Tire chatter/hop
#1
Tire chatter/hop
On page 22 of my C7 owners manual it states "When driving at slow speeds and in very tight turns, the vehicle may have tire chatter/hop." That's for sure, VERY noticeable and it has been very cold here in NC. Anyone else experience this? The manual says it's normal and does not require service but it does not feel normal compared to any other car I have owned.
Popular Reply
01-15-2018, 02:05 PM
Le Mans Master
That's just the car's way of saying "Hey, what the hell are we doing circling this Walmart parking lot at 5mph, take me to the track where I belong"
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#3
Race Director
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#4
Moderator
It is normal and is a function of the OEM tread compound, tire width and the steering angles. If you switch to all season tires like the Michelin AS3+ ZP, tire chatter reportedly goes away.
#5
Burning Brakes
Man, I'm in Savannah and have taken my GS out in temps that are low to mid 40s the last two weeks.
Definitely normal to here the chatter and a bit of hop in and out of the garage/driveway.
Gone way before I'm at the end of the street and smooth running at speed.
A big tire/C7 nuance.
Watch tire pressures - 28 is the new 30 when its 40ish
Also takes a little longer to get engine and oil warmed up...slow crawl to the 6,500 rpm redline these days.
Definitely normal to here the chatter and a bit of hop in and out of the garage/driveway.
Gone way before I'm at the end of the street and smooth running at speed.
A big tire/C7 nuance.
Watch tire pressures - 28 is the new 30 when its 40ish
Also takes a little longer to get engine and oil warmed up...slow crawl to the 6,500 rpm redline these days.
#6
Actually heard it for the first time from a Z06 at Coffee and Cars this past weekend. No big deal.
#7
Le Mans Master
That's just the car's way of saying "Hey, what the hell are we doing circling this Walmart parking lot at 5mph, take me to the track where I belong"
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#10
Melting Slicks
On page 22 of my C7 owners manual it states "When driving at slow speeds and in very tight turns, the vehicle may have tire chatter/hop." That's for sure, VERY noticeable and it has been very cold here in NC. Anyone else experience this? The manual says it's normal and does not require service but it does not feel normal compared to any other car I have owned.
Don't want it? Try another car, though in fact almost any car will do it under certain conditions. Both my Dodge Charger and Jeep Cherokee will do it on certain surfaces when it's cold.
Best wishes.
#11
Replying to my own thread
On page 22 of my C7 owners manual it states "When driving at slow speeds and in very tight turns, the vehicle may have tire chatter/hop." That's for sure, VERY noticeable and it has been very cold here in NC. Anyone else experience this? The manual says it's normal and does not require service but it does not feel normal compared to any other car I have owned.
I live up the mountain and we have been getting a lot of black ice.
All season tires might be a good option after I burn these up. I have them on my Porsche 4S and I don't worry too much about driving it up here.
The Porsche and the C7 Corvette are VERY different beasts
#12
E-Ray, 3LZ, ZER, LIFT
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FWIW, it is far worse than my C6 Z51 with the same width tires as my 2014 Z51! Got my Z51 in early October 2013. When through 4 winters before getting a Grand Sport. About the same with the Grand Sport when below 45 F. Because it was so much worse I did the research to find out why!
Here is what it's not:
The wide tires. Same width as my C6 Z51 that had so little I used full lock when 40 F.
Sticky tires. Gets worse when cold and when wet where they are NOT Sticky.
Ackerman Steering. Properly said it would be the lack of full Ackerman steering compensation. But it goes away with winter and most all-season tires with the same Ackerman steering geometry!
Than what is it? The race car type low slip angels of the high performance Michelin tires.
Easy workaround! Just don't turn the wheel as much when below ~45F when making slow speed turns forward or backward. make a "K" turn. Wish I only needed this simple workaround with the Microsoft Products I use every day! And Bill Gates is the richest man in the world!
