GEN II tire problems
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 1,641
Likes: 142
From: wolfeboro nh
GEN II tire problems
I've given up on GoodYear. After 3 C6s all with GY Super Car tires I'm finished. This year I ordered my GS with M6 and MSRC (F55) so I could back GY's latest tire, the GEN II. I have supported this manufacturer and their relationship with GM for long enough. I have read with interest all those who extoll to benefits of the Michelin Pilot Sport II but said I would wait and see what my mileage would be on the new and untried GY GEN II. Well today I found out from my dealer that I have to replace my new GEN IIs due to "being bald on the inside edges of all four tires". I asked if there was an alignment problem before I put the new tires on and was told they would align when the new tires are put on but that there doesn't appear to be a problem. Further, this appears to be a problem with other GEN II tires with as little as 9,000 miles on them. GM should rethink their relationship with GoodYear and the GS as they have with the ZR1 and Z06. I know I have!!
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 9,127
Likes: 2,327
From: Pottsville, PA. USA Home Of America's Oldest Brewery Yuengling
I asked the Corvette Engineers at Corvettes@Carlisle about Goodyear tires and all of the unhappy owners who are stuck with this junk. The answer I got was they invite all of the tire companies to come to a shoot out and they choose the tires that win on the track.
What a poor excuse when most owners don't drive on the track.
What a poor excuse when most owners don't drive on the track.
Safety Car
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 3,664
Likes: 49
From: Atlanta GA
I asked the Corvette Engineers at Corvettes@Carlisle about Goodyear tires and all of the unhappy owners who are stuck with this junk. The answer I got was they invite all of the tire companies to come to a shoot out and they choose the tires that win on the track.
What a poor excuse when most owners don't drive on the track.
What a poor excuse when most owners don't drive on the track.
Racer
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 384
Likes: 2
From: Sterling Heights Michigan
If you want a Corvette whose tires last then buy the Coupe, not the GS. The higher end models come with stickier, softer, higher performance tires, which naturally wear quicker. Don't complain about GM putting performance track tires on their track models (Z51, GS, Z06, ZR1), if you don't plan to track the car you have the option not to buy that model. If your not a Gymkhana/Autocross enthusiast why buy that option?
Last edited by jc9767; Oct 19, 2011 at 09:31 PM.
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 1,987
Likes: 9
From: Citrus Heights CA
St. Jude Donor '12
Sorry but it is NOT the tires. Now, there may be better tires (actually there are)...but you will get the same results. Tires do not come out of the factory with special "quick wear" thread on just the inside edges.........
It was an issue of proper tire pressure AND more importantly tire alignment. The factory did a crappy job of aligning the tires for that kind of wear at 9k miles (all 4--I'd get ahold of GM customer service).
NOTE however that the alignment is totally different for autocross/track use vs back country twisties vs highway use. Set the car up (factory) for lots of twists and turns and then just put on freeway miles and oh yeah, inside wear in a second.
Change tires (I have no dog in that hunt) but make sure you know just what kind of alignment you are getting. Do not just go with GM factory numbers...talk to a shop-advise them as to the kind of driving you will be doing and then align accordingly via an informed decision.
Don't mean to jump on the OP but this is NOT the result of 'bad' or 'crappy' Goodyear tires
It was an issue of proper tire pressure AND more importantly tire alignment. The factory did a crappy job of aligning the tires for that kind of wear at 9k miles (all 4--I'd get ahold of GM customer service).
NOTE however that the alignment is totally different for autocross/track use vs back country twisties vs highway use. Set the car up (factory) for lots of twists and turns and then just put on freeway miles and oh yeah, inside wear in a second.
Change tires (I have no dog in that hunt) but make sure you know just what kind of alignment you are getting. Do not just go with GM factory numbers...talk to a shop-advise them as to the kind of driving you will be doing and then align accordingly via an informed decision.
