I just put the third set of tires on my vette at 43K miles. I went with the Firestone Indy500's replacing the Kumho Ecsta's. So far I have put just over 1200 miles on them on from 1 road trip.

Good:
MUCH MORE QUIET
Feel just fine at up to 155 MPH (I love west Texas roads)
Reasonable Price

Cons:
None so far

 

Your tire pressure is on the drivers door or should be.

 

I only kind of agree with that. If you change tire size, wheel size and tire brand
that is no longer true. My dually had the tires inflated to 32lb and they looked flat. They are 6 ply tires
and say 90lbs. They would not last a week at 32lb. GM says something like 50lbs.

I did jump to the assumption that he had change the car from factory. GM could not account
for all after market wheel and tire combinations. Running a 50lb tire at 30lbs will where out the sides of the
tire that is under inflated and will shorten the life of the tire.

It will probably handle better, but call the tire manufacture, it will shorten the life of the tire.

 

I might not buy a 60K tire, but the Firestones I bought are 40K tires and my impression is they are a lot better tire than the Kumho. I run them at a slightly higher hot temp (35 psi vs 32 psi for the Kumho) and I get a lot better road feel.

I compared the specs on the Firestones and Kumho before buying and I found the specs comparable with the firestones having a slightly better temp rating with the same speed rating (179 MPH). I'd advise everybody to closely review the tire ratings and realize that temperature is one of the more important ratings especially in the SW USA

Just my opinion (which along with $3 will get you a Happy Meal at McDonalds )

 

What you are missing is the weight, That is what determines the tire pressure, Sure a Big heavy truck will need more pressure than a 3100 LB car, If you run 50lbs in a tire on a Corvette I am sure you will find that the tire will wear out in the middle from over inflation.

 

Listed in the owner's manual or on a decal in the glovebox or door jamb in every vehicle are the recommended inflation pressures from the vehicle manufacturer. For most passenger cars, minivans and minipickups, the recommendations range from 27 to 32 psi. For fullsize pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, the recommended inflation pressures tend to be about 5 to 8 psi higher to reflect the larger tire sizes and greater weight of these vehicles.
It's important to note that the recommended inflation pressures may differ for the front and rear tires.
The manufacturer's recommendations are not necessarily the optimum inflation pressure for your tires, but are generally the best for all-round driving. Adding a couple of extra pounds of pressure will decrease the rolling resistance of the tires and make a slight improvement in fuel economy -- but it will also make the tires harder which in turn may cause a somewhat rougher or harsher ride.
If you're carrying a lot of extra cargo, car pooling, hauling a lot of stuff in the back of a pickup or towing a trailer, a few extra pounds of pressure would be recommended to offset the added weight. Add the extra pounds to the rear tires.
WARNING: Never exceed the maximum inflation pressure specified on the sidewall of the tire. This number is the maximum pressure the tire is designed to safely handle. Higher pressure increases the risk of tire damage (when hitting a bump) or tire failure.

 

Just wait until you start going to track days, you can eat up tires quick.

 

following something written 10 years ago is wrong.
I decide my tire pressure as anyone should, by watching were patterns.

I have never seen it good to run a tire 15lbs below max. If they were mine
I would start at 40 lbs. No way 30 lbs is correct, and I would watch the wear pattern.
It is not at all hard to tell what your tires need.

This thread was started about tire life and not about performance. We all know
deflating a tire a increase traction. I run 6lb when on a drag strip. I sure as heck am
not going to drive on a highway at 6lbs. I am not going to get into what tire pressure
for all condition. He drives a lot and wants tire life.

Does he know increasing tire pressure reduces drag and increase gas millage.
Commuting like he does, I would sure as heck run a higher air pressure to increase
gas millage. There are a lot more factors then just what the owners manual says to consider.

I respect you... I understand what you are saying. I simply do not agree.

The owners manual applies to stock tires and stock wheels.

Short version for the OP: don't assume the air in the tires is correct just because a $10
an hour employee put that much air in them. You need to look at all factors. Tire rating,
driving style, tire life, gas millage, recommended by manufacture, and where you feel you like
them. Watch the wear pattern and adjust accordingly. I have always gotten more then the
manufacture says you can out of there tires. Properly taken care of you can get
25k out of a 20k mile tire, specially on a car as light as a Corvette.

 

well said and pretty much spot on. Just account for drastic changes in tires and wheels. Running a 26 on a mini van throw the owners manual out the window.

 

I use General AS-03s for daily use. Obviously not as good as a summer tire for absolute grip, but they wear well (last set went 30k with pretty aggressive driving and sub-optimal alignment), and work well in cold/ wet weather. I bought another set to replace them, and will continue to keep 30psi in them. I keep a set of summer tires (<210TW) on separate rims for autocross.

 

No. That's the max tire pressure.
That's like saying we need to run our Corvette 174 mph because that is the max speed of the car. Trust me, doing 65 mph is okay. Besides, if you put 50 psi in your tires you'll get many warnings on your DIC stating tire pressure is too high. I think (not sure) anything above 34 psi will get you a DIC warning.

