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New CRAY Scorpion Wheels

TheSearcher

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 7, 2005
Messages
146
Location
Arkansas
Corvette
2004 Torch Red Coupe
Brian the wholesale manager at WheelWarehouse sold me a set of CRAY Scorpions for "wholesale" so a CHROME set with 17x9 fronts and 18x10.5 rears with chrome center caps, chrome lug nuts and chrome wheel locks including shipping to Arkansas was $1,506.00. They look good on my 2004 torch red C5.

Only one place in town had the special equipment to mount them with the original Goodyear Eagle run flats and they said it was impossible to use the tire pressure monitors as the the plastic monitors would get demolished during the tire installation. The tire expert said that tire pressure monitors weren't critical with run flats, so it wasn't much of a sacrifice, but I was somewhat disappointed because the CRAY ads all say the Scorpion is specifically made for the Corvette and accepts the tire pressure monitors. Unless someone knows how to install run flats on Scorpions with tire monitors and can explain it well enough for me to tell the locals, I guess I am without monitors.

Anyway, I got to see that my front end badly needed alignment (the tread on the inside of both front tires had worn down 2/3 of the way in only 17,000 miles). But was frustrated to find that no one in town had alignment equipment that would work with front tires that wide on a car that low.

Anyway, now I am now in the tire market too. With 1/2" wider front rims and 1" wider rear rims I need some tires about that much wider than stock.
The rear is a P275/40ZR18 and the front is a P245/45ZR17. Anyone know what size I need to look at for replacements with the wider rims?
 
Your stock tires will mount fine on the rims you got as for the TPMS you will have issues with the car computer when it looks for them and don't find them. The TPMS sending units on your year car are fairly inexpensive and since you are buying new tires find a competent tire shop that will be able to install new units along with the tires.

they said it was impossible to use the tire pressure monitors as the the plastic monitors would get demolished

Sounds like they are using wrong equipment to install the tires in the firs place. Demolishing sensors should not be a concern with right equipment. The TPMS system is needed far more with run flats than with out them. You can not tell if the tire is low or flat just by looking at it or during normal driving therefore the need for a sensor.
 
set with 17x9 fronts and 18x10.5 rears quote said:
These sizes are close to Z06 sizes. Tire sizes for the C5 Z06 are: 265/40x17 front and 295/35x18 rear. I don't know if any tire manufacturer makes this size in EMT.
 
Your stock tires will mount fine on the rims you got as for the TPMS you will have issues with the car computer when it looks for them and don't find them.

That's the 1st thing that came to mind as I read this thread. No doubt about it that computer will be expecting data.
 
Z06 sizes, as said above are your best bet. It's a noticible upgrade traction wise, with the wider tires, non-runflat. Also, get a new tire installer, they are clueless, next thing you know, they'll be banging weights on the outside of your new wheels when they balance them.
 
I don't have runflats on mine so maybe I am just uninformed here but my question would be why they think the TPSM would not be important with runflats? They are less useful to me that to someone with runflats. When I have a flat tire I don't need the TPMS to tell me that. If you have a flat with runflats I would assume that you would not know it until the tire disintegrates if you have no TPMS.

It just seems that it would be dangerous for you.:w
 
You absolutely need a new a tire guy!!!! I've replaced a sensor, and bought a complete set of tires in the past 2 years. I have stood in the garage and watched as the tires were removed and reinstalled on the rims not 20 feet away. If your tire shop has modern equipment for aluminum rims and has a trained, competent, tech there should be no issues with installing the monitors. I will agree that not all alingment shops have the ability to work with the low car height. Many do have a modified approach ramp or adapters to allow the corvette onto the platform without damaging the nose. Certainly if all else fails your local Chevrolet Dealer should have the capability and should be about the same price as anywhere else.

Dale
 
I took the car to the dealer to get the Cray Scorpions installed and they have new machinery that will handle up to 22" custom rims, but they couldn't even get the EMTs off the original rims, much less install the new rims. They took it to the only local tire shop and they had a new Italian machine made for custom rims and they and the dealer's tire guy agreed the pressure sensors couldn't be installed with EMTs.

As far as the dealer goes, I am the CFO of the company that owns the dealership, and outrank everyone at the dealership, so I get first class sevice.

There is a Chevy dealer in Cabot, Arkansas that specializes in Corvettes and always has about a dozen new Vettes in stock. I'll try them.

Otherwise, the DIC is driving me nuts telling me all my tires are flat, over and over again. Anyone know of any way to turn off the tire pressure sensor function?
 
Based on referral from Chevy dealer that sellls a lot of Vettes, I found a tire dealer in a larger town about 35 miles away who said he can install AND re-train my tire pressure sensors in my Cray Scorpions with Goodyear EMTs. He simply said "no problem". He also said the same regardling an alignment.

Anyway, just another case of "Little Town Blues".
 
Sounds like they needed to buy a new Italian mechanic to go with that new Italian machine :L.
 
Getting the EMT's on and off the rims is a bit of a challenge. But like I said, and apparently so you have discovered, the right machine and properly trained techs are both needed to accomplish the mission. I was lucky to find a local dealer here in Scottsville, but rest assured that if I had not Bowling Green would have been my next stop.

Dale
 

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