Help with tire wear/alignment

[Bonnell]

Well I have read of bad front tire wear on Z51 and GS vettes. When I bought my '08 Z51 vert last September I checked the tires and they appeared to be new. They are not the supercar tires that came on the car new but instead they are the same standard GY F1 that came on my new '08 coupe (non Z51) that I purchased new in 2008. Obviously the tires had already been changed and the car only had 9,156 miles on it. As soon as I got the car home I took it to my dealer and had them change the oil and check the car out. That is when they noticed the slight weeping of the oil pan gasket and they changed it under warranty. They aligned the car after that also.

I had read about bad wear on these cars due to the way they are aligned. I have checked my tires several times and did not notice any unusual wear.

Recently I had my car in to have the windows tinted and the oil changed and they told me the front tires were worn out on the inside. The right being the worst and just about to show cord. When I got home I felt inside and although I couldn't see the wear I could sure feel it. I guess I had not reached far enough in previously to feel the wear.

OK, so now I had Firehawk Wide Ovals installed and a new alignment. I asked them to use an alignment that is less aggressive and more wear friendly. And I told them of PHAT specs that they could use.

I really like my dealership. They matched the Firestone price which matched the Tire Rack price so I am pleased with the cost - even if it was unexpected.


After the car was aligned I asked specifically how they had aligned it and the tech told the service rep that he had to come close to the factory specs because the specs on a vette are so close he didn't have much latitude to change.

I don't want to eat another set of tires off so what should I do (have someone else align it for instance?) and when?

 

[Tuna]

The SuperCar tires on the Z51 and GS Vette do tend to wear out fast and most of that is due to the tire itself - low tread wear rating and very grippy.

I've had good tire life with the "regular" tires like the GS2 and Michelin PS2 AS ZP. Then again I have the alignment checked every 8-10 months also.

Back in 2011, my wife and I were talking about trading her Vette and had been discussing this for a long time. Her Vette was an '06 with a set of GY GS2s on it. Since we were talking trading it, I basically let it go for a little too long before having the alignment checked. Sure enough, the GS2 front tires were showing cord on the inside - couldn't see it from the side of the car without turning the wheel to full lock and my wife was not complaining about it. That cost us a set of front tires and the alignment, then we traded the car. Oh well.

I managed to get 23,000 miles out of the original GY GS2 tires on my '08 vert before replacing them with Michelin PS2 AS tires. The original GS 2 tires were wearing even when they were replaced. When I traded it for my new Vette, it had 45,000 miles and the Michelin tires still had plenty of tread left and were wearing even. Given the sorry state of the Oklahoma roads, an alignment check twice a year is cheap compared to replacing tires. Must have worked for me.

I'm going to be watching the alignment and wear on my new Vette real close and having it checked more often than 8-10 months. I figure that's a lot cheaper than buying a new set of front or rear tires for a wide body Vette with the ZR1 size tires.

I used my local dealership for alignments and, I assume, they used the standard Vette alignment specs each time. So, I would assume that a normal alignment would not wear the tires excessively unless it gets a little out of alignment.

 

[NORTY]

The alignment specs are about a mile wide for the Corvette. If your alignment shop can't get it "within spec," then search for an alignment shop that doesn't have Helen Keller working as a tech.

Yes, because of neg. camber, the insides of the fronts will wear appreciably.

It's something you all check when you drive you cars....right?

Kinda like "pre flight" your car. (Or T-CLOCKS your motorcycle.)

Might be something you might want to do, seeing as your arse is riding on it.

OP~ what are the settings that your car has now?

 

[Bonnell]

The SuperCar tires on the Z51 and GS Vette do tend to wear out fast and most of that is due to the tire itself - low tread wear rating and very grippy.

I've had good tire life with the "regular" tires like the GS2 and Michelin PS2 AS ZP. Then again I have the alignment checked every 8-10 months also.

