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Old Dec 13, 2015 | 05:44 PM
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Default Tires

I'm looking into inventory of Kerbeck. I've found one that matches my preference. It comes with the 19'' and 20'' rear wheels. However, the factory tires come with the vehicle seem to be only summer tires. see the explanation below in the window sticker.


P245/35ZR19 front and P285/30ZR20 rear, performance, summer-only, run flat tires1
19” front and 20” rear wheels (select from 5-split spoke Silver-painted aluminum, chrome aluminum or Black aluminum)
1 Do not use summer only tires in winter conditions, as it would adversely affect vehicle safety, performance and durability. Use only GM-approved tire and wheel combinations. Unapproved combinations may change the vehicle's performance characteristics. For important tire and wheel information, go to www.gmaccessorieszone.com or see your dealer.
I'm wondering if all the members with these tires use their C7 in the summer?..Why don't these wheels come with all season tires instead?.
I'm planning to use C7 as a daily driver and don't want to have tires for each season.
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Old Dec 13, 2015 | 06:05 PM
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The Michelins that come on the base (18/19"), the base with the appearance package (19/20"), and Z51(19/20") are summer only tires. There are some limitations associated with their use. There are no other tires offered. Some owners have switched to an all season performance tire but the choices in all season run flats in the 19/20" sizes are limited. Some have summer wheel and tire set ups (many use the factory set up) and a separate set for winter (like repro wheels with a winter tire set up and carry flat repair kits). Again, GM has chosen not to offer an alternative to the summer only tire combo's.
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Old Dec 13, 2015 | 06:24 PM
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I hope this thread gets the attention I want. I put air in my 2016 about 2 weeks ago. Put them all to 35 PSI cold. Today I looked at my OnStar report and it is showing me 32 PSI cold. I have lost 3 PSI in about 2 weeks. Seems strange to me. My wife's Santa Fe can sit/drive for months and not loose a pound. Most cars don't. It is all 4 tires which means it isn't just a single tire problem. I like to keep it at 35 to hopefully get the most tread life from the tires. Any ideas? It isn't because of weather because I live in Florida and temperature is the same as it was a couple weeks ago.
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Old Dec 13, 2015 | 06:33 PM
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It's summer tires only no matter which variation you get. There quite a few threads here on people running all season tires and what they bought.

Also, I would check the tire pressure with a gauge and not necessarily rely on OnStar for that info.
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Old Dec 13, 2015 | 07:08 PM
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Originally Posted by CoasterBill
I hope this thread gets the attention I want. I put air in my 2016 about 2 weeks ago. Put them all to 35 PSI cold. Today I looked at my OnStar report and it is showing me 32 PSI cold. I have lost 3 PSI in about 2 weeks. Seems strange to me. My wife's Santa Fe can sit/drive for months and not loose a pound. Most cars don't. It is all 4 tires which means it isn't just a single tire problem. I like to keep it at 35 to hopefully get the most tread life from the tires. Any ideas? It isn't because of weather because I live in Florida and temperature is the same as it was a couple weeks ago.
You are really off topic from the OP. But I will add to your post. My tire gauge reads 3 lbs. High so based on the gauge, my tires are always " over inflated." So maybe it's your gauge and on star are out of sync. My tires have dropped 2 lbs over the last couple of weeks (shown on the DIC and confirmed by both of my gauges). Assuming it's temperature related.

IMO, over inflating doesn't necessarily extend the life of your tires. It can cause the center of the tire to crown and wear the center faster. Proper inflation IMO maximizes tire life.
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Old Dec 13, 2015 | 08:27 PM
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Originally Posted by Rooster OG
It's summer tires only no matter which variation you get. There quite a few threads here on people running all season tires and what they bought.

Also, I would check the tire pressure with a gauge and not necessarily rely on OnStar for that info.
So, I need to replace the stock tires regardless of the trim I get, am I correct?. is it hazardous to drive with the summer tires?..I mean we hardly see snow here in winter.
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Old Dec 13, 2015 | 08:42 PM
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Originally Posted by x_endian
So, I need to replace the stock tires regardless of the trim I get, am I correct?. is it hazardous to drive with the summer tires?..I mean we hardly see snow here in winter.
Officially, yea, don't drive when the temp is below 45 degrees.

Unofficially,
IMHO, depends on where "here" is.