Don't mean to jump on the OP but this is NOT the result of 'bad' or 'crappy' Goodyear tires
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,475
Likes: 97
From: KY/TN
St. Jude Donor '13-'14-'15-'16
If you want a Corvette whose tires last then buy the Coupe, not the GS. The higher end models come with stickier, softer, higher performance tires, which naturally wear quicker. Don't complain about GM putting performance track tires on their track models (Z51, GS, Z06, ZR1), if you don't plan to track the car you have the option not to buy that model. If your not a Gymkhana/Autocross enthusiast why buy that option?
Most Z06 owners aren't complaining about the tire life, although they do wear fast compared to PS2s. The largest issue is the fact that they have absolutely horrible traction. They suck for most "normal" driving, have zero wet traction, and don't like temperatures below 60 degrees.
Also, to the OP. Maybe you can post the before, and after alignment specs.
Last edited by erick_e; Oct 20, 2011 at 05:33 AM.
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Race Director
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 11,146
Likes: 1,913
From: Missouri City, TX
I am pretty happy with tire wear so far at 6k on my ZR1 Michelin PS2s. These will be very pricey to replace unnecessarily due to a less than optimum alignment. I am going to the Michelin All Seasons for the vert when the time comes.
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 46,295
Likes: 2,596
From: Northern, VA
St. Jude Donor '15
"In honor of jpee"
Sorry but it is NOT the tires. Now, there may be better tires (actually there are)...but you will get the same results. Tires do not come out of the factory with special "quick wear" thread on just the inside edges.........
It was an issue of proper tire pressure AND more importantly tire alignment. The factory did a crappy job of aligning the tires for that kind of wear at 9k miles (all 4--I'd get ahold of GM customer service).
NOTE however that the alignment is totally different for autocross/track use vs back country twisties vs highway use. Set the car up (factory) for lots of twists and turns and then just put on freeway miles and oh yeah, inside wear in a second.
Change tires (I have no dog in that hunt) but make sure you know just what kind of alignment you are getting. Do not just go with GM factory numbers...talk to a shop-advise them as to the kind of driving you will be doing and then align accordingly via an informed decision.
Don't mean to jump on the OP but this is NOT the result of 'bad' or 'crappy' Goodyear tires
It was an issue of proper tire pressure AND more importantly tire alignment. The factory did a crappy job of aligning the tires for that kind of wear at 9k miles (all 4--I'd get ahold of GM customer service).
NOTE however that the alignment is totally different for autocross/track use vs back country twisties vs highway use. Set the car up (factory) for lots of twists and turns and then just put on freeway miles and oh yeah, inside wear in a second.
Change tires (I have no dog in that hunt) but make sure you know just what kind of alignment you are getting. Do not just go with GM factory numbers...talk to a shop-advise them as to the kind of driving you will be doing and then align accordingly via an informed decision.
Don't mean to jump on the OP but this is NOT the result of 'bad' or 'crappy' Goodyear tires
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 3,600
Likes: 118
From: F'burg VA
St. Jude Donor '13 thru '20,'22,'24 thru '26
Racer
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 384
Likes: 2
From: Sterling Heights Michigan
The Coupe have Eagle F1 tires, the GS have Eagle F1 Supercar or Eagle F1 Supercar GEN 2. These are definitely different tires and compounds, not just size. The old Z51 package came with the Supercar tires in the same size as the standard tires, but once again a totally different tire.
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 26,714
Likes: 344
From: Houston, TX
I"ve read of a lot of folks having alignment problems, but I guess I've been lucky in that none of mine have (I've had four C6's now).
That said, at under 11,000 miles my factory GY's were GONE. And even at half that mileage they didn't hook up well and had a lot of wear already.
Two weeks ago I checked the tread depth on my Michelins. At 4200 miles they still have 8/32's of tread - which is practically new.
That said, at under 11,000 miles my factory GY's were GONE. And even at half that mileage they didn't hook up well and had a lot of wear already.
Two weeks ago I checked the tread depth on my Michelins. At 4200 miles they still have 8/32's of tread - which is practically new.
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 13,262
Likes: 3,151
From: SW Florida
2021 C6 of the Year Finalist - Modified
I agree on the alignment as the problem.
No matter how soft the rubber is, if the alignment is correct, the tires may wear fast, but they will wear evenly.
