I’m trying to put into perspective the odds of major tire damage on the C5 Corvette. There are countless postings on pro versus cons of run flats compared to non run flats. My hope is this thread isn’t a debate on that choice, but rather the odds of tire damage in general and if one tire is less susceptible then anothers.

Here are a few questions that come to mind;

1. Is the likelihood of tire puncture less on Corvette tires in general compared to lower speed tires design for your more normal vehicles on the road?
2. Anyone have personal experience with major tire failure on a Corvette? If yes, what caused it if you know?
3. Would putting on wider tires then stock increase or decrease the likelihood of tire puncture?

Thanks!!

 

I take a more general view of the whole run-flat vs the non-run flat point of view. How many times have you had a flat tire ? If you like most, you may have had one or two flats in your entire lifetime of driving.

The other factor, which I think is the most importnat is what kind of roads you drive on. I live in the Philadelphia, PA area and for the most part the roads are in good shape, etc ...

I try to avoid construction areas where jobbers might drop nails, screws, rebar or other sharp items on to the roadway.

The other thing to keep in mind is that your inflation pressure on your tires. I typically run around 30 - 32 PSI cold tire pressure. This protects the sidewalls from blowing out or being damaged by hitting a pothole or large curbing that can put excess pressure on the lower profile sidewalls that these vette's use.

I've had to replace all of the tires on my Audi A6 because the sidewall gives out from the bumps due to their low profiles. The Audi uses Continental's but next time around I'm going to do Michelin's.

I really like the Michelin PS2's as they are really good tire in both dry and wet conditions, unfortunately they're a bit on the pricey side, but in the long run they are worth it.

You could also pick up a flat repair kit from Tire Rack for like $80 that includes the air pump and gunk to fix a leak.

 

Having driven Corvettes daily in Chicago, I can say "where you drive" is very important in making the decision as to Run Flat or not.

In the Chicago area, I had 3 tires damaged that were not repairable (one sidewall large slice, and two nails through the sidewall) over a 35 year period, but did average about 1 flat a year per daily driver vehicle (2 vehicles, but later 3 vehicles). That is a lot of punctures! But then again, a lot of driving (about 30K to 45K per year for the 2-3 vehicles - depending on year and when the daughter started driving).

In Florida, I have not had one flat yet (since 2005) on any of our 3 vehicles. But our driving miles are greatly reduced also (about 14K total for the 3 vehicles).

Plasticman

 

AJG,

You make a good point about where one drives as having a factor.

Plasticman,

The damage you speak of, was it on a C5? I'm trying to understand the chance of tire damage on the C5. I haven't seen or heard of many C5 tire failures regardless of run flat or non run flats.

Thanks guys for your input!

 

I have never had a flat on the interstate. Most of what I have picked up has been from people not closing the tailgate on their trucks and dropping nails, screws, etc. out in town.
Naturally, the wider the tire, the more surface area to get something in a tire.

I don't think the speed rating has anything to do with whether a nail will puncture the tire or not.

I got a couple of nails in my tires within 6 months, and have not had another problem in 5 years, so luck also is a factor.
I cringe when I see roofing shingles scattered on the road because I know a truck has been this way and there could be stray nails on the road or even nails still in the shingles, but no one is going to go back and pick up what blows out of their truck.

I have a spare front and rear wheel and tire so that if I do have a flat in town, I have something to put on the car so it is not a crisis to get it repaired immediately to even be able to drive the car.

I have seen a few tires get cut and come apart to the extent that it would not make any difference whether it was a runflat or not. One guy never saw what he hit, but the tire shredded and ended up tearing up the fender with it.

I am always scanning the road surface when I drive, and will not run over anything I can avoid.

 

Just had a flat last week with a brand new (200 miles) Michelin PS2.
Had a large screw in the tread area that was repairable.
I came back to a flat tire, at the airport, at midnight. I keep a small compressor in the trunk, just in case, and used it to air up the tire for the drive home. It held enough pressure to get to the tire store the next morning.

It seems to me that a wider tire has a greater chance of puncture because you have a bigger contact patch.