Back in 2011, my wife and I were talking about trading her Vette and had been discussing this for a long time. Her Vette was an '06 with a set of GY GS2s on it. Since we were talking trading it, I basically let it go for a little too long before having the alignment checked. Sure enough, the GS2 front tires were showing cord on the inside - couldn't see it from the side of the car without turning the wheel to full lock and my wife was not complaining about it. That cost us a set of front tires and the alignment, then we traded the car. Oh well.

I managed to get 23,000 miles out of the original GY GS2 tires on my '08 vert before replacing them with Michelin PS2 AS tires. The original GS 2 tires were wearing even when they were replaced. When I traded it for my new Vette, it had 45,000 miles and the Michelin tires still had plenty of tread left and were wearing even. Given the sorry state of the Oklahoma roads, an alignment check twice a year is cheap compared to replacing tires. Must have worked for me.

I'm going to be watching the alignment and wear on my new Vette real close and having it checked more often than 8-10 months. I figure that's a lot cheaper than buying a new set of front or rear tires for a wide body Vette with the ZR1 size tires.

I used my local dealership for alignments and, I assume, they used the standard Vette alignment specs each time. So, I would assume that a normal alignment would not wear the tires excessively unless it gets a little out of alignment.

Thanks Tuna. Now that I understand how far in the wear can be I will check that area regularly.

 

[Bonnell]

The alignment specs are about a mile wide for the Corvette. If your alignment shop can't get it "within spec," then search for an alignment shop that doesn't have Helen Keller working as a tech.

Yes, because of neg. camber, the insides of the fronts will wear appreciably.

It's something you all check when you drive you cars....right?

Kinda like "pre flight" your car. (Or T-CLOCKS your motorcycle.)

Might be something you might want to do, seeing as your arse is riding on it.

OP~ what are the settings that your car has now?

Thanks Norty. As I said in my post, I did check for wear because I knew of the problem. However, I didn't check far enough in so I never realized that they were wearing. The GM tech said that he aligned it to Corvette specs because the specs were "very tight."

 

[Dad]

Along with a 4 wheel alignment changing the front camber to as close to zero as possible should minimize the inner shoulder wear. Toe in .05 left and right to help reduce scalloping of the tire edges. This is not a good track setting.

 

[Hib Halverson]

Thanks Norty. As I said in my post, I did check for wear because I knew of the problem. However, I didn't check far enough in so I never realized that they were wearing. The GM tech said that he aligned it to Corvette specs because the specs were "very tight."

The issue is simple.

Grand Sports and Z51s have a more aggressive front alignment and their tires may wear quicker than do base cars beycause the suspensions are intended to better suit aggressive drivers. The tires work better at the limit when camber is a bit negative but, when set like that on a car which is not driven hard, they may also wear in the inside more than the center and outside

If you don't drive aggressively (likely the case if the car has had its F1 Supercars replaced with base level tires), I'd have front end aligned with 1/4 to 3/8 degree more positive camber.

 

[Bonnell]

Thanks very much for the replies. I don't track my car and, although I have some fun with it and I enjoy cornering tight when I can, even when I am having some fun I probably couldn't be described as an aggressive driver.

I bought this vette to be an occassional driver instead of a DD as my previous four were. However, I am leaning toward returning to using the vette as my DD so I put Wide Ovals on it instead of going back to the original Supercar tires.

Thanks for the specifics on the alignment. Even though it just had an alignment I will have a new alignment soon.

Thanks again.

 

[Dad]

There must have been a new Y car service manual or an update on the alignment specifications, mine shows the base Corvette and the Z51 settings as the same (book 1 section 3-17). :ugh

 

[Hib Halverson]

You have the advantage of reading the FSM. I'm on a road trip in Alaska and my service manuals are in California, so ...I was guessing.

Regardless of what the FSM says, however, this situation–cars with Z51 wearing the inside of the front tires when the "normal" or "easy" driving duty cycle predominates, seems to be a common problem. Adding a quarter degree or so camber will reduce the wear in the inside.

