Tire eating GS
#1
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
Tire eating GS
Our 2010 GS convertible the tires, particularly the front, wore down below the wear bars in 6K. They were replaced, and now at 11500 miles, the new set is entirely bald! The wear pattern is fine, but the rubber is gone! Thank you GM for such nice SOFT tires.....I wish I could tell you what to do with them......
#2
Melting Slicks
Our 2010 GS convertible the tires, particularly the front, wore down below the wear bars in 6K. They were replaced, and now at 11500 miles, the new set is entirely bald! The wear pattern is fine, but the rubber is gone! Thank you GM for such nice SOFT tires.....I wish I could tell you what to do with them......
#3
Instructor
On my 2011 Grand Sport I got 10,500 (about average for the car) and replaced with Bridgestone Pole Positions. They wear waaay better than the Goodyears and at 20,000 miles still had thread. When I bought my 2012 Grand Sport last month, the first thing I did was to remove the Goodyear OEM's and replaced with Bridgestones. Sold the Goodyears on Craigslist and won't look back.
OP, I suggest you look seriously into either Bridgestones or Michelins. Either will give you a better and quieter ride and longer life.
#4
My '08 DD was 2 years old when I bought it, with 4,700 miles on the odometer. I just replaced the tires at 28,000. I went with the Michelin A/S + ZP, since I don't track the car, and spend a lot of time in Washington area traffic or on the Interstate. The jury is still out, but I figure I should get more mileage out of the Michelins than the original GYs.
#5
Melting Slicks
If you really have a Grand Sport with the original OEM tires and get 30,000 miles on them my hat is off to you!
On my 2011 Grand Sport I got 10,500 (about average for the car) and replaced with Bridgestone Pole Positions. They wear waaay better than the Goodyears and at 20,000 miles still had thread. When I bought my 2012 Grand Sport last month, the first thing I did was to remove the Goodyear OEM's and replaced with Bridgestones. Sold the Goodyears on Craigslist and won't look back.
OP, I suggest you look seriously into either Bridgestones or Michelins. Either will give you a better and quieter ride and longer life.
On my 2011 Grand Sport I got 10,500 (about average for the car) and replaced with Bridgestone Pole Positions. They wear waaay better than the Goodyears and at 20,000 miles still had thread. When I bought my 2012 Grand Sport last month, the first thing I did was to remove the Goodyear OEM's and replaced with Bridgestones. Sold the Goodyears on Craigslist and won't look back.
OP, I suggest you look seriously into either Bridgestones or Michelins. Either will give you a better and quieter ride and longer life.
I understand your doubt based on the posts on this forum that are reporting high wear on GS tires, but yes, I really have a GS and so far tires look good after 10K + miles...
here is one theory...
I think the difference between what you and OP are seeing and what I am seeing is due to our driving conditions. I imagine TX and AZ are way hotter than NJ, so the wear in your climate will be more just bc of that reason alone. Also, probably about a third of my miles are in the rain so those miles put little wear on the tires. Lastly, about a third of my miles are crawling in traffic, so that's not exactly a high wear situation either... anyway, I really do think I'll get 30K miles out of mine, but I'll report back in 20K miles
Last edited by ohmy; 01-18-2012 at 04:59 PM.
#7
Team Owner
I pulled the exact same tires that are fitted to the GS at 12,500 miles on my Z06. The fronts had ~4,000 miles left in them and the rears had ~7,000 miles left in them. I replaced the OE Goodyears with Bridgestones because I had hit a bridge deck that had a 2.5" lip at 60 MPH and was fixing to go back to Talladega. I wanted new tires on the car before going out on the track and driving hard through the corners and over 160 MPH on the straights.
So far, I have about 5,000 miles on the Bridgestones and have worn about 1/32" to 1/16" off the tread. The Bridgestones come with 10/32" whereas the OE Goodyear's started out with 8/32". I expect to get 25,000+ miles out of the Bridgestones. Plus they are cheaper the the OE Goodyears and are quieter with better grip.
So far, I have about 5,000 miles on the Bridgestones and have worn about 1/32" to 1/16" off the tread. The Bridgestones come with 10/32" whereas the OE Goodyear's started out with 8/32". I expect to get 25,000+ miles out of the Bridgestones. Plus they are cheaper the the OE Goodyears and are quieter with better grip.
#8
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Our 2010 GS convertible the tires, particularly the front, wore down below the wear bars in 6K. They were replaced, and now at 11500 miles, the new set is entirely bald! The wear pattern is fine, but the rubber is gone! Thank you GM for such nice SOFT tires.....I wish I could tell you what to do with them......
Bill
#9
Melting Slicks
Your Alignment is probably set more to the Performance side of the specs. I would have the Alignment checked by someone qualified in the Alignment business and changed more to the Tire Life specs. Also, do a search as this topic has come up many many times before. Good Luck...
#10
Burning Brakes
The original tires on my '10 GS were *SLICK* on the front (with more wear on the insides than outsides) at around 9,200 miles. I was prepared for short life but not quite that short. The rears were in much better shape but pretty close to the wear bars. I went ahead and replaced all four with General Exclaims (no longer available...) even though I probably had several hundred (maybe a thousand or two) miles left on the rears. I have put approximately 10K miles on them so far and they show very little wear at all.
I think there is a combination of problems with the OE Grand Sport tires: They are short lived tires and I don't think the cars are properly aligned from the factory.
Right after having the new Exclaims put on my car I had an alignment done at Corvettes of Houston. The tech there told me the car was enough out of alignment that it probably contributed quite a bit to the early death of the original tires.