 

No, the sliced sidewall was on a C4, but it was from an impact with a sharp edged decorative stone that some construction outfit dropped off their truck. I tried to miss it, but hit it with the sidewall and it sliced it like a knife all the way through. I have no doubt that a run flat would of suffered as well (even with the stiffer sidewall). Note that the tire went flat immediately (@ 45 mph while on an expressway ramp), and I had no issues with handling it.

The 2 sidewall nails were while on the road (both penetrated right at the edge of the tread up into the sidewall) and one was on my C4 (brand new tire purchased the week before) and the other on my wife's DD. Nails in sidewalls are not repairable.

Having driven the C5 only for a short while after purchase last Sept., I changed to non run flats later the same month. World of difference in handling, noise, and solved a pull (to one side) that really irritated me. The original run flats looked good at 23K miles (had good tread left on them), but I just could not put up with the noise and ill handling / pull. The run flats also seem darty to me also (not a smooth directional transition between steering inputs), and I was very use to (18 years) a fast steering Z52 equipped C4.

Plasticman

 

Texhawk,

Was this on a C5? Were the tires repaired?

Thanks!

 

I switched to non-RFs a few years ago - mostly for the quieter smoother ride. Cost was not really an issue.

Last year there were some severe hail storms in Tulsa and a lot of new roofs are being installed. Roofing nails are everywhere in the roads from the crews hauling off the old material in open containers. My wife commented that she was getting the low pressure warning on the DIC. I filled the tires figuring it was winter and just normal temperature differential but it kept happening. Then I noticed a nail in the right rear. Pulled the wheel and saw two more roofing nails - Damm.

Took it to local tire shop and they did the plug/patch repair - good as new, well almost.

Point is, other than a major, catastrophic puncture, you should be fine with the non-RFs. A slow leak can be dealt with. I have a small repair kit with plugs, scissor jack and DC compressor in the back just in case, always have the cell phone and keep my AAA membership current.

 

What I am coming way with here so far, it seems to suggest the nail or screw hazards appear as a slow leak and not a major tire failure.

Has anyone experience a blowout while on an expressway, something other than a slow leak? If this happens would it be likely to destroy the wheel assembly?

 

I don't think these tires would just blow out while on the highway - they are rated for very high speeds which means they must be built tough.

That said, encountering a road hazard that causes a major blow out at expressway speeds is another matter and would not be good. There is not much side wall height on these tires and you would be on the rim pretty fast. I think if you do a search you will find some threads about tire/wheel damage from blow outs at high speed.

When it happens you had better be awake and react fast.

I think a road hazard encounter would result in an legitimate insurance claim for the fix however.

 

This is a good thread. I run non run-flats on my summer tires. For my winter tires, I do have run flats on the rear (the Goodyear M&S tires).

Over the years, I've had several slow leaks in my 'vette tires (daily driver since beginning of 2003, over 100k miles ) all were fixed by patching, they were mainly running over nails or screws.

As for complete blow outs, nope. The only time I've actually lost air in a tire that it couldn't drive was when I spun out and ran over a curb. Ruined the tire and the rim, Broke the rear knuckle/spindle so I couldn't drive it even with a spare tire.

As for preperation, as a safety measure I have wired a fitting where I can tap off of my air horn's tank and compressor to fill a tire if need be and a can of fix a flat. I also carry AAA and cell phone

 

Air Horn!!! Wow! I didn't even know this was an option. I’ve heard of blown someone’s doors off but never thought about the help of an air horn.

 

On my previous C4, I had replaced the small air compressors (one for each seat) for the seat bladders, and had a fitting off the passenger side seat compressor for tire refills.
Used it once, so it "paid for itself"!

Good job using the air horn compressor!

Plasticman

 

Tire was repairable both times, and both times I noticed the tire was low while in the garage, so I never got stranded. I am still running the stock Goodyear F1 Supercar tires (non-runflat) on my 2004 Z06. Never had a flat on the front. The fronts kick up nails and the backs end up getting punctured.

One time I noticed a low tire, but when I went to check the tire, all I found was a metal pin. When I went to pull it out, it would not come out. It turns out that it was a double headed nail like they use to make concrete forms, and the nail went in head first (so both heads were inside the tire), but the tire still never went completely flat.

