Sup guys,

I just bought a '04 Z16 Z06 that really, really needs a new set of tires. I'm trying to keep this on a BUDGET.

I don't race, just want something with good longevity for a good price. What do you recommend? I looked them up on Tirerack and it only gave me 2 options, the OE Goodyears (for $1600, not happening) and some Bridgestones for $790 that I'm considering.

Any other ideas? Any help is appreciated.

Also, I'm located in Northern Virginia and want to get the car lowered. Any recommendations on good shops?

Thanks.

 

Look into 275/40/17 for the front or do 255/40/17 + 285/35/18. I plan to do the latter on my next tire change.

 

Thank you that opened up some cheaper options for sure. Will the skinnier tires look weird though? Will they have to stretch them to get them to fit?

 

Don't think you'd notice the difference unless you had the tires right next to each other. The width difference would be roughly 10mm, which is about .4"

 

bridgestone Potenza 760's

 

if you just want a cruiser tire this is the way to go. they come in oem sizes and look great on the car

not the highest performing tire in the world but they are the only living 265 40 17 and 295 35 18 tire left

the michelin pilot sport 2 is available in those sizes also but the rear is now only made in an N4 porsche specific compound which means you would have two tires that look the same but don't match

the other tire that looks appropriate is the nitto nt05, much higher performing tire than the re760 but not a good rain tire at all

the nt05 comes in 275 40 17 and 295 35 18, the thing about this tire is nitto made the 295 tall at 26.2" and the 275 short at 25.6", factory is 26.1 and 25.4. this puts the nt05 only .1" off from factory which will not affect the traction control or active handling.

you do not want to go under 1/2" in tire split or really over 1" if you want the system to function exactly as designed

the re760 is a 30,000-35,000 mile tire if you don't have an aggressive alignment or drive hard and the nt05 is 20,000 if driven the same way. remember traction starts to suffer pretty badly by year 4 of a tires life so you could add up how much you drive in 4-5 years and select something that could go that many miles if you wanted to maximize your tire money

 

Check out my post from March 2012: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...03-c5-z06.html

I ended up going with Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta tires, 275/40-17 on the front and 295/35-18 on the back. I've had these tires on since March 2012 (so like 1 year and 6 months). I've put 12,000 miles on them roughly, and I still think I have another year with them =) I've been to the drag strip and have done 5 laps around a road course, too. They work really well!

Edit: I bought them from Fairmount Tire in Los Angeles. Total cost was between $900 and $1000.

 

No offense, but do any you guys use the search feature??? the topic is always coming up. (i can look on the first 2 pages and there are 3 threads on this topic alone).

But in any case NT-05s they are around 800 for a complete set 275/295.

 

Continental DW 255/40/17 + 285/35/18

 

I can recommend an excellent alignment guy. His name is Galen and he works at Currys Auto in Dulles, VA.

http://www.currysauto.com/locations/...ationid/4.aspx

He did my alignment on my C5Z06, and knows how to lower these cars. He does all my work and has lots of customers that follow him.

 

Here's a less conventional thought: For a higher performing and slightly lowered setup, the Michelin Pilot Super Sport is also available in some skinnier (read: cheaper) sizes that still work with the stock wheels.

245/40/17 and 265/35/18 would work pretty damn well. Lighter and shorter tires will give you slightly better acceleration and slightly less rolling resistance. Tire Rack has them for $900 and Michelin has a $70 rebate through either today or tomorrow.

 

I think I'm going to go with some Sumitomos in the sizes you mention

 

Fantastic, the car needs an alignment too. Was going to do it when I put tires on it. Wouldn't be worth it with the crap it has on it now.

Will check him out about the alignment and lowering. Thanks!

 

we like having a lively forum. these cars are 10 years old or more and most every topic has been covered before

 

These might look a bit stretched on a Z06 rim, they are over an inch narrower.

 

Minor stretch. It's wide for a 265, 10.1" tread width compared to like 9.25" on the 265 Firestones that were on the front of my car. Here's the PSS 265/35/18 on OEM 10.5" rear vs. Firestone 265/40/17 on OEM 9.5" front:





Michelin by itself: