Boiler_81

I will be putting my 2016 Z51 in storage in a month or so. I know the manual states the tires should be removed and stored inside if temperatures are expected to be below 20 F. I'm in SE MI, so winter temperatures will certainly be below 20 F for extended periods. I am willing and able to remove the tires and wheels if necessary. However, I would prefer not to.

I am interested hearing experiences from people with Z51s who stored their car in Northern climates without removing the tires. I found several threads where people asked for real world experience but did not see any responses.

PLEASE, let's not make this a debate on what tires GM should have put on the car. That is a totally different discussion. Also, I am not interested in putting on a different set of tires and driving on Detroit area winter roads.

Nuclearranger

While this isn't the corvette exactly, the last 5 years I have stored a Mustang GT with summer-only P-Zero's in WI/MN winters... The area got down to below 0 quite a bit, and I didn't do anything with the car other than just... turn it off in the garage on the last good day..

No flat spots, or engine issues. My guess is that a lot of the winter prep for cars now a days is not really needed and just 'hand me down' information from the 70s and earlier.

bob guzzy

My car was stored in an unheated garage attached to my home it was separated from the house by a brick wall so not much heat leaked into the space.

My car stayed parked and covered almost all winter, I started the car once to let it run and come up to operating temperature, I always do that in winter on a nice day when temps moderate.

The only time you might have a problem with cracking tires is if you plan on driving the car when the temps are in the teens and 20's.

I used my car when the temps were in the low 40's I did notice a loss of traction my car was put away shortly after that event.

Leave your tires on, its not worth the effort of removing them.

ratman6161

This is absolutely not practical for me. On the other hand I live in Minnesota and have never taken tires off of a car for winter storage. Couldn't if I wanted to so I won't worry about it.

MeanDean43

My garage is not attached to the house, and it is unheated. I put Michelin A/S 3's on extra wheels on the car during the winter, and stored the Stock Summer tires (Michelin Pilot's, I forget the exact terminology) lying on their sides, one on top of the other, on a wooden pallet.
They were in the UNHEATED garage from roughly November 1st to April 1st. (I bought the car to drive, not to look at and drool. Meaning I DRIVE THEM ALL YEAR WHEN THE ROADS AREN'T WET OR SLIPPERY!) I'm too damn old to just look at my CORVETTE's.) In any case, it got down as far as -14 in the garage, in February, for more than a week. (I live in northern Wyoming) and I haven't found any damage to the summer tires!

themonk

I stored my tires in a sea can last year and although we had a very mild winter, we did have a few days where the temp dipped below -30 C. Here's the thing though, I didn't drive on them (Michelin Pilot Sports), I bought a set of Continental DWS shortly after purchasing my 2014 on Dec 20, 2013 and haven't driven on the MPS ever since, up until last week when a hole in the road blew out my p.side front DWS and I had to put on the MPS. The tire shop didn't see any defects on the MPS and so far there are zero adverse affects driving on these tires so long story short, perhaps if there is no pressure on the tires, storing them in a cold garage or sea can doesn't harm them, maybe if under 35 PSI combined with the frigid temps is what causes the problem.

C7Joy

I park my car in an unheated garage and leave my tires in place. The only thing I do is increase the pressure about 5 pounds to minimize the flattening of the tire contact points. I do not move my car at all when the temps are cold.

kenownr

I live in St Cl. Shs MI and stored my C6 GS and my C7 both with Michlen PSS in unheated un-attached garage from December to April. Both were fine. Air up to 38/40 lbs as they do slowly leak down over the winter. Mine were down to 24-28 by spring. As you know we did have a couple early spring days (50's) where I could have taken car out for air pressure but didn't need too. Personally I think the problem of cracks etc. may be more for the ZO6 Michlen track type tires.
I did find out in my C6 that the PSS tires in 25/30 degree weather are extremely traction limited and you have to be very careful if you do drive them. Last winter in my C7 I just skipped it, and waited till nice weather.

rkhegler

I live in Nebraska and the winters here can, at times, be brutally cold. I have never had problems with tires on any vehicle in storage. My C5 was stored in an unheated garage for a couple of winters with no problems. I have since heated my garage and will not be driving my C7 when road conditions prevent it. I will try to drive the car when the roads are clear and the temps are not below zero. We have a lot of days where the winter temps are rather balmy. Good time to get the car out and run it for awhile.

I do agree with one of the posters in this thread that one should over inflate the tires a bit, when in storage, because it has been my experience that the wide tires do leak down over a period of time.

MAKC7

Stored my '15 Z51 in my unheated garage in CLEV OH from mid Oct to mid Apr with tires still on the car. Inflated to 35 lbs and double thickness of carpeting under each. Absolutely no issues with the first drive in the spring.

mjpcowboy

I would put your car away on a trickle charger and let the tires get cold and don't worry about it. Cracking happens when moved on the tires below the recommended temps. As for starting you are doing more harm than good by letting idle and not driving then you do by letting sit until you plan on driving.

Eppieguy

My 2014 Premier Edition Z51 was stored in an outside unheated pole barn all winter in NH on a concrete floor and to date I've had no issues with the tires.

Boiler_81

Thanks everyone for the replies. Unless someone posts they experienced tire cracking during winter storage, I believe I will leave the tires on this winter.

DickieDoo

I have heard about this before with the Pilot Sports ( PS2's ) that the cold will change the rubber compound in the tire. I don't think its true or every GM Dealer should keep all his inventory indoors in the winter. If you point this out from the manual, maybe you can get them to give you a new set under warranty! Never had any issues with mine... but my garage rarely goes below freezing.

mjpcowboy

This isn't just the Sport Cup 2's it is also the SS ZP's can crack in cold weather if car is moved. I have not heard of anyone having issues in very cold temps that don't move their car.

stunter steve

so what are you increasing your tire pressure to? Thanks...

DAFFYDRUNK

I don't have a Z51, but a ZF1 which is the same 19/20 Z51 wheels and tires. My C7 sat in my attached garage all last winter with nothing special done and the tires were fine. I wouldn't worry about it. Maybe pump the tires to 40PSI or so to prevent flat spotting. To be honest, I didn't even do that and they didn't really flat spot to speak of.

Boiler_81

I was the OP asking the question last Fall. I put it in the garage and shut the door in November and got it back out in April. I didn't do anything special to the tires. I had no issue after a MI winter. I'm doing the same this winter.

smithrebel

I use Flatstopper platforms on '14 Vette and '67 911S. I increase pressure 5 lbs. No issues.

Can Vette

I bought 4 sheets of 1 1/4" thick styrofoam insulation panels... size 2'x2' at Lowe's.
They came that way.
Tires are no longer on top of concrete.... and will sink slightly into Styrofoam during the slumber.
Last year, I did inflate to 32 psi, but tires were still at that when spring came.
So this year, I did not over-inflate.