chipchucker

I just purchased my first Vette, a 1993 C4 40th Anniv. Edition. I am also a new forum member. I am looking for advice on two matters--tires and car covers.

I need to put new shoes on my Vette. What brand do you all suggest? I will be driving it as a daily driver around town. I live in central North Carolina. Do I need all-season tires, or are summer tires OK? It does get down to the 30s. We can get ice/snow, but I won't be driving in them.

What brand car cover is the most popular and reasonably priced, yet durable and provides good protection. My vette will be parked outside. We do have the risk of hail in our area, though I've never seen anything larger than pea size in the 30 years we've lived here.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

81c3

Start looking for the sizes that you need through Tire Rack or the like.... then see what manufacturers offer them. Michellin is probably the most expensive and good quality, but there are others that are just as good, and less expensive for sure.

I never needed an outside car cover... but I do use one inside. Covercraft is a very nice quality.

bac22

Nitto tires is popular with many of us here and price is reasonable. I use a Noah Evolution car cover in New Hampshire and it works great, but is a bit pricey.

One thing you need to remember about car covers is never use them on a dirty car, it should always be washed before putting them on. Wind blowing over the cover will cause the dirt to act like micro sand paper and may cause swirl marks. I always cringe when I see someone drive their car to work and then put a car cover on it!

Atomic6

BFG G-Force all-season here in western NC. Very responsive and handle the weather fine. About $800 for a set 'out the door'. I had summer tires on my Trans Am and although I rarely drove it in the snowy winter, it still presented problems on the cold days. They get hard as bricks so no more summer tires for me. The performance loss was minimal for my driving needs.
As far as car covers, I haven't heard of a good outdoor car cover for all the extremes we experience. I had one on a minivan we used to own and it was a good quality car cover supposedly that cost well over $100. It trapped moisture no matter what the claims were and critters loved the protection even more. The wet stink from the cover was bothersome and then where do you put a soaking wet cover? We tossed it. Been there, done that. Not happening again. Indoor covers are a different creature and do work well.

mickey5

With the winter winds we have on the bay it will mar the finish if a car cover is allowed to flap in the wind. All the high spots an edges were scuffed to a satin finish after just a few weeks of use.

I have seen several examples locally where covers are wrapped with elastic ribbon cinched tight to prevent the covers from moving against the paint.

c4cruiser

Look at the NITTO NT555 G2 tires. While they are listed as a "Summer" tire, they do work in the rain. I have the NT555 tires on my '93 and their are pretty grippy for summer driving and very little noise from the tread pattern. Finding good performance all-season tires may be hard to do but cold weather and freezing temps are not the best for driving a Corvette or any other performance car. In fact, most tire makers will state that "Summer high-performance" tires should not be used in winter weather during freezing temps or on snow or ice.

As far as using the car as a DD and car covers, they can cause some paint issues if they are too loose and wind gets to moving them around. Dealing with one on a daily basis will eventually become a hassle and certainly could lead to increased risks of scratching the paint.

Consider cleaning and detailing the paint and apply a high-quality wax. Do that in the Fall and when possible, do another clean/detail on a day in the winter when temps are above freezing and apply another good coat of wax. In wet/cold weather when you may not use the car for an extended period, get some desiccant packets and place them in the car.

3JsVette

Checking out reviews on the Tire Rack site is great advice.
Take a look at the Continentals also while your at it.

chipchucker

Can you tell me the number of miles you all are obtaining with these tires?

Thanks

bac22

Don't know yet, first set for me, but generally I only get about 20-25K on tires in the past. I have a 96 and different sizes on fronts and backs, so can't rotate them to help with wear.

Retxpres

Just put a set of Continental Extreme Contact Sports on. The ride pretty nice...