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Old Jun 18, 2014 | 11:50 AM
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Default Directional tires

did a search NOTHING....In a showroom yesterday and noticed the Michelin's on the c7 they had were not directional....all they had on the side of the tires was "OUTSIDE" does that mean you can swap them left to right and vicsa / versa? Obvisously, you can rotate them front to back because of the different sizes....
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Old Jun 18, 2014 | 11:54 AM
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Yes, you can move tires from side-to-side. The tires are marked Inside and Outside, but are not directional.
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Old Jun 18, 2014 | 12:44 PM
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I was excited when I first learned this as well. Hoping to get close to 30k miles out of mine. I previously had 2 BMW's that had directional and staggered oem tires. It was frustrating to have them shot at 15k miles because the inside tread was gone while the rest of the tire looked great.
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Old Jun 18, 2014 | 01:02 PM
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Originally Posted by ziominix
I was excited when I first learned this as well. Hoping to get close to 30k miles out of mine. I previously had 2 BMW's that had directional and staggered oem tires. It was frustrating to have them shot at 15k miles because the inside tread was gone while the rest of the tire looked great.
So how would left to right rotation solve this???????? The Inside is still the inside....You'd have to flip them on the rims for this to work.

Camber spec is only -.5 degrees....Don't drive like a grandma and this won't be an issue..

Last edited by Modshack; Jun 18, 2014 at 01:06 PM.
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Old Jun 18, 2014 | 01:03 PM
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Originally Posted by -CM-
Yes, you can move tires from side-to-side. The tires are marked Inside and Outside, but are not directional.
That means that the tread is asymetrical. The C5 Z06 had such type GY SC tires. The tread was different from outside to inside. You could always swap them side for side as long as outside stayed outside.
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Old Jun 18, 2014 | 01:05 PM
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Interesting to know. Thanks.
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Old Jun 18, 2014 | 01:51 PM
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True, not sure what I was imagining other than flipping them, oh well.
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Old Jun 19, 2014 | 07:34 AM
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The C5 Z06 OEM GY SC tires were asymmetrical and bidirectional in that they were labelled with one sidewall as being outer. The outer half of the tread was designed for dry handling and the inside half for wet traction as a compromise. The C6 Z06 SC tires were symmetrical design for optimum dry handling. Either generation OEM tire could be rotated from side to side which I did on my 01Z and 06Z and now 2011 ZR1 PS2s to even out tire wear.
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Old Jun 19, 2014 | 08:10 AM
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This isn't the case for a Z51 is it?
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Old Aug 3, 2014 | 08:45 PM
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Originally Posted by -CM-
Yes, you can move tires from side-to-side. The tires are marked Inside and Outside, but are not directional.
Thanks for the info. I looked at my tires earlier today trying to figure out if they were directional, but I did not see any arrows.
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Old Aug 3, 2014 | 10:00 PM
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Originally Posted by CROOPS34
This isn't the case for a Z51 is it?
Z51 tire is a ZP similar to the Cup tire on the Z06 Z07 or the ZR1 but still used the tech that was used to develop the base suspension tire. It is just bigger and sticker.
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Old Aug 3, 2014 | 10:20 PM
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Originally Posted by rcooper
Z51 tire is a ZP similar to the Cup tire on the Z06 Z07 or the ZR1 but still used the tech that was used to develop the base suspension tire. It is just bigger and sticker.
Good points, but just so anyone isn't misled into thinking that z51 tires are just bigger and stickier, I submit this at the risk of sounding like mr know-it-all.

I found it interesting that if you look up the tire "Pilot Super Sport ZP" on Tire Rack they talk about the construction of the tire being different in the z51 and non-z51. It seems that the layup is different:

Partly it states:
Both tires feature twin steel belts reinforced by spirally wound Twaron cord. The angles at which the steel belts are molded into each version have been tuned to balance performance and comfort. The steel belt angles used for the standard car emphasize ride and treadlife, while the angles used for the Z51 tires focus on increasing performance and at-the-limit handling.
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Old Aug 4, 2014 | 08:07 AM
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Originally Posted by level6
Good points, but just so anyone isn't misled into thinking that z51 tires are just bigger and stickier, I submit this at the risk of sounding like mr know-it-all.

I found it interesting that if you look up the tire "Pilot Super Sport ZP" on Tire Rack they talk about the construction of the tire being different in the z51 and non-z51. It seems that the layup is different:

Partly it states:
Both tires feature twin steel belts reinforced by spirally wound Twaron cord. The angles at which the steel belts are molded into each version have been tuned to balance performance and comfort. The steel belt angles used for the standard car emphasize ride and treadlife, while the angles used for the Z51 tires focus on increasing performance and at-the-limit handling.
True...you could also Google Corvette C7 Z51 tires and get the Michelin info on the tire.
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Old Aug 4, 2014 | 09:40 AM
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Originally Posted by ziominix
I was excited when I first learned this as well. Hoping to get close to 30k miles out of mine. I previously had 2 BMW's that had directional and staggered oem tires. It was frustrating to have them shot at 15k miles because the inside tread was gone while the rest of the tire looked great.
This is a symptom of too much camber and possibly more toe-in than desired.

This is not a problem with directional tires, except indirectly. Oh, and BTW, the directionality is only for wet conditions. I have run directional tires backwards on race tracks up though 160 MPH.
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