All season tires installed!

[purpleRac3r]

Binko, from person experience, driving in temps as low as 15 degrees, I have found the factory tires to have SIGNIFICANTLY less traction than when warm. It is comparable to driving on ice-covered roads. I urge extreme caution, especially if you are coming from a car with much less low end power.

Bkindall, use extreme caution in the cold until you can put the all-season tires on. While yes, you can drive on them, they will be very prone to breaking loose with little trouble, especially in "panic" situations. Take the time to become aware of the traction limits before you hit the road for home. Better to find out what happens in an empty parking lot than in traffic on the highway! I also suggest putting the driver mode into Weather to minimize issues.

[bkindall]

Originally Posted by purpleRac3r

Bkindall, use extreme caution in the cold until you can put the all-season tires on. While yes, you can drive on them, they will be very prone to breaking loose with little trouble, especially in "panic" situations. Take the time to become aware of the traction limits before you hit the road for home. Better to find out what happens in an empty parking lot than in traffic on the highway! I also suggest putting the driver mode into Weather to minimize issues.

Thanks for the heads up. I had no illusions of driving it in any other mode than Eco or Weather on the trip home.

[purpleRac3r]

Ok, here's a new update on the tires. I had a lot of snow in my area, ranging from 4" to 9". While the major roads had been cleared pretty quickly, many area side streets and parking lots remained untouched as I headed out for some more aggressive testing than last weekend. With a couple hundred more miles on them, they also were no more noisy than new, and no more so than the summer tires from the factory, on the cleared but damp highways.

My first target was some of the side streets. These had conditions ranging from patchy virgin snow to deep slush and even some spots where passing vehicles had compacted the snow into something more closely resembling ice. The tires had decent bite, and surprising control. There was no tendency to fish-tail, nor did the front tires want to wander in the ruts. At only one point did the rears start to spin, and that was turning a corner while cresting a low hill. As soon as I got the front wheels straight, the rest of the car followed suit with no complaints. The Stingray's traction and stability control is fantastic! I had the driver mode in Weather on the streets at all times.

I picked up a friend at his house, and we then headed to a local industrial park for some more aggressive testing. Our first lot was virtually untouched, with only a single track cut in the virgin snow prior to our arrival. The snow was 7"-8" deep in the lot, and there was a moderate slope uphill from the street. Again in Weather mode, I held the throttle at about 2000rpm in first gear, and turned into the lot. The rear tires did start spinning as soon as they hit the slope, but with a little modulation to keep tire speeds around 30-35 mph, we did creep up that hill into the parking lot, plowing snow the whole way! At no time did I have to stop and make a second run at it. We drove the entire length of the lot (200' or so) in deep virgin snow the whole way (I avoided the other track). The rears stopped spinning once we got on the level, and we exiting back to the street at the second entry drive with no further excitement.

I am quite pleased with how these tires work in winter weather! Granted, they probably wouldn't fair too well on any long uphill treks in snow, but in the vast majority of conditions around here they do their job admirably. Also granted, the Stingray itself is almost certainly contributing a huge amount to the driveability, but without decent tires all the traction aids in the world do no good.

Okay, so that went very well, and AAA didn't get a call from me! But I wasn't going to push it either. We moved farther down the street to a second lot that had apparently been plowed and salted, but early in the storm, as there was still 5"-6" of slushy snow over most of it. I proceeded to run some drag starts and panic stops in all driver modes. Weather mode allowed near-normal starts and surprisingly short stops, anti-locks buzzing all the while. For all intents and purposes, it was all I could do to get the rear tires to spin at all, and then only briefly. The electronics really work! With each step up the mode selector, starts allowed for increasing tire spin, but virtually the same stopping distances from speeds of approximately 30mph. Track mode obviously is the most squirrely but even then doing donuts was a real challenge (well, until turning off traction control that is!). In Weather, Eco, Tour and Sport, every time I forced the car into a side-slip, the electronics would kick in and darn near straighten out the car all by themselves. It was a wonder to watch and feel it at work. And these Michelin A/S 3s really allowed the system to reach its potential. Even trying to force the car go into a spin or drift in the slush was a major effort, as the car would counteract my attempts almost instantly. I think even the steering assist takes some control, as a couple of attempts I took my hands off the steering wheel while sideways, and it still straightened itself out back to the original heading before sliding. At no time did I feel completely out of control, as I would have in past cars and trucks I've owned (and I've done the same kind of winter "driver education" with all of them!). Track mode would be a no-no for bad weather driving, but we all already knew that, right?

