The last couple of mornings I drove the C6 to work. And I noticed as I accelerated through the turn of one of my favorite on-ramps, that these tires are really slippery when cold. I drove it the second day just to see if maybe it was poor throttle control on my part, but I think not. I know for sure that with fully warmed tires, I have gone much faster through the same turn with virtually no traction loss. Compared to the Bridgestone SO-3s I have used a couple of years on the M3, there appears to be a greater need to get these Goodyears warmed up. Has anyone else noticed a greater difference in cold performance than other tires?

 

Driven in both snow( I'm sorry) and rain, I didn't notice.

 

Any half *** sports car tire needs to be a little warm to grab traction. More so with the drag radials.

 

Sorry tires seem fine to me 29-30 degrees ,patches of snow, ice etc,no problems..

 

Funny you should ask... I was gonna post the same. I got major wheel spin and a little out of shape doing a lane change @ about 1/3 throttle in 2nd this AM, it was 33 degrees. (it was fun, but unexpected)

Anybody want to buy my run craps? I'm looking for a stickier tire. These S/C-runflats on the Z51 don't come close to the dry traction of the Z06's S/C's (but I'm sure they work much better in the rain or with no air for that matter).

I really like the new ride... but it needs to make a little noise and stick like glue, like the Z06. I have a Corsa Sport on order with TBYRNE @ a great price, and now I guess I'm looking for some stickier rubber too.

Any advise on tires? Compounds?

 

I used to get loose unless I had driven 3-5 miles down the road depending on temperature. EMT need TLC and Warmth to work well. I used to get high 12 sec pass's on them too. As far as tire comparison goes do the tire rack comparison, but also look at the tire contact patch how much rubber is on the ground. If you have little rain like we do here you can almost drive Race Masters or Hoosier's.

 

I have the Z51 runflats. When I first got my C6, I thought that the engine was hesitating while warming up. Turns out that while going up my very steep driveway to the street, the traction control kicks big time in when I give it even just a little gas due to poor grip.

My C5, with the standard runflats, never did this...

Then yesterday, while getting on the freeway on-ramp, which is only about 1/4 mi from my home, I had a surprise when I slammed a quick 2-3 shift at about 70MPH: the back end hopped sideways a little. Damn 40 degree weather!

Good luck... and be careful !!

-Erik

 

I've experienced similar things in the cold weather here in Maryland. Driving home one night it was around 39 degrees, did a downshift from 4th to 3rd at 75 mph, and "Traction system Active" flashed on the DIC.

 

I've had my Z51 equipped car out in temps from the high teens to low twenties so far. It's been very easy to break out the rear end when applying heavy throttle. Same in the wet. I'm still not sure if it's the massive amounts of torque or the cold temps, but the stability control always keeps it from getting out of hand. I really won't know if warmer temps will change that at all, since I won't see them until next April.

Regardless, the car is a total blast to drive and I'm having a ton of fun throwing the rear end of this car around.

 

The bottom line is these tires SUCK.. and for the price of 1 i could get 2 contisport contact2's which grab better and probably last longer. I cant find 1 thing i like about these tires.. they suck in the rain they have terrible traction even when warmed up.. i hate goodyear tires they are garbage.. Gimme a set of Michelin PS2's or Potenza S03's and ill be happy.. hell even Toyo T1's grab better and they are about 15lbs lighter A TIRE.. thats 60lbs of unsprung weight you can relieve just by switching to T1's

 

I am finding on my Z51 that i slide corners until the tires warm up. This is a lot different than my C5. However i love the power so just need better tires to get the power to the street!

 

Since I started this thread, it's obvious I believe you have to be careful about warming these tires before pushing them too hard. But, I guess I have to disagree a little with your post regarding their handling quality when warm. I don't think they are as sticky as the SO-3s I used on the M3, but I can't really make a valid comparison of the tires on two different cars. But, once warm, I think they do fairly well, not worth their cost I agree, but pretty good tires.

I drove 120 miles today on country roads, and I continue to be very impressed with this car, even with these tires. I seldom try to look at the G meter, in fact, I usually turn the HUD off. But today out of curiosity, I looked at it on a section of road I know well, without traffic, and drove through the same turns three times. It was consistently reading between .90 and .92 each time. And the traction control never activated. Of course, I have no idea how accurate the thing is, but I know I was near the limit. I think this also speaks very well for the AH/TC systems. If you are very smooth with the throttle, the car really has high limits before traction control steps in. Coming from a car in which understeer had to be managed, I am still getting used to the higher entry speeds that can be enjoyed with this car. I can't wait to get on the track.

 

i think they are great tires! i've tracked them on the local road course two different days now....on the second one i was more familiar with the C6 and the tires and i pushed it a lot harder.....not once did they squeal (like most street tires would), the rear end never got loose in a turn, and i was close to the lap times i used to get in my '98 Z28 with Kumho 700s on it!

that's saying a lot for stock, street tires!

yes, they are pricey, and yes they won't last all that long, but those factors aside they stick fantastic!

 

Alex, I'm a 35k mile a year driver. I expect to be replacing tires in 12-14 mos. Decided to Not do Run-Flats. With what's available now, what would you buy? and Why?

 

The customer reviews on Tire Rack are pretty good -- if you're looking for tire advice.

 

Yea, my Z51 EMT's are very slippery when cold; three fishtails so far. The other thing I notice is that the car pulls lightly to the left as the tires warm up. Taking it in next week to see if it is an alignment thing for the pull-the steering wheel is not centered either.

 

Remember that the Z51 cars have different tires than the others. From all the info and comments, it seems pretty clear that the Z51 tires are worse in bad/cold weather than the standard tires.

I've got the standard tires and they don't seem abnormally worse in the cold weather so far and they've seemed pretty good in the rain. Apparently, I may be able to test snow handing on Monday, but hopefully that evaluation will wait for a while.

 

cold = not sticky
I did a nice big slide early this week, mostly by accident. In my defense, this is Florida, I have only really driven the car in 65 to 80 degree weather. I went in to a downtown office very early in the morning and got back in the car at 9am after a one hour cool down and 45degree weather. 500 feet down the street in second gear and a good throttle was too much at 30 mph on the entrance ramp turn in. I have done the same turn in warm weather without a problem.

 

last night I was playing around with my lady, she's got a mustang, running down 95 at around 70 in 6th I dropped it down into 4th and puched it. damn talk about pickup. I was gone. The next time I looked I was doing over 135 and the rearview mirror was completly black.. For a few seconds I thought something was wrong. Everything went dark in the rearview and not a headlight was to be seen. Kinda weird, just dark black and me on the road all by myself. btw: to keep on topic. the traction didn't activate but yes when the tires are cold and or the road it freshly wet traction is naught. It's is very very easy to put the car sideways even with the taction control active.

 

These tires on the Z51 do seem a lot touchier when cold than any other tire I've had on a performance car, including c5 runflats. I guess the answer is to do a burnout before you start driving it!