Originally Posted by Vistance

It was a conscious decision from getting summer tires. It's a bad idea to drive them in the cold when they become stiff and non-pliable. I thought about all-seasons, but would rather not have compromised handling just so I can drive it when it gets cold here. And here in KY there are plenty of 10-20F mornings where the high for the day is in the 30s. I have another car that already has all-seasons on it, is FWD, has heated seats, and a heated steering wheel. Why put the extra wear and tear on the Vette when it will be even less enjoyable to drive and more dangerous than usual due to the summer tires in the cold? If it was my only car, I would've gone all-seasons for sure.

Originally Posted by Vistance

High powered, lightweight car with less than ideal tires for the conditions, in the dark, and at present with my EBCM being out (So no ABS/TCS/AH) seems like a recipe for possible bad things - and with all that in mind, I'm just going to putting around driving it as gently as possible so it's not like I'll be enjoying the power so much as exercising lots of cautious restraint. More power to anyone who wants to take the chances, but I'd rather not

Around where I live there's been some major accident every day this week, and snow hasn't even fallen yet.

Originally Posted by Quickshift_C5

I understand wanting to be cautious, I'm just saying it's a bit extreme. My car also has no functioning stability control, hasn't for years. I disconnected the steering position sensor a couple years back when the lateral accelerometer failed and the car kept trying to randomly kill me. Never got around to replacing it since I don't really need the AH system. My car has 750hp, rolls around on R Compounds, no stability control...and does just fine even in freezing temps.

People, in general, are just silly with these things. Just use a little self control and common sense, and the car get around just fine. All you have to do is not press the gas pedal so hard.

Originally Posted by thisMSGgood4me

Not that flat spotting can't happen (never say never) but it's very unlikely to, especially in any permanent way. But if it was to occur (and that's a big IF), warming the tires up by driving on them for a few miles would take care of the problem.

Now having said that, if you want to virtually eliminate any chance of flat spotting, you could do two things:

1) Overinflate your tires (say by about 5 psi) and make sure they stay overinflated the entire time the car is being stored. When you can start driving it again, reduce the air pressure back to normal.

2) Put a pair of chocks behind the rear wheels (assuming the car would roll backwards on your slanted driveway) and leave the transmission in neutral and the ebrake off (some may disagree with this but there's a method to my madness, so hear me out). First of all, the chocks are going to keep the car from rolling down the driveway. Second, by leaving it in neutral with the ebrake off, you're able to move the car (without having to go to the trouble of removing the car cover during this process and then putting it back on afterwards) a few inches however often you wish (so the tires aren't sitting in the same place the entire time) by moving one chock a few inches back, have someone push the car slightly forward from the rear while you reposition the other chock the same few inches back and then let the car slowly roll back those few inches into the repositioned chocks. The tires will then sit in a different position than they were previously in. Now if you don't mind dealing with the car cover each time, then leave the transmission in gear and the ebrake on, but that's up to you.

Originally Posted by Pounder

I hope that people relate my comments to where I live, and I love being in control and in Michigan winters it is no place for any low vehicle. Not being able to climb hills or even the snow buildup at every corner, being stuck is NOT my idea of fun !! also in the cold one little tap on the body will so much more damage than in warmer climates.

Originally Posted by Vistance

I get that the Vette is a driveable winter vehicle, I'm not such a prude that I wouldn't consider it but one PITA thing is the filthy snow and salt that ends up on the roads. I can't easily put the hose out and rinse it off or go by the car wash (the DIY kind, not the auto ones which I know many still work in the cold), and I hate leaving the Vette dirty. My other car, I don't like it but it's more tolerable to me and I don't feel as bad doing it for awhile before I can make it to a car wash.

Winter tires seem to be a must for a RWD car if you plan to drive it through any actual snow, seems like a huge pain just to be able to safely drive the car year round. For the record though I don't mind taking the cover off it to move it but if just rolling it up or down the drive a little isn't going to do anything then I won't bother. I do like the idea of slightly over inflating the tires while it's being stored though.