Make a PDF with lots of pics and explanation: http://netwelding.com/Wheel_Chatter.pdf
Further Proof: When above 45/50 F I can make a full lock turn after backing out of my garage to go down the driveway. No Chatter (or better description is GM's Hopping!)
When 45 F I turn the steering wheel less and make a "K" turn. When 35 to 40 F I turn the wheel even less and make 2 "K" turns! When taking the extra time I think of the 1.1+ lateral "gs" I can reach on my favorite 270 degree Intestate exit ramp! Puts a smile on my face!
Here is what it's not:
The wide tires. Same width as my C6 Z51 that had so little I used full lock when 40 F.
Sticky tires. Gets worse when cold and when wet where they are NOT Sticky.
Ackerman Steering. Properly said it would be the lack of full Ackerman steering compensation. But it goes away with winter and most all-season tires with the same Ackerman steering geometry!
Than what is it? The race car type low slip angels of the high performance Michelin tires.
Easy workaround! Just don't turn the wheel as much when below ~45F when making slow speed turns forward or backward. make a "K" turn. Wish I only needed this simple workaround with the Microsoft Products I use every day! And Bill Gates is the richest man in the world!
Make a PDF with lots of pics and explanation: http://netwelding.com/Wheel_Chatter.pdf
Further Proof: When above 45/50 F I can make a full lock turn after backing out of my garage to go down the driveway. No Chatter (or better description is GM's Hopping!)
When 45 F I turn the steering wheel less and make a "K" turn. When 35 to 40 F I turn the wheel even less and make 2 "K" turns! When taking the extra time I think of the 1.1+ lateral "gs" I can reach on my favorite 270 degree Intestate exit ramp! Puts a smile on my face!
Last edited by JerryU; 01-15-2018 at 04:01 PM.
#13
E-Ray, 3LZ, ZER, LIFT
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Check out the first 3:30 in this video...https://youtu.be/dx3Vojkzkh8...a Rick Conti VLOG. My '17 GS does it anytime turning at low speed.
It won't do it when it gets warm!
#14
Instructor
On page 22 of my C7 owners manual it states "When driving at slow speeds and in very tight turns, the vehicle may have tire chatter/hop." That's for sure, VERY noticeable and it has been very cold here in NC. Anyone else experience this? The manual says it's normal and does not require service but it does not feel normal compared to any other car I have owned.
Nothing subtle about it when it is this cold. You can actually feel it in the cabin.
#15
No matter how many times I experience it, I can't get used to it...so it goes.
#18
E-Ray, 3LZ, ZER, LIFT
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It has been in the 20s-30s here last few mornings (DFW). My car should be renamed Bugs Bunny because she is hopping around like crazy when turning. Apparently you can hear it outside the car because people stare.
Nothing subtle about it when it is this cold. You can actually feel it in the cabin.
Nothing subtle about it when it is this cold. You can actually feel it in the cabin.
It's not the run flats! It's the tires you are switching to are less race car like and have higher slip angles. They also will not provide the higher lateral "g" force when warm! Your car, your choice but I bought my Vette for performance so "K' turns when cold are a small workaround I can live with!
The wife's BMW X5 SUV has all-season Michelin run flats and they don't Chatter!
Last edited by JerryU; 01-15-2018 at 11:20 PM.
#19
Safety Car
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SoCal Events Coordinator
St. Jude Donor '12
The colder it is, the sharper you turn the wheel the worse it will be. Even here in Az in40-50 degree winter weather we have it. Its no big deal, does not damage but it sounds awful.
#20
Race Director
I never experienced this once on my C6 in 4 1/2 years of ownership and never noticed it once in 9 years of owning a C5. Within 1 minute of driving out of the dealership with my C7 I noticed it. Which makes me wonder, why didn't this happen on my C5 and C6? The only explanation that makes sense to me is that it must be the runflats because I never had runflats on the front of my C5 or C6.
Last edited by Patman; 01-16-2018 at 05:59 AM.