laconiajack

What makes you think "G/S buyers all knew this when they bought their Grand Sports". The majority of G/S buyers can't even drive a manual transmission, so their knowledge of automobiles, no less "performance summer tires" is minimal. And how many salesmen are going to tell a prospective buyer "oh yea, by the way, the tires on this G/S model wear out twice as fast, are 50% more expensive to replace, and all-season tires aren't available like on the base model that costs $6,400.00 less, so it's recommended you drive this car very carefully at temperatures below 50 degrees F. and in wet weather"?

cadguymark

you wanted more performance, so why are you whining about decreased tire life?

you don't get sumthin' for nuthin'

Boomer111

I did not have the same experience with 0 toe and camber.

My car wondered and the front end felt light, not planted. In the corners it wanted to under steer, basically just did not hold the corner, scary really.

I really did not like the steering response.

I changed it to the Pfadt street settings and am totally happy.

X25

Since he only did autocross, perhaps he did not come to speeds you normally do on the road course where it gets really scary. In my opinion, there is a reason why you can see all sorts of cars in autocross sessions, while the # of different models attending drops substantially at the road course.

sdurg24

Lots of good info here and pardon me if I'm redundant in my comments but maybe restating some things might help explain the situation. I had a "base" 2005 with GY OEM tires. They had a tread wear rating of 320. I got 36,000 miles on these tires 2 times before trading it in for my 2008 "base" model but with the Z51 Performance Package. The tread wear rating on these tires was 220. Subsequently I got 16,000 miles twice on these before trading it in on my current 2011 GS. Now I know most of you know this but it bears repeating for emphasis. The GS is basically a wide body "base" C6 with the former Z51 Performance Package built into the price. Sure there are more differences. Differences that helped me choose this fine car. The tread wear rating for the wider GY tires was still 220 and with it came another 16,000 mile tread life. I'm sure you can see the pattern here. The GS means a lot of things to a lot of people but facts are facts and sticky 220 tires simply wear out faster than 320 tires of the same manufacturer. GM marketed the GS the way they should have. Many people chose it for the looks, many for the performance, most for both. There is nothing wrong with either. I guess I've been one of those "whining" about the tires. It seems to me the tire companies can and should do better. The new GY GEN II tire didn't do it for me. I've just replaced them with the new Michelin Pilot Super Sports. I'm taking a chance on the non-runflats but already I like the choice. Better ride, quieter, and the grip is substantial. I'll wait to see if the tread wear rating of 300 does anything for me. I'll be satisfies if I can get 20,000 miles and happy if they go 25,000 miles. Time will tell but I'm not blaming GM and more importantly, I'm not standing pat with a losing hand. When the C7 comes out I'll take that plunge.

ChevyCobb

Its funny how people use the term "problem" regarding this subject. It isn't a problem....it IS normal.

Don-Vette

LMAO!!! thanks for the good laugh. I assume people who buy cars do their homework and learn about them first.What you mention above is no secret to anyone with a spec of knowledge about performance tires.

BlueOx

I used to hear the same 'short life' whining about Z51 tires here all the time. Lots of whining.

phileaglesfan

My 08 had alignment issues. Wear on GS tires are similar to Z51s before the GS came out. A lot of GS owners bought the GS for looks, not performance and then are shocked the tires wear out in 15k.

cclive

The more interesting question is why the GS and not the Z...they have the same size tires.

RO55

If you didn't do the research before buying then it's on you IMO.

petermj

Miichelins cups look bald brand new and last considerably less miles than GS turds, I am surprised they are not offered on GS. I do not see too many people concerned with tire wear on Z06 or ZR1

hotinaztoo

Are you kidding me? There have been a bunch of complaints about all model's, the past couple of years. Everybody bitches about the Goodyear tires, and the only trouble that I have had is when I ran through a "NAIL" farm, and once I knocked my front out of alignment on a trip.

I am on my second set, and after having them aligned for street use, I am very happy with them. Most people are afraid to get on their backs and look at the inside edge of the front tires, so most don't even know if they have a problem until it's too late.

MitchAlsup

A) tires on a performance car should have lots of grip and not so much wear. I am happy to get 10K miles from my tires (and 3 track days).

B) alignments change the way the car feels. If you are concerned with the broad window for alignments, try one then another then still another, until you find the alignment you like the feel of. Within a reasonable window, tire wear rates are rather similar.

C) If you REALLY want to get your car aligned correctly (that is for the way you drive), get a probe tipped tire pyrometer and start taking tire temperature measurements. These measurements will tell you if the tire has too much or too little camber, too much or too little toe, or if your driving style does nor "fit well" with the current alignments.

blitzebill

Hi there.

I'm new to the "supercar" world of the Corvette, having just leased a '12 GS 3LT.

Well i have a lot to learn from reading a ton of threads about GS tire wear.

My GS has 200 miles on it. Do I wait until I see wear problems after 2K-7K on the tires to get my dealer to do the "free" alignment or some sort negotiated tire replacement?

Or do I go now when the car is 5 days old?

I am going to track my car at Mid-Ohio this summer, but it's a performance course I'm taking at Mid-Ohio, not some super aggressive Can-Am event.

I'm open to any suggestions.

Boomer111

Good point!!

KWC6

This type of poor mileage is noy right. If this is true I am glad I have the base because spending that much money on tires would really tick me off.

Gary '09 C6

After about 1,000 mi's when the new suspension has settled a bit, consider having the alignment set to Pfadt Engineering specs. Do a search here or on their website...different settings to choose based on your use of the car.

dazz44

If you can buy a Corvette you can buy tires!!!!!!!

rayk

If you read the Chevy doc, you will see 4:1:26 as the goal for the GS.

0-60 less then 4 seconds.
1G on the skidpad
26 mpg

So the Gen2 tires were used to get to 1G on the skidpad.