Thanks everyone. I am back leaning toward the Michelin run flats. Now which one

 

I'm a little puzzled by this "do not repair" issue since the warranty sheet for the tires has no such statement in it. It implies that the tire is repairable if deemed so by a Firestone retailer after inspection. The key is whether or not you actually ran it any distance without air. In that case, no repair which is the wise thing to do anyway. It's obviously a liability issue if the sidewall is compromised by carrying the full weight of the car. However, a simple nail in the center portion of the tread that didn't lose any significant amount of air should be repairable without issue. This is from the warranty sheet:

RFT Tire Damage and Repair

No tire, regardless of its design or quality is indestructible.
RFT tires can be ultimately rendered unusable due to a puncture
or other road hazard as well as from improper low tire
pressure operation. Some punctures may be repaired under
certain restrictions and prescribed procedures. An improper
repair is unsafe and will void the Limited Warranty.
When driven with low pressure, factors affecting repairability
include vehicle speed, load, and maneuvering; the amount of
inflation pressure loss; and ambient temperature. In any situation,
the extent and location of direct damage from a puncturing
object or other road hazard are also critical factors.

RFT tires are not repairable in any of the following situations:
• If the tire was operated with inflation pressure less than
15 psi (100 kPa).
• Abrasion or other damage is present on the exterior tread,
sidewall, or bead areas.
• Abrasion, wrinkling, or separation is present on the tire
interior.
• Any condition or damage is present that disqualifies repair
of a conventional tire.

A qualified tire service professional should fully inspect your
tire, inside and out, to determine if the tire can be repaired.
Tire damage is not always visible from the outside and the
tire must be removed from the wheel for a complete inspection.
For more information, see “Tire Repairs” in this manual.

Note: Some vehicle manufacturers do not recommend using
repaired tires. Consult your vehicle owner’s manual or contact
the vehicle manufacturer before operating a repaired tire
on your vehicle.

 

That "do not repair" is complete bs IMO. I have the wide ovals and caught a nail leaving work one day took it to a friends house that runs an auto parts store and he plugged the tire for free. Three weeks later it has THE SAME psi as all four of the other tires. I do not track the car but I do drive it hard a good bit these rural streets in upstate sc.
Just my $.2

 

But that is not the whole point. If I have, say, 10K miles on a set and I get a nail in a front tire, Road hazard gets me a nice new one. I almost have to replace the other front tire or have badly mismatched tires. If it could be patched they would still be matched and both could be replaced down the road.

 

I just took the firestone runflats off my car on Saturday. I used them since last summer (about 5000 miles). They are very quiet and I think the best runflat going. I had a puncture in one and I had no issues after it was repaired by a top tire shop. The amazing thing is they still measure between 9 and 10/32nds. Like new. The downside is that like all runflats they are absolutely terrible for traction if you have power. They actually scared me when I got on the throttle so they had to go.

 

(1) I think the new run-flat tires are not inferrior in terms of traction. The MPSC tires that come with Z07 and ZR1 packages even use the run-flat technology to improve traction by using it to improve the sidewall stiffness.

(2) Is that an e-force that I see at your avatar pic? If I were pushing that much torque, I'd certainly use the best tire available for traction, not the cheapest!!

 

 

Are we on the same thread? I put the firestones before the eforce and they are not the cheapest!! As I said they are great tires for a stock car and far superior to the originals.
Run flats are definitely inferior in terms of traction. The new ones are better but still not as good as a non runflat at high power levels.

 

 

Firestone runflats are the vest value out there as a replacement Vette tire...(non Z06) imo...They stick juts as well, are much more quiet and will last about double the Goodyear...and they aren't French. Wet traction is good as too...


My 2012 with the good/craps now has about 4k on them and I already hate the noise...

 

Two more $.02 worth.

 

Don't misunderstand me...to be clear, I agree 100% that the "DO NOT REPAIR" is total BS...it's nothing more than the lawyer-nannies getting involved. But Firestone's website is very clear on this. Here it is:

"WHAT IS THE REPAIRABLE AREA OF AN RFT (RUN FLAT) TIRE?

No tire, regardless of its design or quality, is indestructible. RFT tires can be ultimately rendered unusable due to a puncture or other road hazard as well as from improper run-flat or low pressure operation. Some punctures may be repaired under certain circumstances, with restrictions and subject to prescribed procedures.

When driven flat or with low pressure, factors affecting reparability include vehicle speed, load, handling and maneuvering; the amount of inflation pressure lost; and ambient temperature. In any situation, the extent and location of direct damage from a puncturing object or other road hazard are also critical factors.

RFT tires are not repairable in any of the following situations:

If the tire is described as, "Do Not Repair" on the sidewall.
If the tire was operated with inflation pressure less than 15 psi (100 kPa).
Abrasion or other damage is present on the exterior tread, sidewall or bead areas.
Abrasion, wrinkling, or separation is present on the tire interior.
Any condition or damage is present that disqualifies repair of a conventional tire.

Run-Flat Certified Retailers will fully inspect your tire, inside and out, to determine if the tire can be repaired. Tire damage is not always visible from the outside and the tire must be removed from the wheel for a complete inspection.

Note: Some vehicle manufacturers recommend not using repaired tires. Such recommendations apply to RFT tires. Use of RFT tires deemed non-repairable may result in damage to the vehicle, injury, or death. Consult your vehicle owner's manual or contact the vehicle manufacturer before operating a repaired tire on your vehicle."

As I said, I just don't want to get stuck in some tiny town with only one tire place and have them refuse to fix my tire because it is Firestone's official policy. We have lots of these little towns out here in the west and they have lots of miles in between...too many miles. If this is not a concern for you, then I have heard that the Firestone is a great, reasonably priced, quiet running tire.

 

May I ask how many miles you got out of the Firestone runflats? I too have an '08 C6. Only have 13K miles, but expect to replace the OEM's at about 20K.

 

35k the way I drive so a lot of people will get much more than that

 

i have driven on most every brand you can imagine. yokohama is my favorite, michelin quality for less $$

sumitomo is probably my most hated brand.

the rest all make hits and misses. actually all brands make hits and misses. all i can say on tires is do not develop brand loyalty. judge each tire model for what it is

 

Mine are going on in Spring when the 08 comes out to play again.The OEM GY's aren't even worn out yet,but I'm switching anyway.

 

I have used Firestone on my C4 18 years, and now use them on my C6, love the ride and they are quiet.

 

That's what I did as well. I sold my OEM tires as soon as I bought my Grand sport. That way, I was also able to ask for more since they were like new.

 

FS WO RFs came on my used 06 vert I bought in July. They have just over 5,000 miles on them so far and I have no complaints.

 

I have been asking the same questions that you are wondering about. I will be replacing the OEM G-Years on my C6 later this spring. Almost all of the threads that I have read about the FS Wide Oval rft's have been positive. I plan to wait until early May to find out more about the new Michelin A/S 3, but I suspect they will cost considerably more, both b/c they are Michelins, and because they will be a new tire model. If I was to get new tires today, I would go with the FS WO's.