I finally ditched by Goodyear RF's for non-runflat tires. My vette is lowered with stiffer Z06 shocks and sway bars and the ride with the RF's was just too harsh. Yeah, I'm taking the gamble of not having a spare, but I only put about 3,000 miles on it anyway.

It really depends on your driving conditions and expectations.

Just remember, if you go with non runflat tires and are considering the Z06 tire inflation kit, it is NOT recommended for non-Z06 Vettes. The sealing compounds in the kit will damage the tire pressure sensors in the rims. Z06 vettes did not have the sensors.

 

Thanks for all the info guys!!

 

I have these on my daily driver. I don't race or do spirited driving but I do tow a trailer.

I just replaced the two rear tires with 63K miles on them. They were badly work and should have been replaced awhile back.

I like them and the security of the run flats.

 

63K!! I don't abuse my car (I do play, however) but we must drive quite differently.
Ed

 

Yeah, really!! One thing I do notice is that some people here can get really long tread life while others, even they don't abuse their tires, get significantly less. I got about 15,000 miles out of my OE run flats. They were just about to the tread bars (evenly), and the greater majority of those miles were simply cruising back and forth to work on the interstate. others, say they got 30,000 out of them. If I tried to go 30,000 on mine, the air would have been showing!!

 

Due to the feedback in this forum, I ordered a set of the above mentioned Michelin run-flat tires last Sunday. The set was delivered on Wed, installed on the car lastnight. My traction is a WHOLE lot better, handling is slightly better and the ride is nice compared to the hard GY's that were on the car.

 

 

I just put those on my 99, I'm really happy. I had non RF's on the car before which were put on by the previous owner. I was presently surprised that making this switch didn't affect the handling or ride comfort at all. I was a little worried about it because it was my first set of runflats ever. so far they are great, ride is very nice, very quiet, the tread looks great. and I waited just long enough to get this newer version of the tire which hopefully won't have any wear problems.

they supposedly have a 45,000 mi treadlife warranty...I find that hard to believe, but it I actually get that kind of miliage out of them they will be the cheapest tire per mile on tirerack. I'll believe it when I see it. my last tires looked brand new when I bought the car, they lasted about 21k which is about what I was expecting. if I get anywhere near 45k on these I'll be happy.

 

I've had the "plus" on since November. Previously had the Pilot Sport A/S ZP which replaced my OEM GY EMTs

The fronts seemed ok on the standard ZP but the rears seemed to me to wear out a little early.

Michelin addressed the wear issue with the plus models. So I have them on now. Only a few months into them and they are in all aspects as good as the previous generation was. So we will see if they got the wear issues resolved.

I think these tires are far superior in many qualities then the OEM EMT, but if you don't have to deal with frequent cold temperatures and want a more direct competitor to the OEM EMT, then look at the Pilot Sport PS2 ZP, these tires not only are the OEM tire for the new ZR1, but so far a proving to be better.

If I had it to do over again, and knew I wasn't going to drive the vette into the extreme of winter as I thought I was, I would have switched and went with the PS2 ZPs. For the extra performance you get for a few extra dollars these are expected to be the tire to beat.

I wish the A/S ZP had the wider profile as seen on the OEM EMT and PS2 ZP, that's about my biggest complaint about them. But that would affect their abilities to handle light snow, the PS2 ZP won't go there.

 

Here's my tire saga. I've been through three different tire brands/models on my C5 cars, and as always, my reviews are subjective.

First, I assume that the General designed the car for the run-flats. That's how the suspension is tuned. So they should work. But I couldn't resist trying something different.

The '99 coupe had Michelin PS2 A/S ZP tires on it when I bought it. They were about 70% worn, and were probably made in about 2003 - at least one generation old now. They were the most miserable tire I've had on car, pickup, heavy truck, ATV, boat trailer, you name it. Loud, severe ride, unpredictable handling, tramlined like those grooves were steel rails. Couldn't wait to get rid of them. In fact, my wife refused to ride in the car (too noisy, too rough), and a Chevy-fanatic friend thought the car itself was junk from the way it rode and handled.