Between the Stingray itself and the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S3 all-season tires, I feel confident that in the majority of weather conditions, and with a little common sense, none of us should have much trouble getting around, especially in Weather mode. Certainly, I probably pushed the practical limits in some of the deeper snow, and ice would be a big no-go. And I would only go out during an actual snow storm for emergencies only (let the street crews do their job first!). Dry, rain, light snow, bring them on!

I hope this first-hand experience helps some of you understand the car and these tires better. While no car and no tire are perfect, this particular combination is surprisingly good in adverse weather conditions, and in clear and dry too. They are not overly expensive, and the tires can be run year round if desired. For those whose Stingray will be a daily driver, like mine, these are an excellent option to consider. Tire Rack rates them very well and has a lot more in-depth testing than I've been able to do. In all, I'm very pleased, and will have every confidence in my day-to-day driving this winter. I just need to make sure I turn Traction Control back on when leaving the parking lot playgrounds!

[Tony Alonso]

Great report!

[bdpeters]

A few hours after I picked up my Z51 Coupe, the salesman called me home to explain that he forgot to tell me about the tires.

He said that driving on the stock tires was "not recommended" under 40 degrees and "could be catastrophic" under 20 degrees.

Did anybody else get this info?

[purpleRac3r]

All C7 owners receive this info since is stated in the owner's manual. Some dealers aren't as informed so don't know (or care) to inform buyers. My dealer has been informing all their C7 buyers, especially those like myself who drive their Stingray daily. It seems not every dealer is doing this.

[Schlok]

Originally Posted by bdpeters

A few hours after I picked up my Z51 Coupe, the salesman called me home to explain that he forgot to tell me about the tires.

He said that driving on the stock tires was "not recommended" under 40 degrees and "could be catastrophic" under 20 degrees.

Did anybody else get this info?

The car can DEFINITELY get loose in the cold under moderate throttle application, I'm speaking from experience. It's been arctic in the DC area (figures) and it's my daily driver. Someone needs to make an all season run flat, asap. I think my 10 SS camaro did better due to its 500 lbs in additional weight.

[C7Driver]

Thanks for the post and feedback on your new tires. I may be swapping out my Z51 "summer" tires for something similar.
I just posted on the cracks I've found on two (driver's side) of my four tires. Haven't inspected the other two tires yet but I expect they will have cracks as well. The tires have 125 miles on them.
I have no plans to track my Stingray so all season tires are the way to go.

[Daktuh]

Hi - I am most interested in your experience w/ the all seasons on your C7. I am about take delivery of a C7 Z51 coupe. I live in NH, and definitely like to drive when it is cold out! I was shocked to read that not only is the stock tire not good in the cold, but that it actually breaks apart in the cold. I have also read that the car was designed to use only(?) the super sticky Michelin - and that if one changed to a less sticky tire (like the all seasons,) that the width would need to be increased to compensate for the loss of grip. Has your experience with the all seasons continued to be good? As a Corvette owner, I assume you have driven it fairly aggressively on twisty roads - has the car behaved as you expected? Thanks.

[purpleRac3r]

Daktuh, I have just rolled over 10,000 miles this past weekend on my road trip to the NCM Bash. 6000 or so of those were on the all-season tires. I drove them is several snow events, in depths up to about 8" unplowed. These worked quite well for me, with only one short but rather steep hill near my house giving me much trouble. Keep in mind I only have a couple of miles to drive between work and home, none of it on the highway. And if the snow was any deeper, I would just stay home or have my boss pick me up (which did happen once). Mind you these are not snow tires, so in the crappiest conditions they would be little better than the summer tires - not enough siping. They did really good in rain and slush, in my humble opinion, and traction was somewhat better than expected.

