mdiiulio

As the title says, I'm moving to the Atlantic City area (from LA) this summer and I'm wondering about tires for my C7. I do plan on driving in the winter/snow, so I'm looking for anyone with first hand experience with driving in their vette in the sometimes crazy and sometimes mild mid-atlantic winters. Can I get away with using a set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires? They are rated for light snow (i.e. plowed) conditions by Michelin, but as an all-season obviously aren't the very best. Does anybody out there drive in the area on a winter set?



Before I end, because I have a feeling it will come up; I grew up around the area, so I already have general experience in snow, and I don't care about salt. I'll keep it clean, but I bought it to drive it.


Thanks in advance!!

Patsgarage

I can't speak to the Michelins in the snow, but I tried to move my GS on the original Goodyears and got nowhere. There are plenty of guys that drive their vettes in the snow, maybe post this in the C7 gen section. Oh, and welcome to NJ, now pay our (high) taxes.

mdiiulio

Ain't that the truth, holy chit man the property taxes here are outrageous.

Patsgarage

You ain't seen nuthin' yet, just wait until you get your auto insurance quote.

Humanoid 2.0

You will need snow tires for a vette if this is your only car and will get caught driving in snow. If you can avoid the roads until salted and plowed then all seasons will work.

No snow tires

Snow tires

acesx4

Get yourself an ez-pass or you will waiting at the toll roads of NJ

mdiiulio

Already on that one, thankfully.

mdiiulio

Yeah, I've seen the videos, its definitely doable once plowed. Just curious if anyone has a set and their experiences.

zipity

it wasn't a C7, but I did drive my G8 GXP all year long. I had dedicated snow tires and summer tires for the car. I live just north of Philadelphia on the NJ side of the river and I would see more snow than the shore towns. If you don't travel more than 10 miles inland from the coast you could get away with a top rated all season, such as the Michelin you mentioned. If you are driving any distance from AC I would recommend a set of winters for the car. Best of luck.

TractionControlOff

The man to talk to is CF member "phantasms." Gene has logged more snow miles in his C7 Z06 than most of us have in SUVs.

mdiiulio

Was he the one with the article about DD'ing a black Z06 through the winter? That was an awesome piece for sure.

JerriVette

You'll be fine with the all season radials...

I've been in NJ for decades driving corvettes with summer tires and this last winter I bought dedicated snows only because they were mounted balanced and had sensors in them and it was ridiculously cheap.

I will say the snow tires did improve traction so if you find a set...go for it. Mount and balance a rough set for winter...plenty available on Craigslist....the added mileage will just extend your summer tires...

I also bought new 19/20 inch summer wheels and tires...and they come with Michelin A/s 3 tires where I used to have ha kook evo 12 s...

Bottom line...you ll probably be fine with the tires you have.

Keep a lookout for cheap snow wheels...usually a cheap set can be picked up for 300 dollars. I sold my 18/19 inch gumby s for 200 dollars and they had a few thousand miles left on the tread. They would have worked in a c7 I believe. I'm not sure about a z51 because of the bigger brakes..

If you don't have the z51 optional brakes. Then just buy a set of c7 18/19 inch rims off craigslist...and slap a set of snows on for now to April.

If it's a temporary move don't bother.

Imo

GS Diva

I've been reading these posts about driving a Corvette in New Jersey in the winter and can't believe that anyone would even think of doing that!! I live in Boston and get as much snow as New Jersey, not to mention ice and salted roads!! Does anyone remember the winter before last??? It is well worth buying a beater for winter driving rather than putting your Corvette through all that winter crap!

Elaine

EdsC6Z06

Get a beater car for the price of the tires and put that thing away in the snow!

Cchief

I also live in the AC area and have Deltona Tire looking for a set of all season tires and wheels as I respond to your post. Took delivery of a new C7 with a Z51 package a couple of weeks ago. Last year I think we had one decent snow, a few years ago we got dumped on...we are over due for a miserable winter here.

Johnny_B_Good

I have to believe the lack of ground clearance will be a major obstacle driving on snow covered roads regardless of the type of tires you have.

JerriVette

I use my corvette everyday in the New York metro area ....I live in Bergen county and have for 35 years...

I don't have a problem getting around all year in my corvette with the exception of a few crazy snow days where I wouldn't travel anyway.

I think last year was one day of 27 inch snowfall. I stayed home that day and the next day when the roads were plowed I travelled just fine.


Maybe in a world of no plowing the corvette would be too low...but with plowing there is rarely more than 4 inches of snow on the roads when I'm driving.


Snow tires are important ...but just using common sense makes a world of difference.

If you need to drive before the roads can be plowed down to below 4 inches...then a CUV is a good idea