JerryU

"Opinions" on Tirerack, etc don't match what GM and Michelin accomplished with the OEM tires on the C7! As Foosh pointed out those "opinions" are also an average of various cars etc.

Frankly I was surprised how well the OEM tires worked on my early 2014 Z51 when they were the same width as the ones I had on my C6 Z51 and the car had more power and most important even significantly more low end torque with the added LT1 variable cam timing.

One answer was how they used race car tire construction to achieve excellent warm weather performance. You can see that by the "Chatter" you get when they are cold! That, IMO, is due to the race car tire type low slip angle construction. Never had it to that degree with my C6 Z51, even when I replaced the OEM Goodyears with Firestone (although the Firestone had less traction in cold weather.)

Compared to the OEM Goodyears on my C6 Z51 and the Firestone replacements, which although a bit better, were no match for the OEM Michelins on the C7! Remember Goodyear lost the Vette business to Michelin because of the superior performance. They were both given a chance.

Can see folks changing to all-season tires IF they have to drive often when below 40 F. But other than switching to higher priced, less tire life, Michelin "Cup" tires for more performance I'll stick with the OEMs.

VH Vette

I just purchased the Firehawks for my C5. Hope to get them installed next week. Everything I have seen they are rated pretty high with the only concern being the knife edge break away when pushed to the limit. I can not wait to try them out. On my old man C5 driver with Flat fix in trunk.
For the C7 I should have several years to make my decision.
VH

Corvette ED

I had the Firehawks on C6. They wear very well and had zero road noise

spinkick

Some of us have better things to do. I'm not winning any race trophies on the street, so why do I care about even a 10 percent difference in performance?

Foosh

And you're not even getting that.

iced

So what is it then? Loving the road noise with the runflats?

Jesus Christ....

Foosh

The fact that a tire is a runflat has no bearing on road noise. That's all in the tread block design and the rubber compound of the tread block. The difference between runflat vs non-runflat is sidewall construction. A PSS (or any other make) runflat vs. non-runflat will be identical in terms of road noise.

iced

I understand. But every person with a run flat has always given precedence to road noise above all...Im not saying performance is low.

Foosh

I have no idea what you're talking about with the above comment. The two are unrelated, and anyone linking runflats with tire noise doesn't know what they're talking about. Some believe runflats deliver a more harsh ride, but even that's not really true with modern versions.

On a low-profile tire like all C7s run, there's little or no difference.

TKgs2010

I'm not 100% sold on that data, look at the mileages reported, 399,000 for the 4S vs over 8 million for the PSS, I think you could safely conclude the jury is still out on which is better. That and the fact that we're not talking about the tires on any vehicle, but specifically on a Corvette.

TKgs2010

Plus, if you're that concerned about road noise, maybe a Corvette is not the car for you. I will say that GM has made advances on the road noise from the C6 to the C7, which is noticeably quieter. I've had both run flats and non run flats, and I honestly could not tell any difference in road noise, neither tire is that bad, but that's just my opinion.

TKgs2010

Wrong answer. Have you ever had to work on the side of any road with the driving idiots of the world going past 2 feet away at 70mph? I have, and I've also had a few near misses, even with the "move over" law. 2 nights ago there was an accident on the NY State Thruway 20 miles from me, a car with 3 passengers had a flat tire at 2:30AM, was on the right shoulder with 4-ways on when a rented Penske 24ft box truck drifted off the shoulder and hit the car. Result was the driver of the car dead at the scene, his 2 passengers in the Hospital and the trucks driver with minor injuries. If you're not scared of sitting at road side, maybe you should be. I think I'll stick with the run flats, thank you.

Foosh

Not to mention with half the drivers texting while driving. It's not about being scared, it's about not being stupid.

TKgs2010

Amen to that.

Mr31FlavorsVette

I put the Indy 500's on my C5 based on very good reviews from around the web. The tread design is a little different, but I'm happy with the ride characteristics. I think they are a good bang for your buck. My son also put them on his C4.

If I traveled out in more desolate areas I'd be more concerned about not having run flats, but I'm covered pretty well by AAA and my insurance companies free road side assistance.

spinkick

If you think its worth it to you, and you can actually tell a difference in road noise, cool. For me, its nice not having to worry about sitting at the side of the road if the tire gets punctured.

Maybe if you are worried about road noise, you should get yourself a CTS-V or Mercedes? I dont daily drive my car so we may have different goals

Bill Dearborn

The problem with the reviews is how many people really know anything about how well a tire handles. Most Corvette owners don't. They don't get near the limit to really know. Spirited driving means they run faster than some other people but it doesn't mean they drive fast around corners.

The comment about the Firestones and knife edge breakaway is really bad. I don't know of any tire that has knife edge breakaway. When the tire slip angle reaches a certain point the tire just starts taking a different arc until the grip developed by the tire equals the centrifugal force being applied to it. For illustration purposes if you can drive around a 100 ft skid pad at 70 mph and then take the speed up to 75 mph the car doesn't go spinning off the skid pad it just moves out to a wider radius maybe 105 ft instead of 100.

Bill

iced

I just don't like the PSS run flat.. It is a decent tire. But i want something better.

I like the vette. Just because tire is an issue, doesn't mean you switch cars. It's an issue that can be easily fixed. And i have already fixed it with Conti DWS06's. Believe it or not, they don't sway on 1st gear WOT like the OEM PSS. And you would expect it to be the opposite...

And my next car is going to be an exotic

Bill Dearborn

I suspect those Conti's won't get you around a corner as well as the PSS ZP as I have ridden on track in several Z06s that had those tires and they just couldn't get it done. Also, I have no idea what you mean by sway under WOT in first gear. There isn't a street tire in the world that won't melt down if you floor the throttle and pop the clutch in 1st gear. Once both of those tires start spinning the backend goes where gravity takes it. Yes, gravity as the back end will go toward the low point on the surface.

Bill

spinkick

Bentley?

I saw a new Lambo the other day. Just next level awesome.