I don't know what it is, maybe something in the air, but anymore I see 2-3 accidents reported in the news every day. It's normally not this bad, but anymore it's constant. Some dipstick pulled out into traffic and caused several cars to crash, some in critical condition too while the idiot who caused it is barely injured. I'm very much just a car person, but it makes me want to get a big lifted truck or something. For you older and more wise folks, have people always been this stupid at driving? I feel like the modern car that stays in the lane for you, warns of blind spots, has backup cameras, etc. has dulled everyone's senses to where they just don't even think anymore. I am always an active driver, so while I know I don't need the safety systems on the car - I do use them as tools to help myself. I do not take them for granted as some might.

Originally Posted by Quickshift_C5

I'm just talking about driving around when it's cold. People put these things away as soon as it's below 50. Just seems like overkill. I don't advocate driving Corvettes in the snow.

Originally Posted by Vistance

I've parked my C5Z for the winter in the drive as it's not getting over 50F anymore and I've put the cover on it. However, my drive really sucks and is sloped in the back where I stored it (this is the only part behind a fence, and I do feel comfortable with it being here as it's out of sight). I'm concerned about getting flatspots on my nice new tires. My thought was to go out every few weeks and move the car up or down the drive so it's not just sitting in the same spot for a lengthy period of time. Is this enough to prevent flatspots or do I need to actually drive it? I can possibly arrange that, it's just going to make it much more of a PITA - and I'll be driving around in 20-30F weather on summer tires, but I can manage by just staying on side streets and leaving a wide berth.

I wish I could put the car on jackstands, but with the sloped driveway I think that's a bad idea. I thought about those flatstoppers from Race Ramps, but they say it needs to be on level ground so I don't think those will help me either (and they're not cheap).

Any other suggestions to help the car out being stored for awhile on a sloped drive? I could put it on the flat part, but then it would need to be in the front and it wouldn't be behind the fence. I had considered previously as some might remember, offsite storage. However I read something about the exact place I was going to use being robbed and someone had their classic race car stolen and they found the car after they already took off a ton of parts. So that idea is a 100% no go now, car is safer in my drive where I can watch it.

Originally Posted by apex26

The winters are so harsh up North, and they put so much grit and salt on the roads, that after the first snow I put my car up on cinderblocks (cold detached garage) and put the tires in the basement in a cool dark corner. Some say relax the tires by letting some air out, which seems like a good idea. The constant freeze thaw outside will harden the tires and reduce grip if left out. I'm not willing to sandblast the car by driving through all that crap, and it's annoying to listen to knowing all the damage going on. I drove mid 60s Corvettes all winter as a kid, never even bought snows, bet they all needed frames replaced. This z06 will NEVER see salt or grit.

Originally Posted by JR-01

Never use cinder blocks to support a vehicle!

Cinder blocks aren't designed to take the concentrated load that vehicle would impose on them, and can shatter without warning! Use jack stands.

Originally Posted by apex26

Load bearing cinderblocks are rated to hold up 3,500 lbs PER SQUARE INCH! Buildings don't collapse spontaneously because cinderblocks "shatter". The OP is on a sloped driveway, and a cinderblock is infinitely safer than a tippy jackstand. I've been using them for about 45 years and am very confident of their overrating, especially vs some probably Chinese product. You merely put a piece of wood between the block and the frame.

Originally Posted by Pounder

blocks are used in conjunction with one another as a building wall, they are used as a bridge one is not as strong as five laded overlapping one another, with metal rebar every third layer. you have been lucky, in my lifetime I have heard of more than a handful that lost their life because they (blocks) crumbled.

Originally Posted by apex26

Load bearing cinderblocks are rated to hold up 3,500 lbs PER SQUARE INCH! Buildings don't collapse spontaneously because cinderblocks "shatter". The OP is on a sloped driveway, and a cinderblock is infinitely safer than a tippy jackstand. I've been using them for about 45 years and am very confident of their overrating, especially vs some probably Chinese product. You merely put a piece of wood between the block and the frame.