Why are there Not any tire problems with Base C6's, but there are with Grand Sports
04-15-2012, 03:26 PM
#2
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I do not consider 14000 miles a problem as far as wear on a sticky tire. I ride motorcycles and the stickier the tire the shorter the life. A touring tire gets around 10000 miles on a motorcycle while a soft performance tire gets maybe 6000. Just to give an idea of the difference. You can put a harder rubber compound on a Vette but remember you WILL lose cornering performance!! It's a trade off. Always has been always will.
04-15-2012, 03:33 PM
#3
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the tires on my gs have been lousy from minute one. Couldnt even make it home ; had to turn around and they took four off another gs. Never could get a ride with no shaking and now with 12k I need tires. I also drive very conservatively , no burn outs! They just keep finding tires that dont meet specs. Replacement tires wont be goodyear!!!!!!!!!!!
04-15-2012, 03:52 PM
#5
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St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13x3- '14-'15-'16-'17-'18-'19-'20-'21-'22-'23
it's a good question. prior to the GS, i dont remember this many threads on factory tires.
04-15-2012, 03:55 PM
#6
Race Director
The GS has performance tires. Performance tires wear out much faster. We all knew this when we bought our Grand Sports. Thread after thread complaining about GS tire wear is very amusing to me.
04-15-2012, 04:16 PM
#8
Melting Slicks
With it's auto trans and removable top, the average GS buyer is coming from a different perspective.
04-15-2012, 04:32 PM
#10
Le Mans Master
the tires on my gs have been lousy from minute one. Couldnt even make it home ; had to turn around and they took four off another gs. Never could get a ride with no shaking and now with 12k I need tires. I also drive very conservatively , no burn outs! They just keep finding tires that dont meet specs. Replacement tires wont be goodyear!!!!!!!!!!!
04-15-2012, 04:43 PM
#12
Le Mans Master
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You have one? GS is advertised as track car with improved handling and grip. Ooops, you forgot to realize nothing comes free and your aggressive camber and high traction traction result in premature tire wear? Buyer beware I guess... Cannot have the cake and eat it
04-15-2012, 05:07 PM
#13
Sr.Random input generator
Seriously, this is also a potential issue for Z06 / ZR1, but they are not whining about it. I owned a C6 Z06 for 3 years, and I did not whine about it. I guess the problem is that since GS is much more affordable, some bought it only for its looks, etc., and did not consider any compromises they are getting into with their purchase. Yes, I am trying to say "quit whining" 
My fear is that GM listens to these whiners and messes it up soup next time GS model is out (for C7).
My fear is that GM listens to these whiners and messes it up soup next time GS model is out (for C7).
04-15-2012, 05:27 PM
#14
Team Owner
Seriously, this is also a potential issue for Z06 / ZR1, but they are not whining about it. I owned a C6 Z06 for 3 years, and I did not whine about it. I guess the problem is that since GS is much more affordable, some bought it only for its looks, etc., and did not consider any compromises they are getting into with their purchase. Yes, I am trying to say "quit whining" My fear is that GM listens to these whiners and messes it up soup next time GS model is out (for C7).
My fear is that GM listens to these whiners and messes it up soup next time GS model is out (for C7).I don't like to spend money on tires anymore then the next guy, but you gotta pay to play, as they say.
Last edited by JoesC5; 04-15-2012 at 05:42 PM.
04-15-2012, 05:29 PM
#15
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Seriously, this is also a potential issue for Z06 / ZR1, but they are not whining about it. I owned a C6 Z06 for 3 years, and I did not whine about it. I guess the problem is that since GS is much more affordable, some bought it only for its looks, etc., and did not consider any compromises they are getting into with their purchase. Yes, I am trying to say "quit whining" My fear is that GM listens to these whiners and messes it up soup next time GS model is out (for C7).
My fear is that GM listens to these whiners and messes it up soup next time GS model is out (for C7).
04-15-2012, 06:04 PM
#16
A Z06 might be justified with a very aggressive alignment, but not a GS. Yes, more aggressive than a coupe, but not like a Z06. THAT is why most of us bought a GS. The problem is GM's ridiculous alignment tolerances. Camber can go from +0.2 to -1.1, which is pretty extreme. And that's what most of us seem to have. I haven't checked it yet (only 300 miles), but from the rear it's obvious they're at or near the max. The 0.45 'base' figure is what they should have IMO, which is aggressive, but not over the top. If somebody is going to exclusively track their car, then THEY're the ones who should change the alignment accordingly. Not the rest of us, who bought the car for spirited driving, not tracking. Main performance reason to buy the GS in my case was the brakes, suspension tuning, differential cooler (gets pretty hot in TX), dry-sump engine, and battery in the trunk. And looks too, especially wheel design, although wish we had less aggressive widths (again, in-between coupe and Z06), since they're not really needed with only 436HP. And we're carrying a lot more unsprung weight in vain IMO. But great car otherwise. Bottom line is GM puts those ridiculous specs to never be out of spec. And it's the luck of the draw if car will be at the extreme or not.
And yes, it's a legitimate problem, not 'whining'. Geez. The good news is it's an alignment away from fixing it. We just have to deal with it sooner rather than later. That reminds me to buy a tire gauge to catch excessive wear before it become obvious. Have a good one.
And yes, it's a legitimate problem, not 'whining'. Geez. The good news is it's an alignment away from fixing it. We just have to deal with it sooner rather than later. That reminds me to buy a tire gauge to catch excessive wear before it become obvious. Have a good one.
Last edited by JCtx; 04-15-2012 at 06:09 PM.
