I have owned two C6 Corvette's. Purchased both cars new. The Goodyear tire's really suck! After a few thousands miles the Goodyears sound like I am riding on four snow tires. The front tire's wear out by 17,000 miles. Why does GM stick with the Goodyears?

 

I have driven over 30,000 miles on Goodyears and neither of my C6s ever sounded like I was riding on four snow tires. To be honest, though, I am usually listening to the engine rev or the stereo or both.

 

Long relationship, willing to build tires to specification.

 

I have a '02 Avalanche that is only on its' second set of tires. 75K miles on a set of all season Goodyear tires is fine by me.

My GS on the other hand won't get anywhere near this mileage but I also don't know of any other manufacture that is building tires in the GS/Z06 sizes that will do better than 1G in turns either.

The tires are spec'd for different purposes and maybe if the other manufactures would build to the Chevy spec or better than maybe Chevy would make them the OEM tire. It seems that Goodyear doesn't build a tire in the ZR1 sizes so they went with Michelin's who do.

 

On my second Vette and don't care much for the GY. Switched to that Firestone run flat.

 

On my second Grand Sport, and like the first, replacements will not be GY's, but Bridgestones.

 

For the same reason why Mobil 1? No real reason outside of deal GM made with the manufacturer? Just guessing here... Especially since Michelin is OEM on certain vettes these days as well.

 

I've never had a good OEM Good/crap tire..most over priced over hyped tire out there...

 

Yeah, that Good/crap outfit is just a foreign upstart of a company with no performance tire experience.

 

As I understand it, GM did ask Bridgestone to quote on the tires for the Z06, and Bridgestone designed the RE050A runflats for that purpose. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing the reason GM decided not to go with the Bridgestones is that they are only speed rated Y,186 MPH instead of (Y) that are rated 186+ MPH. Since federal law makes the car companies install a tire that is rated for the top speed of that particular car GM had to go with the Goodyears or they would have had to had a speed limiter set at 186 MPH for the Z06.

Of course, that doesn't explain why GM hasn't switched to the Michelin PS2 ZP's for the Z06/GS, unless the Goodyears are much, much cheaper for GM to purchase or they have a long term contact with Goodyear that they are stuck with.

Hopefully, with the C7, Goodyears will be history.

 

A couple of years ago, I heard that is exactly the problem. The source was "usually reliable, but not totally guaranteed".

 

I can partially answer that question based on my limited experience. GM (i) has a long relationship with Goodyear and "run flat" technology and (ii) wanted a U.S. manufactured tire on the Corvette.

My Dad worked for Goodyear in Akron Ohio for 45 years. Goodyear started developing "run flat" technology in the early 1960s (at least these were the earliest tires I saw), and my Dad helped test tires for the company. I remember him installing tires on his car that were essentially tires within tires when I was five and he explained how they worked. He helped evaluate new designs as they were developed.

Goodyear probably has more experiences with "run flat" technology than any other company and the latest tires used on the C6 were built to run 200 miles without air as specified by GM and still be repairable. These specifications require a fairly stiff sidewall. Most of the quieter "run flats" people love are not manufactured for the same requirements and are restricted to 50 miles running without air and are not repairable.

I doubt many people understand loyalty today or care about U.S. manufacturing and jobs. Goodyear will build a softer sidewall "run flat" tire (quieter and smoother running tire) when the OEM specs are changed.

 

Just like every other component on the car, whether on your Corvette GS or eCruze, has to pass certain government tests/standards (DOT, EPA). I have no idea what the lead time is for the typical vehicle from concept to rolling out of the factory but I'm sure that also has some bearing in what components are used on any vehicle. A lot of times you'll notce that "after market" components (including tires) come out 1 to two years after the original. I'm sure these items also need to pass certain govt standards. Its easier and probably a lot cheaper for the manufacturer to stick with one vendor during all the initial testing and certifications.

 

 

Whenever I have kept a Corvette to the point of replacing the tires, I have never gone back to the OEM GY's. I have always gone to the Firestones. Less expensive and a much quieter tire.

 

While Michelin is a French company, the Michelin runflat tires I installed on my C5 were made in the good ole USA. Also the Michelin tires on my Mercedes were made in the USA. That means American workers were manufacturing them. The last two sets of Goodyear tires I purchased(not runflats) were made in Canada. That means American workers were NOT manufacturing them.

But then I could remove the Bidgestones(made in Japan) from my Z06 and install the crappy Goodyears, and I would likely run thru two sets of Goodyears to the one set of Bridgestones and keep twice as many American workers busy vs the Japanese workers, but that would be very foolish of me. It's my money and if I want a better tire, that will last nearly twice as long, then that's the tire I'll purchase.

 

Interestingly, as I understand recent history between Goodyear and GM relative the Z06 and ZR1 Corvettes, GM performance engineers were not pleased with Goodyear's offerings for the Corvette for some time. In battles between the GM Corvette engineers and the GM bean counters, the engineers finally made some inroads and they opened up competition to tire makers for the Zo6 & ZR1 models. Goodyear was furious as they have been the incumbent OEM tire on all Corvettes for a long time.

Goodyear did go to work and came back with a much improved tire, the tire you now find as original equipment on the Grand Sport. But Michelin so blew away the Goodyear offering with their PS2 ZP that the engineers again battled it out with the bean counters to get the Michelin tire for the Corvette line - ending up getting them approved for their top two models.

Goodyear and GM go way back and are hand in hand with each other. The fact that you are seeing the Michelin offering on the top 2 Corvettes is HUGE. None of what I've shared is new news or confidential - in fact it's fairly well known. The GM performance guys at Bowling Green have been very political correct in describing the tire competition - they are careful to give great credit to Goodyear while acknowledging that the Michelin offering is just far superior.

And remember the number of tires GM needs to purchase annually for their entire vehicle production is enormous. Just a several dollars a tire cost difference adds or subtracts millions, perhaps hundreds of millions, from bottom lines. can't go totally upsetting the apple cart with a player like Goodyear. My opinions is that is the only reason you see Goodyear tires on any of the current Corvette models - after all it's painfully obvious it's not because they are the superior offering.

 

... AT THE CHEAPEST POSSIBLE PRICE . And THAT is the #1 factor of choosing a tire company IMO. Almost anything is better than the GYs according to most forum members, including me.

 

My 1964 coupe originally came with U. S. Royal Safety 800 tires. The original spare is in the basement. I don't believe that Goodyear tires became OE on Corvettes until the 1984 C4's were released. But that's only on Corvettes. GM has always used tires from most of the tire companies in business.

 

When I installed the Bridgestone RE050A runflats on my Z06 a year ago, I paid $1567 to a local dealer and that included the tires, mount & balance and tax. I couldn't even buy the Goodyear tires(without the mount & balance & tax) at anywhere near that price. Funny that a small tire shop in Bolivar, MO can sell a set of bridgestone tires cheaper then he can a set of Goodyears, but GM can't buy a set of Bridgestones cheaper then they can a set of Goodyears.