C6Z06 Tire recomendation

[CorvetteMatthew]

I have the crap goodyear runflats, it rides like a sherman tank with z06 suspension and run flats. Also straight line traction is like a polyglass, can smoke tires past 60 in a modified c5 with z06 rims and tires. what are you guys using as premium tires on your c6z06 cars? thought about 335/30/19 nitto nt-05 tire, looks like a drag radial for street, everyone raves about the tires, wondered on z06 cars how these perform? thanks and suggestions would be great.. michelin pilot sports are on all my other cars, they make a ZP tire for this car, again never used michelin run flats, please send your opinions.. thanks

 

[NORTY]

Please send me your "crap" Goodyear run flats. Thanks!

 

[korvettekarl]

I have the Bridgestone runflats. An improvement but not by much. I would love to find a non runflat. I wish Michelin would make a BF Goodrich KDF in our size. I had those on my 2000 FRC and they were great, wet or dry.

 

[Intense]

Nitto NT-O5's

I replaced the run flats on my '08 ZO6 at 27,000 miles with non run flat NITTO NT-O5's.

I only have 1,000 miles on them but I really like them. They ride better and are more quiet. They track better and aren't as harsh when crossing tar strips on the highway. They corner better and give better traction from a standing start. You won't find anything that will take a full power standing start from a ZO6 without going up in smoke but the Nitto's don't take as much finesse off the line as the GY's.

They aren't run flats but I'm not too concerned about that. If you keep good tires on the car you very seldom need that feature. If something does go wrong I always have AAA.

 

[korvettekarl]

Were the Nitto's less expensive? I ran a set on my 57 Bel Air with 2000 Vette rims and were relatively inexpensive. I don' think they lasted all that long either. I may have to give those a shot. Are they the same height, width etc? I have heard horror stories about speedo and active handling problems with the wrong height.

 

[catbert]

I have the Bridgestone runflats. An improvement but not by much. I would love to find a non runflat. I wish Michelin would make a BF Goodrich KDF in our size. I had those on my 2000 FRC and they were great, wet or dry.

I have the Bridgestones too. I like them.

 

[Intense]

Were the Nitto's less expensive? I ran a set on my 57 Bel Air with 2000 Vette rims and were relatively inexpensive. I don' think they lasted all that long either. I may have to give those a shot. Are they the same height, width etc? I have heard horror stories about speedo and active handling problems with the wrong height.

The Nitto's cost quite a bit less than run flats. I bought mine on sale from Corvette Wheels Palm Beach Gardens, Fl. for about $1200 including shipping. I bought them when my car had 20,000 miles on it because everything I read on the Forum said ZO6 tires don't last. Well, I had to store the Nitto's for a while because I got 26,000 miles out of the GY Run Flats.

The ZO6 sizes are pretty close to stock. Close enough anyway that they didn't give the computers or speedo any problems. I can't comment about tire life on the Nitto's because I have only put a little over 1,000 miles on them so far. Since they stick better, both in the corners and off the line, I would expect them to wear out quicker. You just can't get everything you want in one tire. It's just asking too much to expect low cost, good performance and long tread life out of one set of tires. I'll make sacrifices for better performance.

 

[korvettekarl]

Thanks for the input on the Nitto's. May try them soon. I only get about 16-19k out of a set of runflats.

 

[NORTY]

Don't forget the Nittos are rated @ a lower speed than the "crap" Goodyear runflats. A friend of mine found this out the hard way when he registered his car for the "Mojave Mile" in March...:eyerole

 

[Hib Halverson]

I going to guess this is just as much a case of unreasonable expectations of the ride quailty of a car ordered with Z06 rather as it is the fault of the run flat tires.

As for straight line traction, again it's unreasonable expectations not the EMTs.

If you want straight line traction at the drag strip or on the street, you need drag radials. Goodrich, Nitto and Goodyear all make them.

If you want a slight improvement in ride, replace the tires with non-run-flats. You'll see a small but noticeable decrease in harshness and high-frequenty impacts but no change in low frequency ride movements.