 

How in the world do you guys go through tires so fast!?

I'm running Nitto 555R-II's with a 100 tread wear rating. The rears lasted 14,000 miles and the fronts are still going at most of their original tread. That's with 3 dragstrip visits with 4-7 passes each, 5 Autocross events, and a TON of horseplay on the streets. They would have lasted longer, but I had the pressure wrong and the centers wore out.

No idea how you guys are going through regular street tires so fast. Stop doing burnouts!

 

^^This!

I can't kill my runflats. I've put 9k miles on my corvette since I bought it. Tires were probably 80%+ at the time. Still have tons and tons of tread left. I would check your alignment too if you are going through them that fast.

 

Ive had my car 15 years, 40.000 miles,5 sets of tires. 2 sets goodyear 2sets kumho have a set of michelin on the car now. got 11.000 each out of the goodyear front and rear. kumho less then 11.000 rear.have about 6.000 on the michelin. all run flats.

 

I said this a couple hundred times here, and I still see people talking about something they obviously know nothing about... reading the side wall means nothing, unless you are carrying the max load that the tire will bear. here is an example if the tire is designed to carry 1500 lbs @ a Max of 52 psi ( max load and max pressure is found on the sidewall, this is a DOT mandate.
so if your truck weighs 3500 lbs, and you want to carry 2500 lbs you have a max load 6000 lbs. 4 tires X 1500 max load = 6000 lbs. so the correct psi to carry that load is 52 psi... now when you unload the truck and its back to 3500 lbs , you have to reduce the psi to around 30 so you have the correct footprint. if you don't reduce the psi the tires will be center high and wear out quickly. For those so clueless who give advice, you should listen and not talk, because your advice is constantly causing people to waste money on tires. What OI don't understand is so many senior members who know who I am are still supporting this clueless attempt to give a good answer to tire pressure, while Ive laid this out a few dozen times over the 12 years since I left The C5 platform at GM.
Tire pressure changes over time due to driving conditions , road temps and load demand.
Anyone who things reading the sidewall has anything to do with a specific car is just stupid. AT GM we call that sticker an idiot proof sticker because so many people were putting what the sidewall said for pressure. the sidewall spec are put their by the tire manufacturer because they have to, and that number is put there after the tire has been thoroughly tested, its part of the design phase . The tire manufacturer does not know if the tire is going on a Corvette or a dodge crew cab with a 2 ton payload.
Ill say it again.. you want around 30 psi HOT but 30 psi cold will work compared to someone putting in 52 psi because it says so on the sidewall.
but that sticker, 30psi goes on a car in North Dakota, or Alaska and also in the desert of Arizona. where the differences in temp can be as much as 60 degrees different on the same day. tires that are sitting cold in your garage are much different than those same tires out on the highway after being heated up . you don't need to change the psi every day but you have to know when daily temps can vary from morning to afternoon, you want the tires to be around 30 psi in the hot sun of the day.. this is where 30 cold can get to 38 hot and become center high and this is where all your tire longevity gets erased, also you lose handling because the foot print is cut in half..
You can listen to someone who as done this for a living for 40 years or you can listen to the clueless...

 

Priceless information. Thank you for the education Evil Twin, Mr Bill and everyone thats contributed experience, information on this thread. I'm going to research the archives and read up and what other posts have to say as well.

Certainly I need to understand where I stand with my new C5, convertible. Shes and 01 with 35K of what I believe to be original Goodyear Tires. Plenty of good thread left on fronts and rears. Now a 50 yr old woman had owned the car since 04 I don't think she was the type to beat on it.

Just for budgeting purposes I went ahead and priced same Goodyears run flats last week just to have an idea from a friend of mine in the tire biz. Rears $530 fronts almost $300 no tax, cash price not mounted or balanced. Sound about right? And of course go with what was on there right? One would think thats been researched and its what was recommended based on Chevy yes? Or did someone just get greased to have them go with GYears?

I'm a newbie & I'm not sure, it seems like a fair price based on what I've read here so far. Don't know about Michelins or those other brands. Any thoughts are welcomed. Please PM them. Thank you.

 

Peter,

Just wondering where you priced your Goodyear runflats, if you'd care to share??

 

I am not wrong.. The sidewall says max air pressure.
I did not tell him to run the max pressure.

Anyone that believes some guy filling orders in a wherehouse knows the best air pressure is just flat wrong. They don't know the car, the user or your desires.

 

Right above your post the OP asks who's right, the 32 psi the tires came with or sidewall of 52 psi for 19" or 50 psi for the 18".



Your reply:

If that doesn't imply you saying use the sidewall pressure...

 

sorry... did not think he would take to mean use exactly that...
Seems anyone over 18 driving a car would have a basic understanding of the word MAX.
Clearly not...

I do see how that was implied... The tire is a correct guide and does clearly state MAX. The guy in the tire shop
fills all tires to 32 regardless and therefor is wrong to go by.

I choose my words poorly. I do not mean to sound like a smart a_s it is just my nature.
It comes out in text. I dont sound that way when you hear my tone.