Winter tires
11-21-2015, 10:59 AM
#1
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
Winter tires
I know everyone says you should not drive the Z06in the snow but I would like to at least drive it when it's cold. Does anyone have a good combination of winter tires that they have tried. Tire Rack strongly recommends not using any of their tires. They told me that Chevrolet or GM called them and said not to sell certain tires to be used on the Z06. Winter tires available are all narrower than the 335 or much larger in diameter (greater than 5% ). Narrow tires would be good in the snow but you would have to mount them in a narrower rim. The tires used on the stingray are narrower but exactly the same diameter. My thought is to get a set of stingray Z 51 rims with winter tires and use them on the Z06. I recently had any vibration issue and GM advised the dealer to mount a Z 51 set of tires,check for the vibration and then put the other tires back on. My thought is, if you could put these on to test can I put them on for the winter. I know you would have to be careful because there would be less traction with the narrow tire but it would be nice to have a winter compound tire on the Z06 when it is cold.
11-21-2015, 11:56 AM
#2
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I know everyone says you should not drive the Z06in the snow but I would like to at least drive it when it's cold. Does anyone have a good combination of winter tires that they have tried. Tire Rack strongly recommends not using any of their tires. They told me that Chevrolet or GM called them and said not to sell certain tires to be used on the Z06. Winter tires available are all narrower than the 335 or much larger in diameter (greater than 5% ). Narrow tires would be good in the snow but you would have to mount them in a narrower rim. The tires used on the stingray are narrower but exactly the same diameter. My thought is to get a set of stingray Z 51 rims with winter tires and use them on the Z06. I recently had any vibration issue and GM advised the dealer to mount a Z 51 set of tires,check for the vibration and then put the other tires back on. My thought is, if you could put these on to test can I put them on for the winter. I know you would have to be careful because there would be less traction with the narrow tire but it would be nice to have a winter compound tire on the Z06 when it is cold.
Changing tires affects the system's response once activated because the system is expecting a certain grip level from the tire and may apply a brake more or less than is necessary to achieve the correction it is looking for. I don't see that as much of a problem for what you are trying to do unless you get involved in some emergency maneuvers.
Track guys who push the cars a hell of a lot harder on the track than they will ever see on the street (even in low grip situations due to cold) don't worry about that when they switch to different types of tires.
Bill
11-21-2015, 01:11 PM
#4
I used Blizzaks with a separate set of wheels on my M5 and was amazed by the grip improvement during winter months in Michigan. That M5 (500 HP) had far less HP than the Z06 but I don't push my cars to the limit in cold weather anyway.
If you're going to drive your Z during cold winter and snowy days then get a set of winter compound tires. Mount them on an extra set of wheels for sizing options and to save your OEM's from salt damage.
If you're going to drive your Z during cold winter and snowy days then get a set of winter compound tires. Mount them on an extra set of wheels for sizing options and to save your OEM's from salt damage.
11-21-2015, 02:11 PM
#5
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
I used Blizzaks with a separate set of wheels on my M5 and was amazed by the grip improvement during winter months in Michigan. That M5 (500 HP) had far less HP than the Z06 but I don't push my cars to the limit in cold weather anyway.
If you're going to drive your Z during cold winter and snowy days then get a set of winter compound tires. Mount them on an extra set of wheels for sizing options and to save your OEM's from salt damage.
If you're going to drive your Z during cold winter and snowy days then get a set of winter compound tires. Mount them on an extra set of wheels for sizing options and to save your OEM's from salt damage.
