KreelanWarrior

Hey, all -

I've got a 2001 C5 convertible that I picked up recently that has some sort of bizarre handling problem. When I take my foot off the gas during normal driving, either just to coast or while transitioning to the brake, the car seems to yaw/float (best I can describe it), even though it tracks straight while moving at a constant speed (or accelerating) with the foot on the gas. It's not very noticeable at lower speeds, but at freeway speeds it's an eye-opener. A friend of mine who owns a 2002 Z06 drove it and confirmed that it wasn't just me; he suspected it might be a broken belt in one of the tires, but we didn't find any direct evidence of that (at least without putting the car up on a lift).

Anyway, I took it to the Ferrari Service Center here in Sarasota to have them check out the suspension first. The suspension checks out and the alignment wasn't bad, so they tweaked it, which improved things slightly, and recommended I take it to have the tires checked, as they don't do that there. The rear tires are new, the front ones appear to be the originals (42,000 miles), Michelin Sport A/S zero pressure plus.

Sooo...anyone have any recommendations for a tire place in Sarasota that they'd trust their Vette with? I expect I'll be replacing the front ones, regardless, but I'm not comfortable taking the car to just any tire place...

Thanks!

MSG C5

I had McGee Auto Center perform an alignment on my C5 after I had re-adjusted the height and installed new wheels/tires. I was happy with their service and made sure to talk with the manager and point out that the wheels were in perfect condition with no scratches/nicks, etc. He let me watch the alignment from the shop floor as well.

However, I think that his tech took a little bit longer than average test drive afterwards.

The one I used was on SR70 east of I75.

Sunset Chevrolet west of US 41/Bee Ridge intersection also has a Corvette-specific mechanics team/service area so you may want to call them as well.

KreelanWarrior

Thanks! I went ahead and made an appointment with Sunset Chevy for Monday. I figure they should be able to look at the whole car in case it's some bizarre combination of things. I'm hoping just the tires, but if not, I don't want to keep dragging it around to different shops. :-)