I had my 2000 C5 vert on the rack yesterday to paint the calipers. As I was pulling the front wheels off I noticed the original Goodyear Runflats were wearing pretty bad on the inner treads with some cupping. A friend of mine just bought a 99 coupe with 14k miles and his Goodyears were worn out on the inner fronts. Is this common on the C5's. Mine only has 22k on it and will have to be replaced soon. Thanks!

 

you got too much air in the tires - that's why the middle wears quickly

I run 29 psi in the summer and 31 psi - when I used to drive it in the winter

 

I'm running 30psi in the fronts. The outer edge is not wearing only the inner edge. Something is out of alignment.

 

oh I thought you meant the middle of the tire - if it is just one of the edges, do an alignment... however, this is tricky with C5s, because the C5 is too low to the ground to drive up on most alignment machines. You will need to find a shop with the alignment machine built into the ground.

 

I had this same issue on mine (runflats also). Only the inner shoulder on the right front was worn. Nothing but normal wear in the center and outside of the tire. Pressures were good. Took it to have an alignment. They showed me the readings and everything was well within tolerances. I'd be interested in hearing anyone else's experience on this.

TTT

 

Get an alignment!


My 1997 TransAM had similar wear issue. Turns out the wheel bearing was bad...

 

Also wondering. I have 2000 Vert with 25,500 original run craps. Exact issue I noticed a couple of weeks ago?? Mark

 

I had same situation with my 98....inner tread wear. Took to dealership...they said GM original alignment specs were to blame, and that updated alignment specs had bee issued.

They realligned the car....all is OK so far (new front tires).

 

I had the same problem, low miles and inside tire was bald with amble tread on outside. Tire was within specs from the factory. The vette specialist I use says that this is normal wear from the factory alignment specifications. He has developed his own specs for to balance the handling and wear. The more nimble the vette, the more the wear will be on the inner tires. All depends on what you want.

 

More visibly predominant inside, or, outside edge wear is Alignment related. Therefore, do have your alignment reset to specs at a competent Alignment shop. Moreover, make sure that the entire suspension system and all its component parts are inspected for wear, and/or, damage: Worn Wheel Bearings, Bent Inner and Outer Tie rods, Worn Suspension Bushings, Damaged Sway Bar endslinks, etc. And, replace all worn, and/or, damaged parts.

Moreover, in regards to achieveing the most tire longevity, as well as, even tire wear, do have the your C5 aligned to C5 Coupe specs vs. C5 Z06 specs. The purpose of the C5 Z06 specs are to achieve better cornering and handling which is useful for a competitive track event. However, the C5 Z06 specs are conducive to inside edge wear. Also, do maintain consistent air pressure: 30psi cold, at all four corners.

Lastly, the "cupping wear" that you have reported is mainly due to failing shock absorbers. In simple language, Shock Absorbers allow the tire and wheel to maintain even pressure on the ground, as well as, reduce annoying wheel hop, and, incidental rebound which diminish proper handling characteristics. Once the shock absorbers weaken (common symptomology is often, leakage down sides of body of shock shaft, softer and constant rebound effects), the tell-tale sign of an uneven tread wear pattern such as the "cupping" you spoke of, will be present on the tire tread. The "cupping" is also conducive to road noise. Do let us know how it all turns out for you.

 

Our alignment shop have seen this on alot of vettes(including mine on my last set) even if the alignment is within specs. I suspect that the factory camber and toe setting are set a little too negative for "normal everyday driving". The factory set up is geared towards good handling(which a negative camber and toe setting provides) at the expense of tire wear(remember, GM doesnt sell tires nor give a crap if you have to buy new ones every 20K miles). I'd suggest when you get an alignment, tell the technician(it could be me ) that you'd like the toe and camber more on the positive side of the tolerance spectrum (I set mine like this and so far so good). Good luck!

 

My Goodyear runflats did the same thing ... severe wear (visible cord) on the inside, and plenty of tread left on the outside. But the car handled well.

I bought new Michelin runflats and had the car realigned. I now have about 8,000 miles on the tires and there is no visible wear at all. However, the car didn't handle nearly as well ... it "floated" above about 75 mph, whereas before it was solid as a rock. The castor and toe-in were set to about the middle of the spec band. Last week, I had the alignment set to more negative castor and toe-in (near the negative spec limit) and the car handles considerably better. We shall see what tire wear issues I encounter. Could be that different tires require slightly different alignment settings.

 

I've got the same problem with my 98.

 

Yep, my 98 did the same thing. Took it in for alignment, had to buy new runflats right away. Drove the darn thing about 100 miles and traded it in on one with not so great tires again. Dangit! I've decided that a couple times a year of $50 alignment is worth it to keep the tires in good shape for the semi-long haul.

 

Had the same problem with mine, factory alingment was way aggressive and resulted in the abnormal wear. There have been a couple of previous threads on this topic.

 

When I bought my tires, I got a 3 year alignment policy at NTB for $109. I can take it in as often as I need to during that period. A single alignment is closer to $100 than it is $50.

 

Too bad you don't live in Nowheresville Indiana where stuff like this is cheap! We've got a great place in Kokomo ( I know...never heard of it) that does brakes and alignments for much cheaper than I see on this forum.

 

It is from the negative camber and toe on the factory alignment settings. Mine did the exact same thing and after putting it on the alignment machine...it was dead on what GM wants it to be. The setup is aggressive for cornering and performance, but terrible for the straight line driving that most of us do. Have the alignment shop adjust it to a less aggressive settings.

 

Nuts,
You're absolutely correct. Had the same problem with my 2000 vert w/14K miles. Reset camber and toe-in and the problem went away. Factory setup is geared more for the "road racing" fanatic and not the everyday cruiser!

 

Thanks for the input. I have it scheduled for an alignment on Thursday. I will mentioned what has been said here. Glad it is not just my vette that is out of whack.