The Pilot's are good in the wet. I've ridden and raced in the rain on earlier Metzeler's in the past, but not the new stuff. The earlier metzelers including MEZs used to be a favourite. really good feedback.
i've also done lots of miles on nearly bald tires, and often in the rain... lots of fun seeing how well tires work in various conditions... narrower tires work well, but newer sport bikes with lots of HP and wider (180) rears can have problems when tread gets low.
Most of riding in the wet is rider experience and confidence, good smooth control use, etc... and not getting too crazy with the throttle when cranked over. You can learn alot about how much traction is really available by riding in the wet... and it teaches you to be smoooooooth. Throttle control.
The fun part is with any current liter bike, you never have enough traction wet or dry... so it's best to take some advanced riding courses and learn to be smooth with the controls.
The Z6 is a totally new tire, biased towards Sport Touring. See here:
http://www.sportrider.com/tech/tires/metzeler_roadtec/
It's always a balance between MILEAGE, TRACTION, FEEL, etc... new advances every few years improve tires in large ways... radials, silica, etc... A couple important things with rain, is that the tires with silica compounds work very good in wet and dry, and the silica is a great step up from earlier tires. Often the most critical thing in a heavy downpour is simply have lots of tread grooves to help channel the water away. A nice NEW tire (with just a little mileage on it to scrub it in) and 'sharp' tread works very effectively in heavy rain and standing water. Compare the treads face to face you'll notice how supersport/prodi race tires are more like slicks nowadays, thus not as good in heavy rain, due to their inability to channel water away from the tire.
BTW: Pirelli and Metzeler merged a few years ago and many of their tires are essentially identical... same designs made in different factories. The new Z6 is likely a very good tire. i see this blurb in there text .. the claims are pretty large:
"The innovative new front and rear tread patterns, with improved land/sea ratios, are designed to work together for enhanced water drainage. The result is 30% better wet handling and grip than the MEZ4 (again based on Metzeler testing), better feedback in the wet - a sense of being connected" to the road, more confidence in wet cornering, excellent grip and traction in all conditions, combined with extended mileage."
No worries for choice, i'd say. I would choose Michelin easily (based upon feedback from friends who are currently racing. Michelin's rain tires are A1, the Pilot Sports are GREAT street tires), and the Metzeler Z6 just as easily based past experience and on the newer design and their design claim for higher mileage. On the street if you want the extra mileage. The Diablos are like the MEZ4 Rennsports I believe (the earlier design).
//monkey
A Z6 is a Z6 and always a Z6, but Diablos and Pilots come in many different flavors.