When it's below 45, people report tire hop during low speed turns and [the potential hazard of] traction breaks under certain acceleration parameters.

Soft tire compound has the potential cracking in colder temps.
(Per Michelin). Someone posts pics of that a while back.

Current temps in my area are upper 30s/low 40s when I leave for work, so I get wheel hop leaving my driveway, rare but has happened traction slip making the uphill left turn leaving the neighborhood.

By lunchtime, it's low 60's, and upper 50's at quitting time.
No issues on the return trip.

I don't use track or sport mode when it's below 50, nor do I even think about WOT.

That's my experience. YMMV and all those disclaimers.

Last edited by aj98; Dec 13, 2015 at 08:42 PM.
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Old Dec 13, 2015 | 09:01 PM
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You can get All Season tires in the 19/29 size. Some owners have two sets of wheels and tires. Besides the cracking in cold weather if driven issue the summer tires have very poor grip under 45 degrees.

I am fortunate enough to live in South Central Florida so it is not an issue and get the bonus of no front license plate requirement.
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Old Dec 13, 2015 | 09:34 PM
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Originally Posted by aj98
Officially, yea, don't drive when the temp is below 45 degrees.

Unofficially,
IMHO, depends on where "here" is.

When it's below 45, people report tire hop during low speed turns and [the potential hazard of] traction breaks under certain acceleration parameters.

Soft tire compound has the potential cracking in colder temps.
(Per Michelin). Someone posts pics of that a while back.

Current temps in my area are upper 30s/low 40s when I leave for work, so I get wheel hop leaving my driveway, rare but has happened traction slip making the uphill left turn leaving the neighborhood.

By lunchtime, it's low 60's, and upper 50's at quitting time.
No issues on the return trip.

I don't use track or sport mode when it's below 50, nor do I even think about WOT.

That's my experience. YMMV and all those disclaimers.

Thanks for the info!!. I'm in Arkansas. I don't think I will drive if the temperature goes below 30. But I won't store the car for the winter either.
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Old Dec 13, 2015 | 09:39 PM
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Originally Posted by CoasterBill
I hope this thread gets the attention I want. I put air in my 2016 about 2 weeks ago. Put them all to 35 PSI cold. Today I looked at my OnStar report and it is showing me 32 PSI cold. I have lost 3 PSI in about 2 weeks. Seems strange to me. My wife's Santa Fe can sit/drive for months and not loose a pound. Most cars don't. It is all 4 tires which means it isn't just a single tire problem. I like to keep it at 35 to hopefully get the most tread life from the tires. Any ideas? It isn't because of weather because I live in Florida and temperature is the same as it was a couple weeks ago.
My first guess is that your ambient temp has gone down some since you last checked.

These are very low-volume tires, so Temperature variations can amount for very wide swings in PSI. I've seen as much as 10 PSI in a single day. I have also seen as much as 3 PSI on one side vs the other when driving due to sun on one side for an extended period.

Fill the tires to 30 when cold ( which, Ideally equates to 34-36 warm), and don't worry.
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Old Dec 13, 2015 | 11:45 PM
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For what it might be worth. I just posted a new thread "Winter Driving Z51..one last word". In there I hope I have shed some more light on cold weather driving the Michelin Super Sport tires. I started out with my new ride in snow/ice and -5F.
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Old Dec 14, 2015 | 04:56 PM
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Originally Posted by x_endian
So, I need to replace the stock tires regardless of the trim I get, am I correct?. is it hazardous to drive with the summer tires?..I mean we hardly see snow here in winter.
Since you say you live in Arkansas, will be driving down to 30 degree temperatures and will not store the car, I would say you should change to a allseason tire. Michlin reported they were coming out with a 19"/20" all season runflat tire specifically for the stingray. I'm not sure if it's on the market yet. Luke @ tirerack would be the best to verify that (forum vender). All of the current C7 factory tires offer poor traction in cold or freezing condition, even if it's not snowing. No sense in taking the risk in losing control and crashing your new car. Change them out. Save the factory rubber and switch back to it in the spring. YMMV.
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Old Dec 14, 2015 | 05:06 PM
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Must be getting cold finally! Second time I am posting this today.

Here's the GM bulletin re the summer only tires.

My experience is keep the tires warm if you can, drive very carefully if they show as cold.
Attached Images
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Old Dec 14, 2015 | 06:39 PM
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Default 44 degrees here in Phoenix today...