12-05-2015, 06:07 PM
#6
I know everyone says you should not drive the Z06in the snow but I would like to at least drive it when it's cold. Does anyone have a good combination of winter tires that they have tried. Tire Rack strongly recommends not using any of their tires. They told me that Chevrolet or GM called them and said not to sell certain tires to be used on the Z06. Winter tires available are all narrower than the 335 or much larger in diameter (greater than 5% ). Narrow tires would be good in the snow but you would have to mount them in a narrower rim. The tires used on the stingray are narrower but exactly the same diameter. My thought is to get a set of stingray Z 51 rims with winter tires and use them on the Z06. I recently had any vibration issue and GM advised the dealer to mount a Z 51 set of tires,check for the vibration and then put the other tires back on. My thought is, if you could put these on to test can I put them on for the winter. I know you would have to be careful because there would be less traction with the narrow tire but it would be nice to have a winter compound tire on the Z06 when it is cold.
put them on MIRA 110 wheels from Castillo Autoparts 626-343-7784, 19x8.5 with 35mm offset fr and 20x8.5 with 18mm offset rear.
They re-machined the standard 120mm bolt circle to 120.65 to match the Chevrolet bolt circle and provided the necessary hub centric rings to provide the 70.3mm hub diameter.
This setup puts the diameter at +0.8% front and +0.4% rear.
It also places the outer edge of the tire at -0.3 fr and -.13 rr from the original stock positions.
I have tracked the Michelin PS2 ZP's from 40-115 degrees F and find the max cornering to be from 0.7 to 1.20 respectively.
At 40 degrees the PS2 ZPs could be out handled by a Suburban!
At 25 degrees they may crack and based on my data, it looks like the PS2s will only pull about 0.6g.
Yesterday morning I finally found the edge for this combo and pulled 1.05g on a 60 mph turn (flat). This combo constantly beats the PS2s in all temperatures below 75 deg f in street driving. It's like getting a new car, the grip is so much greater in normal climates. I can't wait to do some HPDEs in Jan and Feb! I attached an excel file showing the data I collected so far showing lateral g force vs ambient temp. I am still amazed at what these skinny P245s do against the P325s! I will probably only use the PS2s on wide wheels for summer HPDEs.
12-05-2015, 06:15 PM
#7
I found the magic combo!
I know everyone says you should not drive the Z06in the snow but I would like to at least drive it when it's cold. Does anyone have a good combination of winter tires that they have tried. Tire Rack strongly recommends not using any of their tires. They told me that Chevrolet or GM called them and said not to sell certain tires to be used on the Z06. Winter tires available are all narrower than the 335 or much larger in diameter (greater than 5% ). Narrow tires would be good in the snow but you would have to mount them in a narrower rim. The tires used on the stingray are narrower but exactly the same diameter. My thought is to get a set of stingray Z 51 rims with winter tires and use them on the Z06. I recently had any vibration issue and GM advised the dealer to mount a Z 51 set of tires,check for the vibration and then put the other tires back on. My thought is, if you could put these on to test can I put them on for the winter. I know you would have to be careful because there would be less traction with the narrow tire but it would be nice to have a winter compound tire on the Z06 when it is cold.
put them on MIRA 110 wheels from Castillo Autoparts 626-343-7784, 19x8.5 with 35mm offset fr and 20x8.5 with 18mm offset rear.
They re-machined the standard 120mm bolt circle to 120.65 to match the Chevrolet bolt circle and provided the necessary hub centric rings to provide the 70.3mm hub diameter.
This setup puts the diameter at +0.8% front and +0.4% rear.
It also places the outer edge of the tire at -0.3 fr and -.13 rr from the original stock positions.
I have tracked the Michelin PS2 ZP's from 40-115 degrees F and find the max cornering to be from 0.7 to 1.20 respectively.
At 40 degrees the PS2 ZPs could be out handled by a Suburban!
At 25 degrees they may crack and based on my data, it looks like the PS2s will only pull about 0.6g.
Yesterday morning I finally found the edge for this combo and pulled 1.05g on a 60 mph turn (flat). This combo constantly beats the PS2s in all temperatures below 75 deg f in street driving. It's like getting a new car, the grip is so much greater in normal climates. I can't wait to do some HPDEs in Jan and Feb! I attached an excel file showing the data I collected so far showing lateral g force vs ambient temp. I am still amazed at what these skinny P245s do against the P325s! I will probably only use the PS2s on wide wheels for summer HPDEs.