer can tell you a lot about how everything under the hood is doing. What it can’t tell you is the condition of your vehicle’s tires – you’ll have to trust your own instincts or your mechanic’s appraisal for that. Unless, of course, you’re driving a car fitted with tires that use Pirelli’s Connesso technology.
Available on upcoming versions of the P Zero and Winter Sottozero tires, the tech puts a small chip inside the tire’s sidewall, which houses all the necessary sensors and radio signals. Each chip is small and light enough that it won’t disrupt the balance of the tire, ensuring it won’t interfere with your vehicle’s performance.
The Pirelli Connesso can measure tire pressure, tire temperature, vertical load, tire wear, and the distance each tire has driven, giving you actionable data that’s readily available at a glance. In the future, it will even be updated to estimate life, as well as act as remote tire pressure gauge when the tires are being inflated, so this is quite the handy tool. When tire pressure is running low, the wear limit is approaching, or any other type of problem occurs, it will send an alert to your phone. Depending on the settings, it can even find the nearest tire store to book you an appointment or order new tires – just drive your fancy sports car over
At the start, the Pirelli Connesso will be available in tires measuring 19 inches and larger, although they’re currently working with manufacturers to integrate it as original equipment with the software coming as part of each car’s infotainment system.