I had to drive my 2014 C7 Base 3LT to the doctor today and it was 44 degrees. Man did I get a lot of tire hop and when I tested the traction it slid very easily until the traction control nannies took control. As I did with my C6, as soon as I need new tires I plan to switch to Michelin A/S ZP tires. They were great on the C6.
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Old Dec 14, 2015 | 06:50 PM
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Originally Posted by shakeydog
Since you say you live in Arkansas, will be driving down to 30 degree temperatures and will not store the car, I would say you should change to a allseason tire. Michlin reported they were coming out with a 19"/20" all season runflat tire specifically for the stingray. I'm not sure if it's on the market yet. Luke @ tirerack would be the best to verify that (forum vender). All of the current C7 factory tires offer poor traction in cold or freezing condition, even if it's not snowing. No sense in taking the risk in losing control and crashing your new car. Change them out. Save the factory rubber and switch back to it in the spring. YMMV.


I remember this thread also, not so long ago .If I remember correctly They were talking about being available in Feb. Good Luck.
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Old Dec 14, 2015 | 07:10 PM
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I'm going to be a nanny here.

25 years as a HPDE Instructor and Racer. The C7 offers super-car performance at a K-mart price, and you must educate yourself.

Tires are critical to car performance and are engineered for very specific situations. They have relatively narrow optimum performance envelopes

The stock tires on most Corvettes are essentially street-legal racing tires... they do not work well in rain, cold conditions or snow.

If you plan to use your Corvette in these conditions, consider a set of performance 4 season tires... its about $2K.
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Old Dec 15, 2015 | 12:24 PM
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Originally Posted by x_endian
I'm looking into inventory of Kerbeck. I've found one that matches my preference. It comes with the 19'' and 20'' rear wheels. However, the factory tires come with the vehicle seem to be only summer tires. see the explanation below in the window sticker.




I'm wondering if all the members with these tires use their C7 in the summer?..Why don't these wheels come with all season tires instead?.
I'm planning to use C7 as a daily driver and don't want to have tires for each season.
Its temperature related because before I left for my trip in October all of my 4 car's tires were under 32 psi !!! When I drove on my trip from Seattle area to Wichita on October 4th the lowest temperature was 34 degrees and one week later on my way home it was the highest part of my trip and that was in Nebraska where it was 100 degrees so the there was also differences in tires temperatures !!!! Wayne
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Old Dec 15, 2015 | 01:57 PM
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With everything already said, I drove my car home from the Museum to AZ in Dec 2013. Over the first 2 ten hour days, the temps ranged from 20-32* with rain and sleet and I had no issues. To be sure, you don't want to be doing performance driving in those conditions. But my car handled just fine in normal local and highway driving.
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Old Dec 15, 2015 | 10:12 PM
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Originally Posted by jcp911s
I'm going to be a nanny here.

25 years as a HPDE Instructor and Racer. The C7 offers super-car performance at a K-mart price, and you must educate yourself.

Tires are critical to car performance and are engineered for very specific situations. They have relatively narrow optimum performance envelopes

The stock tires on most Corvettes are essentially street-legal racing tires... they do not work well in rain, cold conditions or snow.

If you plan to use your Corvette in these conditions, consider a set of performance 4 season tires... its about $2K.
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 are a hell of a lot less than that...
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Old Dec 16, 2015 | 08:47 AM
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Originally Posted by CoasterBill
I hope this thread gets the attention I want. I put air in my 2016 about 2 weeks ago. Put them all to 35 PSI cold. Today I looked at my OnStar report and it is showing me 32 PSI cold. I have lost 3 PSI in about 2 weeks. Seems strange to me. My wife's Santa Fe can sit/drive for months and not loose a pound. Most cars don't. It is all 4 tires which means it isn't just a single tire problem. I like to keep it at 35 to hopefully get the most tread life from the tires. Any ideas? It isn't because of weather because I live in Florida and temperature is the same as it was a couple weeks ago.
If they all read the same suggest two possibilities; 1) the tire gauge is not accurate, 2) more than likely when you filled to 35 psi the tires were warm from driving and when they cooled they dropped to 32.
Have to compare when the car has sat for ~8 hours and when it is exactly the same temp outside.

Last edited by JerryU; Dec 16, 2015 at 08:48 AM.
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