In addition, setting the front toe to the factory spec. is a "given".

 

[Tuna]

Susan's '06 Coupe, MagRide, auto wore out the inside of the front tires also. Not Z51 and it did not have the big brakes. Mostly used as a daily driver and rarely driven hard. So, I'd say the tire wear issue applies to all Vettes. Then again, my sample size is pretty small.

 

[Dad]

I also have the advantage of having driven the base '98 C5 and the '04 Z51 for many thousands of miles and they both wore the inside blocks of the tires about the same at 8/10,000 miles. GM did alter the settings for both in 2001, not sure why they bumped up the caster so much. The alignment specifications for the C5 then, as they are now, are the same except for the Z06. The C6 manual (early publication) makes no distinction between the base suspension and the Z51 as was true with the C5 manual (early). It would be interesting to see if the later publications do show a different set of values, my C6 manual is so early it has C5 drawings in it.

 

[2 Timer]

I will immediately admit that most of you guys know much more about Corvettes than I do, but my research results show that camber setting is not only determined by the suspension (FE1, thru FE5) but according to the tires. GY Eagle F1 Supercar GEN 2 specs call for 0.5 degrees more negative camber than the standard Eagle F1 Supercar tire. My car (FE3/XFA, suspension/tire combo) has Magnetic Select Ride, so it came from the factory with the GEN 2 tires. General Motors calls for -0.95 degrees +/- 0.60 on the front with this setup. I had my dealer verify this from the build sheet and they printed the alignment specs for me. I think I'm going to have them set the camber at -0.1 to -0.3 degrees and hope for the best. Haven't decided on the rear yet. I'm not a very aggressive driver. PLEASE feel free to chime in on my thoughts. Facts and opinions are appreciated!






Growing old is mandatory/Growing up is optional!

 

[Dad]

I don't think we're here to show how much we might know but to offer information that we have found to work in our own situation. In your case you are going to do what you feel will help and that's the way it should be. So far I have not had good tire wear by going with the alignment from my dealer to the GM specs.

In my case My C6 Z51 came with Supercar tires and GM replaced the front because they cupped at 6,000 miles. They still claim the alignment is correct and the new set of front tires are now cupped. This whole thread indicates one thing, there is some need for good information on alignment and I'm not sure we have that yet.

Just a bit more information on the C6, I swap the front tires, since they are now cupped, every 5,000 miles as they are not directional specific. It doesn't help the slapping noise much at low speeds but I would like to get a bit better wear out of an $800 pair of tires.

 

[2 Timer]

I don't think we're here to show how much we might know but to offer information that we have found to work in our own situation. In your case you are going to do what you feel will help and that's the way it should be. So far I have not had good tire wear by going with the alignment from my dealer to the GM specs.

In my case My C6 Z51 came with Supercar tires and GM replaced the front because they cupped at 6,000 miles. They still claim the alignment is correct and the new set of front tires are now cupped. This whole thread indicates one thing, there is some need for good information on alignment and I'm not sure we have that yet.

Just a bit more information on the C6, I swap the front tires, since they are now cupped, every 5,000 miles as they are not directional specific. It doesn't help the slapping noise much at low speeds but I would like to get a bit better wear out of an $800 pair of tires.

Please bear with me as I am new to the corvette world and I just didn't want to appear as a know it all. Have you had yours aligned outside of GM specs? As I stated, I think I'm going with somewhere between -0.1 and -0.3 degrees camber. With my suspension and tire setup, GM has much more aggressive alignment specs. Just wondering if anyone with the suspension/tires as mine are having the same problems as most other Grand Sport owners are having and what specs do you suggest. After realignment I will post the #'s and let you know how things are progressing. Thanks for your reponse.

 

[Dad]

Sorry for the late reply but to answer your question yes, it is now aligned as I stated but I'm still burning of the second set of Supercar tires and they were cupped before I had it aligned. Drives better on the many truck rutted roads that I seem to find but any wear now would not be a good indicater of how good the car is aligned.