When you get tires that wear out on the inner edge .. it's an alignment problem. If you have too much negative camber, the tires will be bow outward on the bottom (closest to the road surface), and this will obviously wear out the inner edge of the tire. It's my opinion on a car that is not continually tracked, that the camber only needs to be set at not more than -0.4 degrees on both front and rear. These cars that have the camber set at -1.0 degrees or more turn great on a road course, but the inside edge of the tires suffer ... not great on a daily driver.
Also, set the toe at zero for both the front and the rear. Too much toe-out or too much toe-in will cause the tire to scuff as it rolls down the road, and obviously wear them out faster too.
I don't like the Goodyear tires either, but even if you made tires out of hard hockey puck rubber, they would still wear poorly if the alignment was way off.
Spending $1,500 (and in many cases alot more) for tires every 8,000-12,000 miles is not my idea of value.
No matter how soft the rubber is, if the alignment is correct, the tires may wear fast, but they will wear evenly.
When you get tires that wear out on the inner edge .. it's an alignment problem. If you have too much negative camber, the tires will be bow outward on the bottom (closest to the road surface), and this will obviously wear out the inner edge of the tire. It's my opinion on a car that is not continually tracked, that the camber only needs to be set at not more than -0.4 degrees on both front and rear. These cars that have the camber set at -1.0 degrees or more turn great on a road course, but the inside edge of the tires suffer ... not great on a daily driver.
Also, set the toe at zero for both the front and the rear. Too much toe-out or too much toe-in will cause the tire to scuff as it rolls down the road, and obviously wear them out faster too.
I don't like the Goodyear tires either, but even if you made tires out of hard hockey puck rubber, they would still wear poorly if the alignment was way off.
Spending $1,500 (and in many cases alot more) for tires every 8,000-12,000 miles is not my idea of value.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 2,529
Likes: 3
From: Arlington VA
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,043
Likes: 17
From: Western Kentucky
It is my understanding that the GS with manual trans at least is set up for autocross and track days in mind for tire alignment. Now if you look a Pfadt's alignment spec's and there comments for performance street/track with street tires it says that on the street you will wear the inside but on the track you will wear the outside.
Now I like the curves and live in a area the provides plenty of them. My tires at 8K miles are at the wear bars on the outside for the fronts but the rest of the tire is worn pretty even just not at the wear bars yet. I'm backing off my aggressive driving a little to see how far they'll go.
If you don't push your car I can see where they would wear out the inner edge first. If that is the case then have the car aligned for a less aggressive driving style and enjoy you next set of which ever tires you choose.
Now I like the curves and live in a area the provides plenty of them. My tires at 8K miles are at the wear bars on the outside for the fronts but the rest of the tire is worn pretty even just not at the wear bars yet. I'm backing off my aggressive driving a little to see how far they'll go.
If you don't push your car I can see where they would wear out the inner edge first. If that is the case then have the car aligned for a less aggressive driving style and enjoy you next set of which ever tires you choose.
Good riddance.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 8,514
Likes: 235
From: Currently somewhere in IL,IN,KY,TN,MO,AR,MS,AL, or FL
... Well today I found out from my dealer that I have to replace my new GEN IIs due to "being bald on the inside edges of all four tires". I asked if there was an alignment problem before I put the new tires on and was told they would align when the new tires are put on but that there doesn't appear to be a problem...
Wearing the inside of the front tires is a common complaint with a car that has a performance alignment. Even the base C6 settings are a little extreme for a grocery getter. To complain that a GS doesn't get good tire mileage on the street is like complaining that it doesn't get the gas mileage of an Aveo. You can either drive the car as it was intended to be driven or change the alignment. But it isn't the tires that are the root cause of the problem and your dealer certainly isn't helping matters.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 6,359
Likes: 163
From: Concord NC
I asked the Corvette Engineers at Corvettes@Carlisle about Goodyear tires and all of the unhappy owners who are stuck with this junk. The answer I got was they invite all of the tire companies to come to a shoot out and they choose the tires that win on the track.
What a poor excuse when most owners don't drive on the track.
What a poor excuse when most owners don't drive on the track.