Most tire shops will limit how many repairs they will make to a speed rated tire to 2 or 3. I had 2 patches in the same rear tire, and the tires still held air until I wore them out.

 

Your going to like my story! I have an 02 ZO6. It comes from the factory with Goodyear NON -Runflat Supercar tires. It had about 20K on it.
The wife and I were driving to Carlsile PA for Corvettes at Carlisle. She was driving the Z and I was driving the 98 Coupe. We just entered NY on I 287 in Rye NY from CT and were going around a long sweeping turn doing about 80 mph and all of a sudden the wife pulls off the highway. WTF!?

So, I fought my way through traffic and pulled up behind her. Called her on the Cell. I asked her if she was lost? She said, the DIC say the passengers rear tire is flat. ( I put Tire Pressure Sensors in the ZO6 wheels) So,,,,I jump out of the 98 and F%$#, flat it is. The entire side wall from the rim to the tread is spilt open!!!





Car is under warranty so,, I call for a flat bed. Got flat bedded to the Local Rye Goodyear Gemi Dealer 4 miles away. Had to spend the night in Rye while they had a fire shipped in.

Funny thing about the flat/blowout. The wife said that unless the DIC warned her about the flat, she may not have known it was flat until the tire flew apart. The Z didnt give any hint at all that the tire was flat. There was ZERO rim damage. The rim rolled on the side walls of the tire and that protected the rim..
So, that was back in 2003

December 08. I had JUST installed a brand new set of TOYO Proxis on the ZO6. The wife wanted to go to a business meeting out of town and I was installing headers on her 06. I said, drive the ZO6.

I get a call about 45 mins later. "The DIC says theres 22 PSI in the left rear. So,,,I said " maybe its a sensor error, keep an eye on it. She said ,,,,,well now it says 17. So, I tell her to pull over some place safe and see whats going on. She calls back. Tire is HISSING LOUDLY!

F&^%. I asked her to take a look and see if it something that can plug!

She says, theres a 1" wide gash in the center of the tread and theres a big hunk of hard baklite plastic hanging out of it. F*)#


There was about 12,000 miles on the rear tires and I refused to put just one new tire on one side and mess up my clutches in the rear so, I ended up having the car FLAT BEDED to Townfair Tire and purchasing TWO new 315" Proxies. My TownFair guy loves when I walk in the door! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Yes I kept the old tires and yes, I willl burn them off one day after I patch that gash!

Would I put RUN CRAPS on the car?? NO! I do have a pulg kit and compressor. That will take care of most small tire issues. Those are the ONLY tire issues that I have ever had on all the Corvettes that I have ever owned.

I will put some pictures on the post when I get home tonight

 

Bill,

Great post! Thanks for taking the time. You have added credit to an observation I've been making about the durability of these high speed tires. Talking with folks I hear of loosing air but no disintegrating disaster stories.

 

my previous corvette was a c-4 and i ran over a 3/8"lag bolt on the highway at 65 mph the tire went flat immediately.lucky for me c-4's have a spare .that tire was not repairable. in my c5 i run non runflats and in 5 years i have had 1 flat on the c-5 it was in the rain on a sunday morning on interstate 44 about 40 miles from home,and the car started feeling loose so i pulled over and one of the rear tires was down to about 15 psi. i dont use tire pressure sensors so i was able to use a fix-a-flat product which i always carry with me and get back home. my flat was caused by a small sheet metal screw and i was able to have it properly repaired the following week.i am currently still running non-runflats
john

 

I have PS2's. My right front keeps developing leaks. 4 leaks so far. One was bad enough I had to pump it up and it's now leaking again slowly for the 3rd time in 2 years and about 16k miles. Even pumping it up I just let the pressure really build and then drove it home. It still held enough to drive for over half an hour. One leak I found what appeared to be a stone stuck in a flat part of the tread but the others just were a leaking spot.

Peter

 

Yup, I put the compressor (it's actually a Harbor Freight $50 job for tires but it works well) in one of the side rear compartments and the pressure tank in the other. The horns are mounted up front behind the bumper. They're kind of short (13" or so) so they don't have the deep tone like you hear on trucks. I might try to stuff some longer ones in the fenders as there's some room down there but I got lazy.