Les

I had a set of NT05s installed yesterday- 285/35-18 fronts and 335/30-19 rears. By category here are my observations vs. the stock F1s:

Noise- Hey, our sound systems aren't as weak as I thought. I'm hearing much more detail in my music and at lower volume levels. Nice! The tires aren't silent, nor did I expect them to be. They are noticeably quieter than the F1s.

Smell- I had warned my wife that these babies might stink. Yesterday right after I got home she picked up the odor as she walked into the garage and said it was pretty strong. I just now took her to the garage, which has had the doors closed all night, and she had to try hard to smell anything-at all. She says it's much better today. I'm really not picking up a bad odor, just a bit of new tire smell. However, a couple of days ago one of my Boxers was playing with me and as she jumped up she nailed me hard in the nose with her head , so I might not have the best sense of smell right now. Summary- no big deal.

Ride- Better? You bet! The rear is not so jumpy over uneven surfaces. The car also tracks true instead of being pulled off the intended course by grooves in the road. Overall it's just a smoother driving experience.

Straight line traction- The tires have maybe 150 miles on them so it's probably not fair to judge them yet until they can break in a bit. I did a full throttle rolling stab in first gear and they did break loose but not nearly as much as the F1s were. More to come on this after I put some miles on them.

Handling- I saved this for last because there's only so much I can say so far. The drive home was pretty routine except for a little back road I took just before getting home. I can say that any change of direction allows you to feel how grippy the tires are. I'm dying to find the right time and place to really get a feel for them. The twisty/hilly back road near home yesterday gave me a chance to play a bit. Turn in is very good, grip around curves very good, and I was most impressed with the improvement around corners with bumps and other surface irregularities. The rear used to feel twitchy on such surfaces and now that's all but gone. It gives me a lot more confidence that the rear won't step out on me unless I input too much throttle. The guys at the tire shop smiled as I was about to leave and said- "You're gonna like these tires." I'm sure they're right.

Now for the bad news. At the tire store the guy doing the balancing pulled me into the work area and showed me that I have a bent front rim. Nothing obscene but I could definitely see it as he spun it on the machine. It took awhile for me to recall when it might have happened but I remembered the only possible time several months ago when I hit a bad pothole at freeway speeds in the dark. It was a hard hit and I remember watching the tire pressure readings thinking it could have destroyed the tire. I had no issues after that though, except a mild vibration at a bit over normal freeway speeds, which I didn't notice until a long time after the incident so until yesterday I never connected the two.

The wheel balanced OK but the tech recommended replacing or repairing the wheel. He leaned toward replacement because the repair process involves heat and, while that can put the wheel back into shape, it can also weaken the metal and possibly cause it to crack instead of bend the next time you hit a pothole. I'm looking into all options. For those who have never had to look into it, the cost of stock Z06 wheels is pretty obscene. So far I haven't found a source that will supply just one wheel except a dealer. I'm not interested in any repro wheels- I figure color match for Comp. Gray will be enough of a problem even through a dealer let alone from an outside source.

Any leads you guys have on wheels would be appreciated. I'll try to update tire observations when I have more experience with them.

allanlaw

Don't forget that the Forum GM parts dealers will give you a good deal on these.

fly a Z06

In August on the way to the Woodward Dream Cruise I hit a pothole near Gallup causing the car to shake a lot. I drove to a Chevy dealer in Albuquerque who showed me 3 bent wheels on their machine, but luckily no suspension damage. Their printed out repair order showed the OE fronts @ $848 each and rears @ $885. West Coast Corvettes overnighted 2 fronts @$325 and a rear @$350 plus shipping, reproductions of course. Check the FS forum.

Joel

curvesman

Thanks for sharing!

Nick 02 Z06

If you go into the for sale section, there are two wheel dealers that are selling OEM Z wheels at rediculously low prices. They are selling them in every finish GM Offers and yes, I did say OEM. One Example was Bob's House of wheels who is offering Chrome OEM's with sensors for $1200. He has all the other finishes and they were cheaper. I know he also sells individual wheels.

