We're supposed to have a pretty rugged winter coming up, with above normal precip and below normal temps. Because the Corvette is a daily driver, I'd like to downsize the wheels to reduce hydroplaning, just like I did with our 3-series BMW, which is remarkably close in overall weight and weight distribution. There, I went from the summer 225/50-16's to 195/65-15's for the winter and could drive with impunity no matter how hard it rained.

What options are available for a base C6, and has anyone done anything like this? 205/50-18 and 205/50-19 are almost perfect size fits and about the right section width, but no tires come in that size, and I haven't even started looking for rims narrow enough to mount those tires on yet. What about the "skinnies" that drag racers use?

Appreciate any and all help (except advice to buy a winter beater - we already have four cars and the missus would surgically operate on me with a dull spoon if we got another). Thanks.

EDIT: Found that 225/45-18 and 225/45-19 are also almost identical in size and there's a great selection of tires in these sizes. So, would be looking at about an 8" wide rim front and rear. Sound reasonable?

 

Finding the right 8" to 8.5" wide GM bolt pattern wheels that will clear the calipers may be the only issue. The only issue with different tires would be the speed rating which is not only for speed, but for weight carrying and cornering. I would bet the car will feel totally different at freeway speeds with skinny tires.

 

Why not try the new Michelin ZP A/S tires and leave the wheels size alone?

 

I have been using the Michelin A/S tires in Oregon for over six years and they do work very well in all conditions short of sheet ice. My C5 is a my daily driver and I love these tires. But that said, I would avoid taking any Vette out in ice or snow if at all possible.

 

As many of the folks on here know I’ve been driving my vette year round and through the snow for the past 5 years from Everett to Ballard.

Yes let me be right up front is saying that I’ve only got 300 rwhp …… and ……….. it’s an auto with only a 3.07 rear ratio …… but growing up in New England I have to say to you …. It’s mostly in how you drive. As a teenager I used to drive my Dad’s 63 Lincoln in the snow and man that was a boat.

Back on point. My Vette comes with 9.5” wheels on all 4 corners and I run 275x40x17 on all for corners. I’ve been very very happy with Conti Extreme MSW tires in the wet and in up to 5” of snow. Deeper than that and the chin spoiler tends to snow plow.

My view is that you do not need the skinney tires to “sink down to the road” what you need is the proper tread to grip the snow …. And a very light foot on the go pedal.

I don’t know if these come in C6 sizes but the folks at Discount Tire can tell you

 

Discount tire sells an 18X8 Vioxx rim with a +40 offset and 5X120.75 pattern, so I'm hoping it should fit front and rear. I'm going to see if I can get a hold of one of those rims and actually test fit it. 225/45-18 and 225/50-18 are almost exactly the same sizes, and I'm looking at the Avid Envigor, which is available in both those sizes.

Reasons for doing this? I prefer to run summer tires since I'm intending to track this car next year, and running downsized tires always removes any temptation to do anything remotely stupid when the roads are wet or cold. Besides, I already had some really bad experiences when the car was new last March. Those tire grooves on I90 heading towards Issaquah are deep and fill up with water when it rains hard, and there's just no way to avoid crossing them at some point. The same with portions of I-5 and I-405. Anything above 50 MPH on the then-new tires and I was hydroplaning. With even less tread depth now, I don't want a repeat performance if my wife or kids are driving the car.

Not planning on any driving in the snow, and practically all of the winter forecasts are converging on a very wet, very snowy and icy winter for us.

Thanks, all. Will let you know how this turns out and will post a pic of the frankenvette with narrow wheels.

 

"I don't want a repeat performance if my wife or kids are driving the car." Kids? Are you kidding?

 

I find the C6 does just fine in the rain and the snow up to 3 inches with stock tires. The auto is best because it creeps but I have no problem with it. Adjust driving stile and speed to the conditions of the road and you are fine.

 

Yeah, both my kids drive it. They're twins and turned 18 last month. I believe they're responsible, mature, and know if they bang it up, they pay for it. They also know that we pay their insurance as long as they are in school, but only at the rate they would get with no tickets, no accidents, and a good student discount. They get a ticket, get into an accident, or fail to get the discount, they pay the extra or bye bye insurance. I think that's a fair compromise.

Neither of my kids grew up in any kind of car culture like I did, and I feel there would be no way to give that to them if they never got to share in the pleasure of driving a car and being seen in a car like a Corvette. I know they've already been tempted by things way more serious like drugs or crime, so I guess my feeling is if they don't have the ability resist temptation to do something stupid driving a car, how are they going to resist those other things. Maybe that's a naive approach and my kids lead double lives that I don't see, but they're "adults" now and out of my control anyway.

I definitely don't mean to be preaching. I think I say a lot of this stuff hoping to convince myself I've done and am doing the right things. Time will tell, and it sucks knowing that even if I have done the right things, it doesn't always turn out well. Self-doubt is a terrible thing, and like many of you, I'm just trying to raise kids that will grow up and contribute positively to society. Hopefully part of that will be in keeping an American icon alive by buying a Corvette.

 

The problem is that other cars are more capable in heavy rain conditions than a Corvette, and I don't want to be the slowest car on the road, creeping along in conditions where visibility isn't good. At that point, I feel like I'm just being a hazard forcing others to have to pass me.

Especially if my wife or kids are caught out in those conditions driving the car. Road rage is too easy when someone gets frustrated by what is perceived as show of wealth blocking traffic by going too slow. I just want to be able to get along with the flow of traffic with enough extra capability that crossing a rain filled wheel rut isn't a pee-in-the-pants experience for any in our family.

So, am I out in left field? No one else experiences this in their Corvette?

 

Sounds like you went the right direction with your kids. Not all young men can be trusted with a high powered car. Kudo's.

On topic, I run non run flats on my C5. I have a plug kit and air pump in the trunk in case I have a problem. Never have. I have picked up nails and have had to repair my tires, but the TMS always gave me fair warning and enough time to get air in them on the way to the tire shop. I drive my car all year like Mr. Peabody, although not every single day. I do not experience hydroplaning to the point that it scares me and I treat the accelerator pedal with respect. I am running Nitto 555's and there are better rain tires, but I like the wear that I get out of these. I bought my car in Tennessee and drove it home in January a few years ago. We had ice and snow in Flagstaff when we went thru there and it was NOT a pleasant experience, either with or without traction control...it just didn't matter, and I am not anxious to repeat that experience. So I'd say on the days that you know there is most likely going to be snow, leave the car at home. But for me, I would not get the narrower tires that you are thinking about, because I just don't see the need for my particular driving situations. But everybody has different requirements.

 

So could it be the OEM tires, Goodyear GS-2's, that are poor in the rain? I started running rain tires on the BMW because I burned out the OEM Dunlop SP2000's and went to Bridgestone S03's, which had a relatively similar tread pattern to the GS-2's and that looked like it should have worked well in the wet but were so bad I had no choice but to swap them out.

I'm also pretty likely to go with a convention tire plus plug/patch kit and pump, but that's for later. Gotta try and figure out what to do for this winter.

On an unrelated note, I was looking to see how the SCCA classified a base C6. I couldn't remember exactly if the BMW ran D stock or E stock (it was DS), but a base C6 would be super stock. I remember back then drooling over the A stock cars and now I own one that is a level above that. Cool!