C7s, why summer-only tires?
09-24-2017, 03:06 PM
#61
None whatsoever. My nose, full hood, full front fenders, mirrors, rockers and areas in front of, and behind the rear wheels are covered in XPEL Ultimate. As for salt, there is nothing to rust.
Our streets also get washed down frequently as well, because most of our winter precipitation is rain.
Our streets also get washed down frequently as well, because most of our winter precipitation is rain.
Last edited by Foosh; 09-24-2017 at 03:22 PM.
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CptCvMan (09-24-2017)
09-25-2017, 02:54 PM
#62
Front Splitter Not a Snowplow
09-25-2017, 03:12 PM
#63
Perhaps this may be difficult for you to understand, but cold pavement is not synonymous w/ snow, and summer tires do not stick on cold pavement. They become bricks. I don't drive my C7 on the 10 days or so a year when there is snow or ice on the pavement.
The coldest and most frigid winter days tend to be the bright sunny ones, with bone dry pavement.
The coldest and most frigid winter days tend to be the bright sunny ones, with bone dry pavement.
09-25-2017, 04:25 PM
#64
Le Mans Master
As was said, its a performance focused car with performance focused tires (PSS or Cups). No different than the vast majority of performance cars being sold with summer only max performance summer tires. And keep in mind many of these cars are AWD and sold in the snowbelt too.
I am not dissing people for putting all season tires on their car, but you just budget and plan appropriately. Expecting GM to accommodate you is not realistic and if you can't afford another set of tires then you probably should not be buying this car.
I am not dissing people for putting all season tires on their car, but you just budget and plan appropriately. Expecting GM to accommodate you is not realistic and if you can't afford another set of tires then you probably should not be buying this car.
09-25-2017, 08:32 PM
#65
Team Owner
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St. Jude Donor '13
Perhaps this may be difficult for you to understand, but cold pavement is not synonymous w/ snow, and summer tires do not stick on cold pavement. They become bricks. I don't drive my C7 on the 10 days or so a year when there is snow or ice on the pavement.
The coldest and most frigid winter days tend to be the bright sunny ones, with bone dry pavement.
The coldest and most frigid winter days tend to be the bright sunny ones, with bone dry pavement.
We had Firestone Firehawk runflats on our C5, and they performed better at and below freezing than some of the other common tires used on that car, so one winter I didn't bother to install my normal winter tires.
But then we had a long stretch of warm, dry weather, followed by bitter cold but still dry. The roads were perfectly clear, temperatures below zero 'F. I drove the C5 about 10 miles and the traction was worse than on ice. At a stop sign, merely removing my foot from the brake pedal (A4 tranny) would immediately start the rear wheels spinning. Trying to stop from any speed would result in immediate ABS chatter and I'd just have to ride it that way until the car stopped, using up at least 5 times the normal distance.
Recently I called Michelin and tried to find the glass temperature for our Z51 PSS. The first woman was totally clueless and unable to even understand the concept, the second guy got the question but had no idea of the answer; he guessed something around 20-30'F but had real information. Since the tires can crack at around 20'F, I'm thinking the glass temperature is just a little higher.
That's not to say you want to be driving them at those temperatures.
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Foosh (09-26-2017)
09-26-2017, 12:05 AM
#66
Based upon experience, yes it is higher on the PSS or about 40º when there is little or no traction left. A lot of people say if I'm very careful I can still drive safely, but they don't seem to think about braking in a panic stop situation. I'm very confident in the AS3+ down to 15º or so, again based upon experience with them, which is about as low as we ever see.
Last edited by Foosh; 09-26-2017 at 12:09 AM.
09-26-2017, 12:58 PM
#67
Why summer
05base had mpss now have as3... Went to krogers came out and 1/2 inch of snow with the SS. The car was sliding all over with 1/2 inch of snow. So since it's a DD I went with the As3 this year, well see but I DONT drive in the snow unless I have to.... I think it's funny how when talking tires other people sayer in with" it's a dry warm weather car"? It has heat and wipers! And you are supposed to drive it like you stole it? Redline in every gear to 25,3545,50,55,65,70? On the street?
09-26-2017, 09:42 PM
#68
Safety Car
There are many people on here who have the Michelin all season tires and rave about them and say that you don't lose very much performance in the hot summer under most normal driving conditions on the street (track would be different obviously) but you gain a lot better performance over the stock summer tires once the temperatures get cold out.
I think having an all season option on the C7 would be a good idea for GM to consider. If someone wants to drive their car on cold (but relatively snow free) roads quite often but doesn't want to have to swap back and forth between summer and all season tires, having just all season tires is their best option.
I think that when I wear out my OEM tires on my C7 I will strongly consider getting a set of all seasons as my only tire, because starting in 5 years time I will be using my C7 to travel back and forth from Ontario to Florida every winter and during those journeys I'm certain to encounter colder temps and possibly even some very light snow. And even before I start doing those journeys, I do enjoy taking my Corvette out for a spin quite often in the cold winter months as long as the roads are dry. I know there are a lot of others just like me that do that, and would appreciate the greater safety that all seasons can offer on cold pavement.
I think having an all season option on the C7 would be a good idea for GM to consider. If someone wants to drive their car on cold (but relatively snow free) roads quite often but doesn't want to have to swap back and forth between summer and all season tires, having just all season tires is their best option.
I think that when I wear out my OEM tires on my C7 I will strongly consider getting a set of all seasons as my only tire, because starting in 5 years time I will be using my C7 to travel back and forth from Ontario to Florida every winter and during those journeys I'm certain to encounter colder temps and possibly even some very light snow. And even before I start doing those journeys, I do enjoy taking my Corvette out for a spin quite often in the cold winter months as long as the roads are dry. I know there are a lot of others just like me that do that, and would appreciate the greater safety that all seasons can offer on cold pavement.