On the occasions when the weather wasn't knee-deep in snow or 15 degrees below zero, I did get out for some mildly spirited driving, road condition permitting (which sadly wasn't very often). They did very well, and do ride noticeably smoother than the run-flat summer tires. As for ultimate grip, I did not have opportunity to push them, as it has been a long crappy winter, and I'd rather not wrap my Stingray around a tree. But generally speaking, they will NOT have as much grip as the summer tires, especially at the upper limits of performance, nor do I expect them to. That's the nature of a summer race type tire and an all-season performance tire. Yes, if you want to keep the same grip at the limit, you probably would have to go to a much wider tire, if even that would be enough. But we're talking track-level driving, not what you'd see in even spirited street driving. If you're planning on tracking your car, stick to the summer tires. If you plan for just spirited street driving, the all-seasons would be a good option to consider, as you can drive in much colder temps without worrying about tire damage or loss of grip. If you plan to do a little of both, maybe you should consider two sets of tires: the factory summer tires for the warm summer months, and the all-seasons for the rest of the year. That is in fact the way I've gone. When I bought the all-seasons in December, I kept the factory summer tires. I recently reinstalled them for the summer, though I will take some care the next few days as the temps have been unusually chilly here in St. Louis, and I can tell traction isn't ideal, especially in the morning. Come fall, the all-seasons will go back on, as the Stingray is my daily driver. Once one or both sets wear out, I will then decide if I want to continue with two sets of tires, or go in one direction or the other. Perhaps some additional tire choices will be available by then. I may also pick up another set of wheels for the winter tires, making the semi-annual swap easier.

I guess the important thing is to consider how you plan to drive the car, and in what conditions. Then go with the tire best suited to the overall conditions you anticipate. The summer tires are quite honestly fantastic at what they are intended for. As are the A/S 3s. But each is suited to a specific set of conditions, just like that set of wrenches in the garage. While you might be able to get by using one almost right, its so much better with the exactly right one! I'm quite pleased with the overall performance of the A/S 3s, but I know they would not be so good at a track day event. I'd consider them for the occasional autocross, especially if the temps are in the 50's or low 60's.

Lastly, remember, these are ultra-high performance all-season tires! They will still far out-perform the all-seasons found on pretty much any other car on the road. They just won't perform quite as well as the factory summer DOT-approved near-racing tires.

[regguy1]

I'm considering going to non run flat A/S tires mainly in an attempt to have a smoother / quieter ride. What percentage change would you estimate the reduction in tire noise?

I've narrowed it down to the Michlens you have or the Cooper Zeon RS3 A
http://www.treaddepot.com/group/zrs3...s51wU6BUvD_BwE

Coopers only have 275 35 19 for the rear which is 1/2" narrower, I don't think that will be an issue (?) they get good reviews fro low noise. What's your opinion? Is the whole idea a waste of money?

I don't care about snow traction as I don't use the car in winter

[purpleRac3r]

Regguy1, your idea does have merit. The A/S tires are maybe 10% quieter than the factory tire. I suspect this is due to softer sidewalls and different compound more than anything. The tread patterns are very similar, with a modest increase in number of tread blocks on the A/S. If you do any kind of track driving, autocrossing, etc. I'd stick to an equal size tire for performance reasons. A slightly narrower tire for just cruising around shouldn't be a big issue. You just lose a bit in handling performance. Of course, you'll lose a little of that just going to all-seasons! If you go narrower, you want to make sure the overall tire diameter stays within a couple percent of stock, or it might give some issues to the computer.

[warp7sp]

purpleRac3r -- can you comment on ride quality of the A/S versus the OEM run flats during warm weather. I'm looking for a tire that will provides a smoother (i.e., softer) ride during long interstate road trips. The OEM tires are fun on twisty backroads, but my co-pilot hates riding in the car on long trips. I find a solution to this or I end up driving the Lexus!

[Glen e]

Originally Posted by warp7sp

purpleRac3r -- can you comment on ride quality of the A/S versus the OEM run flats during warm weather. I'm looking for a tire that will provides a smoother (i.e., softer) ride during long interstate road trips. The OEM tires are fun on twisty backroads, but my co-pilot hates riding in the car on long trips. I find a solution to this or I end up driving the Lexus!

I have posted this before but put on NITTO Invos for this exact reason. My tire and wheel shop can mount any tire and rcc'd this tire for quiet and durability. It still gets great marks for perform, but is conventional in all respects, not a run flat. I just pulled them at 5500 to remount them and new cray wheels and the shop reported great wear so far. And they are truly quiet on Florida interstates.