So I called Tire Rack and got a price on their Avon Tech M550 All Season non run flat tires. America's Tire Company (same as Discount Tire) price matched, ordered them from Tire Rack, and installed. Much quieter, far better handling, grooved concrete didn't feel like an old steel bridge on a Honda CB350. Handling was more predictable, and generally much better.

Not one to leave well enough alone, I traded the coupe for a convertible, low miles, still had the original Goodyear EMTs. Now that was a surprise. They handled a little better than the Avons (which were still over 85% tread), and these Goodyears were also at about 30% tread left. About like the Michelins had been on the coupe. I drove them down to about 10%, then decided I'd better change them out for our big summer trip. But they handled well, were much quieter than the Michelins were at the same tread depth, and didn't want to follow the zig-zag line.

So I called around to get a new set of the Goodyears. Nobody had them. When I finally did find a set, they were a bit over $2300 installed. And everyone talked about how much better the "new" Michelins were. And my favorite tire store would install a set for $1250 out the door with the road hazard warranty and all. So I bought them Frankly, I figured there were enough Michelin fans on the forum that I could probably sell them and minimize my loss if they were the junk the first set were.

They've got about 2500 mile on them now. They're a little quieter than the mostly worn out Goodyears were, and ride about the same. They don't tramline like the worn out earlier Michelins did, and are much quieter and better riding. I can't comment on what they'll be like at 10% treadlife left, but my appraisal is that they're about three-quarters the tire the Goodyear was. They handle better than the Avons did, at least in aggressive driving. I attribute that to the stiffer sidewalls and better match to the suspension than the soft sidewalled non-run flats. And at just over half the price, they work out to a good value.

As has been stated before, run the rears a little lower on air than the manual calls for. These want to wear in the center. They aren't as wide as the Goodyears at the tread, but are wider in section than at the tread by a fair bit, so tend to ride on the center. I run 26-28 psi.

If Goodyear sells their EMT tires for a price more comparable with the Michelins, I'll go back to the Goodyears. They look better on the car, and at least in my use (touring, a bit of mountain road driving), they handle better. I assume the new Goodyears would be quieter, since the new Michelins are nearly as loud as the worn out Goodyear EMTs.

The Z06 has a different suspension set-up, so it really is tuned for the F1 Supercar tires. And would be better tuned for the non-run flats. But my vert seems to like these just fine.

One other note. Gas mileage. The Goodyear EMTs, with their stiff sidewalls, delivered the best gas mileage. The Michelins seem to take it down about 2 MPG at cruising speeds, and the non-run flats took it down another 1-2 MPG.

That's the chronology of the various tires. I liked the recommendations for the Firestone Firehawks, but at least last summer they were more expensive than the Goodyears. Looks like someone found out that they were good tires. A doctor friend has them on his coupe, and loves them. If you can get a deal on them, I wouldn't hesitate. I don't know why everyone hates the Goodyears, but I assume nobody understands why I hate the original Michelin PS2 A/S ZP (and am reserving judgement on these newer ones). YMMV.

 

Bought GS-D3s and they are more than worth the slight risk of an inconvenient wait.

 

I'm telling ya, these are the one's to watch: Corvette engineers seemed to think so.

Pilot Sport PS2 ZP

Two C5 owner's added reviews there. Here is one of them "Attention C5 owners. These tires are phenomenal compared to the OEM Goodyears. It feels like I went from square tires to round ones - ride comfort was dramatically improved as well as noise; no more "bump steer" either. Handling is crisp and precise. Anyone who wants to improve their Vette should get these."

These are the direct competitor to the OEM F1 EMT.

 

I checked the link on the Pilot Sport PS2 ZP's and based on the asymetric tread design, I wonder if tread life could be extended by rotating from side to side periodically? Something to consider!

 

Love mine ! 2 yrs.

 

I have them on my '99 Coupe. Great Tires!!