09-26-2017, 11:26 PM
#69
The Michelin AS3+ is available in both ZP (run-flat) and standard versions, just like the PSS.
Last edited by Foosh; 09-26-2017 at 11:27 PM.
09-27-2017, 10:58 AM
#70
Melting Slicks
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Many don't want to buy another set of tires or tire/wheel combos to swap when the weather turns cold.
09-27-2017, 12:05 PM
#71
Race Director
Agreed. Still cannot fathom the reluctance of this membership to even consider allowing GM to offer a AS option for those that want it. It would be debatable if the OP was saying that all C7's should be sold w/ AS RF's only.....he's not!
Many don't want to buy another set of tires or tire/wheel combos to swap when the weather turns cold.
Many don't want to buy another set of tires or tire/wheel combos to swap when the weather turns cold.
I for one would have ordered all season tires for my 2018 if it were offered.
09-27-2017, 01:02 PM
#72
Safety Car
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I don't think it would be hard for GM to offer A/S tires when "ordering".
But IMO, for better or worse, GM seems to favor keeping things simple.
I have another set of wheels with A/S tires.
When temps drops really low, I'll swap them on and drive until the snow flies.
And I also like having a second set in case something happened to the wheels/tires on the car that would take time to fix etc.
If that happened, I can put the other set on and not lose any driving time
But IMO, for better or worse, GM seems to favor keeping things simple.
I have another set of wheels with A/S tires.
When temps drops really low, I'll swap them on and drive until the snow flies.
And I also like having a second set in case something happened to the wheels/tires on the car that would take time to fix etc.
If that happened, I can put the other set on and not lose any driving time
10-04-2017, 12:55 PM
#73
Sorry friend, it is you who are mistaken, you're talking about an older tire, whereas I have been talking about the new version which has replaced it.
That tire is the AS3+(Michelin PS AS3+). The new tire is the one which has been reviewed as nearly equal to summer tires in warm conditions. It debuted in Z51 sizes in Fall 2016 and is a very different design including tread pattern. It's construction is very close to the PSS.
My tests show that to be the case, since I have both sets, and have evaluated them back to back 3 times at various temps on the same route driven the same way.
That tire is the AS3+(Michelin PS AS3+). The new tire is the one which has been reviewed as nearly equal to summer tires in warm conditions. It debuted in Z51 sizes in Fall 2016 and is a very different design including tread pattern. It's construction is very close to the PSS.
My tests show that to be the case, since I have both sets, and have evaluated them back to back 3 times at various temps on the same route driven the same way.
10-04-2017, 01:21 PM
#74
I'm pretty certain Michelin would disagree with that. Tire sales reps aren't the best source of accurate technical information, any more than car dealer salespeople are experts on the vehicles they sell.
Reviews of the AS3+ strongly suggest otherwise and that it approached the performance of the PSS even on warm pavement.
Reviews of the AS3+ strongly suggest otherwise and that it approached the performance of the PSS even on warm pavement.
Last edited by Foosh; 10-04-2017 at 02:11 PM.
10-04-2017, 03:52 PM
#75
I'm pretty certain Michelin would disagree with that. Tire sales reps aren't the best source of accurate technical information, any more than car dealer salespeople are experts on the vehicles they sell.
Reviews of the AS3+ strongly suggest otherwise and that it approached the performance of the PSS even on warm pavement.
Reviews of the AS3+ strongly suggest otherwise and that it approached the performance of the PSS even on warm pavement.
10-04-2017, 09:15 PM
#76
Le Mans Master
I don't think there would be enough takers to justify an all season tire. This is a sports car after all and most of them are parked when it gets cold.
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Eff A Ford (10-04-2017)
10-04-2017, 10:00 PM
#77
Race Director
When I bought my 95 Trans Am new, it came with Goodyear Eagle RSA all season tires on it and I'm glad it did because that car was actually my daily driver/winter car at first (I also had a supercharged 87 Mustang at the time) When I ordered my 98 Firebird Formula, it still came with the option to get RSAs, or Goodyear GSC summer tires. I chose the GSCs this time around because I wasn't going to drive the 98 in the winter at all. But my point is, GM offered a choice on the f-bodies for many years, why not on the Corvette too? It's no big deal to them if only 5% of people order it, they still make money either way.
10-04-2017, 11:31 PM
#78
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What a silly thread! Buy and install any tire ya want, as many suggest. What, pray tell, is the difficulty? If it's bucks, then sell the take-offs... sheesh.
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Italianfox (10-05-2017)
10-05-2017, 06:10 AM
#79
Race Director
This forum is a great source of information but one thing that really bothers me about it is when guys like you come in here and act all high and mighty and call it silly just because you don't agree with other people's opinions. Sheesh indeed!
Last edited by Patman; 10-05-2017 at 10:12 AM.
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fsvoboda (10-05-2017)
10-05-2017, 08:53 AM
#80
Melting Slicks
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I asked this question back in the spring, but will ask again for reassurance.
I’ll be heading up to the Asheville NC area in another couple of weeks, and will be cruising around the area for a few days. Should I invest in the AS3+ or would it be a waste of money considering I would never really need them down here in Florida?
I know it depends on the weather, but I’m not that familiar with the weather in the area, and I need to make a decision pretty quick here.
I’ll be heading up to the Asheville NC area in another couple of weeks, and will be cruising around the area for a few days. Should I invest in the AS3+ or would it be a waste of money considering I would never really need them down here in Florida?
I know it depends on the weather, but I’m not that familiar with the weather in the area, and I need to make a decision pretty quick here.