There are other run flat tires which some claim ride nicer but one thing none of the aftermarket suppliers of RFTs publisize is none of them meet GM's distance specification for RFTs on Corvettes. The Goodyears must go 100 miles with zero pressure and be put back in service. All the aftermarket RFTs will only go 50 miles and some of those are not repairable after any low/no pressure use.

The executive summary, is that if you want a "more Cadillac ride", you shouldn't have ordered a Z06. A Corvette with base suspension would have been a better choice.

 

[korvettekarl]

Thanks for the input Hib. Yours is always put above everybody else. My problem with the GY runflats is lack of traction at about 90 MPH in 3rd gear and sudden drop to floor with the accelerator pedal. They bust loose and I have been smoked by lesser cars more than once. I guess I should learn a better technique. It's easier to blame the tires, I guess.

 

[Hib Halverson]

"korvettekarl" the tires on that car are F1 Supercar EMTs which have fairly sticky rubber. It might not be the "run-flat-specific" issue you think it is. It might be that most any street tire, other than sticky drag radials or road race tires will do that. You either need a set of drag radials or you might try rapidly moving the throttle rather than suddenly dropping it...

...or a less powerful engine.

 

[vito.a]

Almost any tire you install on your C6 Z06 will out perform the current Goodyear

I strongly disagree. Almost any tire you install on your C6 Z06 will outperform the current Goodyear Supercar EMT tires. Even Goodyear admits there are problems and they are introducing a new designed tire later this year. The Corvette ZR1 team chose the Michelin ZP tire for the same reasons. Several knowledgeable drivers commented the Corvette ZR1 steering felt much better than the Z51 and Z06 Corvettes due to the new Michelin ZP tires.

I have removed the Goodyear EMT tires from both my C6 Corvettes. My preference is the Michelin PS2 non-runflat. They will make your Z06 or Z51 ride better than a base Corvette. They will reduce the loud road noise on concrete roads. Handling and straight line traction is also improved. The Michelin will last almost twice as long as the Goodyear. My front Goodyear Supercars were worn out at 13,000 miles, but you will also notice their performance drops off drastically after 5000 miles. The Michelin is like having your cake and eating it too!

I have driven C6 Corvettes with several other brand tires and in my opinion they are all superior to the OEM Goodyears.

 

[Rob]

What about these?

http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com...odyears-newest-eagle-flies-2011-corvette.html

 

[Warp 10]

Tires! More Tires and personal preference!

I just put my second set of PS2s on my C6 Z, with about 27,000 miles on the last set.

I shed not one tear in pulling off the OEMs and going to a tire that has at least, better performance than the OEMs and all around qualities that I like. As for run flats, well that is why I have AAA even though I have never had a flat on a Corvette (35 years). Maybe I'm lucky but one way or another I'm not about to break into a cold sweat worrying about a flat tire.

I know that there are strong disagreements about which tires are the best; price points, traction, wear, road noise, and other mundane things to be considered in tire purchases. Some issues are objective and others are not easily measured if at all.

There are lots of great choices out there and when you get to it everyone has their own reasons for choosing one tire over another. I choose what I do for mainly 3 reasons; F-1 traction, Wear- 1 set for the life of the car and of course - Quiet and Smooth!

Have fun and drive safe!

 

[NORTY]

You got 27,000 miles out of a set of tires? How? Freeway cruising only? I go through 3 sets in 27,000 miles! I do mainly twisties with the OEM's. I know the Michy's are not cheap but how on Earth can you get 27,000? I use the OEM Goodyears. I get 10,000 miles out of a set of tires.

 

[vito.a]

I had 26,000 miles on my last set of Michelin PS2 tires. My OEM Goodyear Supercars only lasted 13,000 miles.

 

[BLACK MOON]

Michelin PS2!!!!!! Non run flat

 

[74bigblock]

I just picked up my 08 Z06 with the "crappy" Goodyears on them. Only have 300 miles on the car so far, but I don't think they are that bad.

I did just order a set of Michelin PS2 ZP's for the Beemer ('06 330i). I'll use that as a test bed and go from there - keep ya posted!

-Dave

 

[catbert]

Drive them at highway speeds in the rain and let me know how you like them.