04-15-2012, 06:09 PM
#17
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A Z06 might be justified with a very aggressive alignment, but not a GS. Yes, more aggressive than a coupe, but not like a Z06. THAT is why most of us bought a GS. The problem is GM's ridiculous alignment tolerances. Camber can go from +0.2 to -1.1, which is pretty extreme. And that's what most of us seem to have. I haven't checked it yet (only 300 miles), but from the rear it's obvious they're at or near the max. The 0.45 'base' figure is what they should have IMO, which is aggressive, but not over the top. If somebody is going to exclusively track their car, then THEY're the ones who should change the alignment accordingly. Not the rest of us, who bought the car for spirited driving, not tracking. Main performance reason to buy the GS in my case was the brakes, differential cooler (gets pretty hot in TX), dry-sump engine, and battery in the trunk. And looks too, although wish we had less aggressive tires (again, in-between coupe and Z06), since they're not really needed with only 436HP. And we're carrying a lot more unsprung weight in vain IMO. But great car otherwise. Bottom line is GM puts those ridiculous specs to never be out of spec. And it's the luck of the draw if car will be at the extreme or not.
04-15-2012, 06:15 PM
#18
Sr.Random input generator
All the changes you're asking for would make the GS lose to pretty much every other car it's competing against. As petermj well put it, perhaps we should indeed have a model for looks only, and another model that also comes with the performance enhancements (like coolers, dry sump, better brakes, ducting, suspension, wider tires, etc.). Unlike what you stated, I bought GS for street/track duty, not just street, since it is one of the best bangs for the buck for track duty, and 436 HP is more than enough to lose grip even with the stickiest tires.
FYI, my alignment for the fronts are set at -1.4, which I think is a good compromise between street and road course use. Driving a Corvette with no negative camber would be just inconceivable, and sounds even dangerous to me.
FYI, my alignment for the fronts are set at -1.4, which I think is a good compromise between street and road course use. Driving a Corvette with no negative camber would be just inconceivable, and sounds even dangerous to me.
A Z06 might be justified with a very aggressive alignment, but not a GS. Yes, more aggressive than a coupe, but not like a Z06. THAT is why most of us bought a GS. The problem is GM's ridiculous alignment tolerances. Camber can go from +0.2 to -1.1, which is pretty extreme. And that's what most of us seem to have. I haven't checked it yet (only 300 miles), but from the rear it's obvious they're at or near the max. The 0.45 'base' figure is what they should have IMO, which is aggressive, but not over the top. If somebody is going to exclusively track their car, then THEY're the ones who should change the alignment accordingly. Not the rest of us, who bought the car for spirited driving, not tracking. Main performance reason to buy the GS in my case was the brakes, differential cooler (gets pretty hot in TX), dry-sump engine, and battery in the trunk. And looks too, although wish we had less aggressive tires (again, in-between coupe and Z06), since they're not really needed with only 436HP. And we're carrying a lot more unsprung weight in vain IMO. But great car otherwise. Bottom line is GM puts those ridiculous specs to never be out of spec. And it's the luck of the draw if car will be at the extreme or not.
04-15-2012, 06:19 PM
#19
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St. Jude Donor '13
We went through 2 1/2 sets of Supercar tires on our Z51 C6, and got about 20,000 miles on each set. The alignment settings were moderate, but I don't slow down much for corners.
Given similar conditions, a set of GS Supercars should last about the same number of miles.
I suspect the GS alignment problem is not so much that it's aggressive, but that it isn't set correctly at the factory. Or changes as the car gets a few miles.
We have bought 2001, 2006, 2009 coupes, had the alignment checked on each car within the first thousand miles and each was out of the wide factory specs even at that point.
Yesterday I looked at prices on Tire Rack, a set of Michelin PS2 runflats were about $1,400 for a base car and $2,100 for a GS.
The GS is a great car for people who understand the tradeoffs, but most customers don't. In their typical "Get the money today and don't worry about tomorrow" style, GM has done little or nothing to help prospective buyers know what they are getting into.
Legal? Yes. Smart? No
Given similar conditions, a set of GS Supercars should last about the same number of miles.
I suspect the GS alignment problem is not so much that it's aggressive, but that it isn't set correctly at the factory. Or changes as the car gets a few miles.
We have bought 2001, 2006, 2009 coupes, had the alignment checked on each car within the first thousand miles and each was out of the wide factory specs even at that point.
Yesterday I looked at prices on Tire Rack, a set of Michelin PS2 runflats were about $1,400 for a base car and $2,100 for a GS.
The GS is a great car for people who understand the tradeoffs, but most customers don't. In their typical "Get the money today and don't worry about tomorrow" style, GM has done little or nothing to help prospective buyers know what they are getting into.
Legal? Yes. Smart? No
04-15-2012, 06:23 PM
#20
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St. Jude Donor '13
All the changes you're asking for would make the GS lose to pretty much every other car it's competing against. As petermj well put it, perhaps we should indeed have a model for looks only, and another model that also comes with the performance enhancements (like coolers, dry sump, better brakes, ducting, suspension, wider tires, etc.). Unlike what you stated, I bought GS for street/track duty, not just street, since it is one of the best bangs for the buck for track duty, and 436 HP is more than enough to lose grip even with the stickiest tires.
FYI, my alignment for the fronts are set at -1.4, which I think is a good compromise between street and road course use. Driving a Corvette with no negative camber would be just inconceivable, and sounds even dangerous to me.
FYI, my alignment for the fronts are set at -1.4, which I think is a good compromise between street and road course use. Driving a Corvette with no negative camber would be just inconceivable, and sounds even dangerous to me.