I'm currently on a learnng curve with my first 'vette, a '98 A4 vert I purchased 6 months ago. This weekend I was taking a spirited (not wreckless, mind you) drive through the hills of Napa Valley. My car has 23k miles and the original rubber. As I was in the middle of an S-turn, I noticed some moisture on the pavement ahead. For the record, I'm 35 and have been driving performance vehicles since my first car, a 1986 Mustang GT. Now I am by no means a professional driver, but I have grown up with some experience with regards to pushing limits, so to speak. Anyway, back to the moisture on the road at Napa - long story short, I did a complete 180 in the middle of the road, and by the grace of God, I managed to bring it to a stop without a scratch. This is not the first time I was surprised by this car's intolerance to S-turns (and the other time was on dry pavement). I'm wondering whether the fact that this car has 8 year old tires is the main contributor to my lack of control or if I have just forgotten how to drive over the years. Because if memory serves me, I used to be able to take winding roads more aggresively in the aforementioned '86 GT than this 'Vette. And considering the comparison, I am definitely surprised by this discovery. I mean really, it seems unlikely that a 1986 Mustang GT would (or should) out handle a C5 Corvette (that has all 4 wheels and tires). Are these cars notorious for oversteer, or do I need to say good-bye to my 8 year old run-flats??
Thanks for any feedback, folks.

~SM

 

I would definitely suspect its your tires. I've driven on very curvy mountain roads and the vette has never felt unstable or has oversteered dramatically and that's even when I had stock runflats and stock suspension. The runflats you have now, if they are the original stock tires, are probably on their way out. Even if you still have some tread on there, runflats are notorious for providing less performance and more road noise as they wear. Get yourself some good rubber and maybe check your suspension just in case.

 

These cars are notorious for understeer.
New tires should be on your immediate wish list especially if those same driving conditions remain. Check out the reviews for Goodyear gsd3's.

 

worn tires, especially run flats, a wet road, fair amount of horse power, light car, it will get tail happy. A set of good road tires will fix the problem.

 

Notorious for UNDERSTEER?? Or oversteer?

 

Oh Alex I bet you say that to all the boys!

 

Just wondering is you had it in competitive drving mode or not? If no, putting it on would definitely make a difference. Still need to be careful though and would look for new tires anyway.

 

 

If in any doubt, keep the TC / AH on...it might just save your a%%

 

TC was on and did not make any difference. But again, the situation was not extreme enough that I would imagine I would need it -and third, the same situation has occured with no moisture involved. Again, the old Mustang would feel more confident than this car currently - and TC shouldn't be a factor. I'm hoping that the Corvette is a far better car than I am experiencing thus far and that inferior tires is the reason why. If I thought new tires would not dramatically improve this car's performance, I wouldn't be getting rid of just the tires but rather, the whole car! Also, if this is an indicator, the car does not hook up in 1st gear in a straight line either - even gets squirrelly whenthe 1-2 shift occurs. Although 345 hp is decent, I would imagine decent tread would hook up in a straight line better as well . . .

 

I can never get 15k miles on my tires so yours must be worn out.

 

Your tires are almost 7 years old, and you are driving on the orginal run flats? Time to get a set of nice sticky tires.

Also find a nice big parking lot (to practice in) and to get a better understanding of your car in cornering at speed.

 

I suspect they are although they still have plenty of (perhaps dry-rotted) tread. I've been looking at GY Eagle F1 Gs-D3. Anyone have an opinion on these?

 

Someone educate me. If worn tires are the culprit, why do autocrossers and road racers shave the tread down on new tires? If you're wondering where I got this, it's from the Goodyear tire store. Thanx

 

 

Driver error. Sorry, driving to fast for conditions. Save it for the track.

 

 

Perhaps your assumption is correct - and it is driver error. In turn, the fact appears to stand that a stock '86 Mustang will outhandle the far more expensive and touted Corvette. In which case, I'm posting in the wrong section; I should be in 'C5s For Sale'.

 

yes, unless you force oversteer with too much throttle or braking in the turn, the car will understeer.

That said, rubber gets hard and loses it's grip with age. Your tires are toast even if they still have tread on them and runcraps suck anyways, so get some real tires on there.

 

get new tires.