My advice for anyone buying one of these FANTASTIC cars is to have the alignment checked ASAP after taking delivery plus having the tires checked for balance. And I wouldn't even bother with the dealership unless they have a lot of experience with Corvettes. It might cost you $150 to have this work done (my alignment was $100) but it will save you in the long run!
I think there is a combination of problems with the OE Grand Sport tires: They are short lived tires and I don't think the cars are properly aligned from the factory.
Right after having the new Exclaims put on my car I had an alignment done at Corvettes of Houston. The tech there told me the car was enough out of alignment that it probably contributed quite a bit to the early death of the original tires.
My advice for anyone buying one of these FANTASTIC cars is to have the alignment checked ASAP after taking delivery plus having the tires checked for balance. And I wouldn't even bother with the dealership unless they have a lot of experience with Corvettes. It might cost you $150 to have this work done (my alignment was $100) but it will save you in the long run!
#11
Burning Brakes
After having a C5 Z51 that wore to the fabric on the inside while having 5/32" on the outside, (I was totally ignorant of the situation with tire wear) I learned my lesson. When I bought my 2012, at 750 miles on it the insides on all four tires were wearing significantly. I got the dealer to do the Pfadt Street Setting under warranty or dealer goodwill (they didn't tell me which). At 3k, I seem to be doing okay. Funny thing is, the Pfadt alignment specs aren't that much less aggressive.
GP
GP
#12
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I have heard the 2010 GS's originally had the alignments set wrong. I have the correct specs they should be set to and will be when I replace them in the Spring. They made it a whopping 7K miles.
Last edited by DebRedZR1; 01-19-2012 at 07:48 AM.
#13
Race Director
Dealer replaced my GY at 8000 miles,alignment was out of spec.but even if it wasn't,those tires would not have reached 12,000 IMO. Now with the proper alignment I'll be checking the mileage on these new GY.
#14
Safety Car
While I don't have a GS, my 09 has the original tires on it and as of today I have 40,822 miles on it and still have more then 5/32 left. I did have the "Perf specs" taken out in an alignment about a year ago, but even then the car had over 24,000 miles on it.
#15
Race Director
I wouldn't expect these tires to make it more than 15k and that is with a perfect alignment. Of course you'll have a few sets that make it more. My 11 GS Vert tracked perfect when new but I had them check the alignment anyway. Toe in was way out so wear was probably high. That was around the 2500 mile mark. The car still is a blast to drive and actually my gas mileage went up from about 22-23 mpg highway to 24-26 mpg. Probably because it is not pushing the tire sideways down the road.
PS2 ZPs supposedly have a 20k wear out rating, according to reviews on tire rack Bstones are supposed to last 30-40k. It seems like Bstones have A/S like performance when they are warm though from what I read on other threads here.
PS2 ZPs supposedly have a 20k wear out rating, according to reviews on tire rack Bstones are supposed to last 30-40k. It seems like Bstones have A/S like performance when they are warm though from what I read on other threads here.
#16
Drifting
I purchased my '06 coupe with 58,000 on the clock w/BFG G-Force tires (non-run-flats) installed by previous owner. The front tires were worn on the inside, but have 6/32nds left on the center of the tires. I took the car to the Chevy dealer who told me that GM sets up the alignment for performance (neg camber). He suggested setting the 4 wheel alignment to street or in my case (0 degrees camber) for even tire wear, without sacrificing performance and drivability. So I had him do it ($124.95). Car handles fine and now hopefully I can get better tire life (and save some $$).
MT
MT
#17
Melting Slicks
I've researched this issue quite a bit in the past year. It seems to me that the "average" tire life for the OEM GY Runflats on either GS or Z06 is between 10-12k miles.
I'm at 7500 and I'm estimating that I'll be ready for new rubber at 11k.
The big issues are tire "softness", tire width, and alignment.
All conditions being perfect, the highest number I've read was 21,000 on the GY's (Grand Sport) and they were showing cords.
I'm at 7500 and I'm estimating that I'll be ready for new rubber at 11k.
The big issues are tire "softness", tire width, and alignment.
All conditions being perfect, the highest number I've read was 21,000 on the GY's (Grand Sport) and they were showing cords.
#18
Melting Slicks
I just replaced the tires on my 2011 GS at 19,326 miles yesterday. I did get an alignment in the first month of ownership and I think that really helped with the tire life (compared to what others have said about their OEMs).
I replaced with the Michelins. I'll share my thoughts in a new thread in a week, but to be honest, they aren't knocking me out yet (way noisier than the old tires so far, not a heck of a lot more grip).
I replaced with the Michelins. I'll share my thoughts in a new thread in a week, but to be honest, they aren't knocking me out yet (way noisier than the old tires so far, not a heck of a lot more grip).
#19
Melting Slicks
I just replaced the tires on my 2011 GS at 19,326 miles yesterday. I did get an alignment in the first month of ownership and I think that really helped with the tire life (compared to what others have said about their OEMs).
I replaced with the Michelins. I'll share my thoughts in a new thread in a week, but to be honest, they aren't knocking me out yet far(way noisier than the old tires so, not a heck of a lot more grip).
I replaced with the Michelins. I'll share my thoughts in a new thread in a week, but to be honest, they aren't knocking me out yet far(way noisier than the old tires so, not a heck of a lot more grip).
#20
Le Mans Master
Just changed out the tires in Nov on our 10GS with 6200 miles on them. Goodyear paid half and I went with the second Generation tire.The alignment was way out especially the toe. I put about 300 miles on the new tires before winter hit and they seem ok so far but a little noisier than the original Goodyear's on certain highway surfaces.