Turbooo2u

Thats what happened to me. When I went to mount my new Nittos, I found I had a bent rim. YET ANOTHER REASON TO DUMP THE RUNCRAPS. "Bend it like Goodyear".

jgaches

You're sure it's the rim? I too have the NT0-5's. One of my rear tires had runout so bad they had to order another tire. They thought it was the wheel at first.

Les

Thanks for the replies. I've checked forum suppliers and found that Gene Culley prices them close to $100 less than dealers but that's before shipping. I didn't run through the purchase process far enough to see what that would cost. I looked at House of Wheels but couldn't see that wheel listed. I'll try reaching someone tomorrow.

So I just got off the phone with my State Farm agent, who spent a good part of the afternoon seeing what he could do. There are two kinds of possible classifications for situations like this-
1. Comprehensive which is a $100 deductible for me.
2. Collision which is a $500 deductible for me.

After talking to several people in his claims division they tell him that the only coverage for potholes is collision, which is considered my fault! It doesn't matter that it was dark and I couldn't see the pothole- nobody could have seen it. But it gets better. If the cost of the claim is $750 or more my rates go up- because it's my fault! If I had hit an object that had fallen into the roadway it would have been covered under comprehensive- yea, makes sense to me...

He's a good dude and I'm sure he's not playing me. He was almost as frustrated as me. In fact this caused him to change his own policy and lower both deductibles so this can't happen to him. I mentioned that I'd look into changing to another company that didn't play this game and he said he thought of that too but was told by them that it's an industry wide practice. I'll definitely be doing the research on that. To be fair, I've been with State Farm for a very long time and they've always been very good on claims but this is pretty hard to believe. Enough said for now. Thanks again for the help.

Nick 02 Z06

Here's the link

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-p...heels-f-s.html

Les

Excellent- thanks!

GMuffley

Please post an update after you've had them broken in. Thanks.

BIGBOS

Yes please keep us updated

BarneyZ

Just ordered a set of chromes from Bob. I've done business with him before. 100% reliable, heads up guy. Have no fear.

Thanks for the tip, Nick!

Barney

ricoaw74

I am looking for Black Chrome in C6 Z06 size, what's my best option?

Will

From C6ZO62C8

nice write up, thanks

Z11409

California=THE POTHOLE STATE.

3 bent C5 wheels and 1 C6 wheel bent-some replaced and a couple repaired
www.wheelsamerica.com

carnutsx2

Call the city, I know that most cities are self insured and have a claims department that handles issues such as this. What do you have to loose ?

0Corvettes of Dallas - Parts

Nice review, I have these tires and really enjoyed them BUT I must worn you of this:

OKAY: I have about 8k miles on the NT-05's. My rain valleys are almost flat, I do DD my Z06 so she see's rain.

Over the 8k miles, I had no issues with Wet/Dry traction.

The other day, I was cruising at 75 in the rain, I hit a blind puddle of water, (all systems where on) my front end drifted to the right, kicking my driver side rear out for a un-wanted FULL lock drift. I saw the wall and I was ready for the impact.

Thank god I have racing experience, I flew 2 lanes to the right under full lock, then shifted the car for an opposite drift to loose speed and gain correction.

Stability and Traction kicked in at 50mph and the car went straight.

I was so lucky there were no cars near me. It could of been REAL bad.

Now I am SUPER cautious in the rain.

You guys out there with mid-life NT-05's, who drive in the rain, please be careful. I almost lost my baby.

-Adam

Corvettes of Dallas

snide

Thanks for your review on the Nitto tires!

As for the wheel, when I had the General UHP Exclaims installed on my car, the tech told me that one of the wheels (rear) was slightly out of round. I haven't noticed any vibration, so it's probably not serious enough to repair. It should be covered under warranty though.

sqvvcd

And you soiled yourself didn't ya.. Glad you were able to saved it.