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I got very lucky this weekend, a friend of mine was helping me lower the rear of my C6 a little bit more (cut 1 rib off the bushing) and I asked him to double check the front to see if it could come down a bit more. The bolts were a bit tight so he removed the front wheels in order to get more leverage and that's when we discovered that my passenger side front tire was worn down so badly on the inside that the cords were showing! You couldn't see it when it was on the car all that easily and since the more visible part of both tires looked like the tread was still good I did not even know how close to disaster I was! I had it aligned when I first had it lowered a few years ago so either that alignment was not done right or I have another issue (bad shock on that side perhaps?)
So just as a warning to others, take a good look at your front tires periodically so your tire doesn't end up this bad. I probably had another 50-100 miles tops before this tire would have exploded on me!
i feel your pain.... i was glancing under my car last august and saw this... promptly got an alignment and new tires. i was already looking at getting new tires, this just accelerated it. i want to get re-aligned using the pfadt settings
Unfortunately this is a very common problem for almost all C6s. Those of us who change wheels and tires twice a year for summer/winter driving have an easier time watching those front inside corners. How long your front tires will last will depend primarily on your alignment. I get Red realigned every April when I mount the summer wheels and tires.
Unfortunately this is a very common problem for almost all C6s. Those of us who change wheels and tires twice a year for summer/winter driving have an easier time watching those front inside corners. How long your front tires will last will depend primarily on your alignment. I get Red realigned every April when I mount the summer wheels and tires.
The odd (or lucky!) thing is that I had my C5 for 9 years and drove it over 100,000 miles and never had it aligned at all, but I didn't bother mainly because the tires always wore out evenly both front and back and didn't wear out too fast at all either.
If I was keeping the car long term I would most definitely change out the shocks but the plan is to get a C7 next year (but if the right one comes along now I might pull the trigger even sooner)
When I had my C3 I was at a Friday night cruise in and one of my friends said I should have a look at my front tires. The outside of the tires had great tread and looked almost new, but the inside of one of them was showing cords like your tire. You could only see it because the Vette was parked in an elevated area and we were looking up a gentle slope at the car. I replaced the tires and had the car re-aligned.
I have been considering getting my C6 aligned, but I don't know if I should take it to just any alignment shop or if I should take it to a Corvette specialist (with the associated $$$$s). And what is the pfadt alignment?
Last edited by RagTop69; Apr 10, 2017 at 02:11 PM.
When I had my C3 I was at a Friday night cruise in and one of my friends said I should have a look at my front tires. The outside of the tires had great tread and looked almost new, but the inside of one of them was showing cords like your tire. You could only see it because the Vette was parked in an elevated area and we were looking up a gentle slope at the car. I replaced the tires and had the car re-aligned.
I have been considering getting my C6 aligned, but I don't know if I should take it to just any alignment shop or if I should take it to a Corvette specialist (with the associated $$$$s). And what is the pfadt alignment?
pfadt racing put out specs for various uses of the car
From: Loud, Raw and Dangerous 1968 327 4S in Southern California
I went out to the garage to check mine after reading your post. The inside edges were much worse wear than the outside. Not dangerous yet but will accelerate me saving and buying tires now. Got to get out of the habit of just looking at the outside edge.
If I was keeping the car long term I would most definitely change out the shocks but the plan is to get a C7 next year (but if the right one comes along now I might pull the trigger even sooner)
Depending on miles driven, your new tires will have shock wear before you get rid of it.
I didn't buy new tires though, I had to scramble on Saturday afternoon and happened to find just one local shop that was still open and had used tires and they threw on one used Pirelli for me. I'll source out a couple more decent used tires soon to tide me over. No sense spending hundreds of dollars right now
Why would alignment be off in six months? Is there something I'm not aware of regarding Corvettes and alignment going out???? I've never had alignment redone after setting it....on any of my cars, and never an issue. Confused.
Mine were about as bad as the OP's when I noticed them. Handling quality way down from when I first got the car though. An alignment cured my problems ... it just wasn't done right at the factory.
The OP must have a real problem though. It's darn near wearing on the sidewall.
Why would alignment be off in six months? Is there something I'm not aware of regarding Corvettes and alignment going out???? I've never had alignment redone after setting it....on any of my cars, and never an issue. Confused.
I am at three years and almost 20,000 miles since new tires and alignment and my tires are wearing perfectly. Don't hit anything and your alignment should be fine. Mine certainly has been.
Why would alignment be off in six months? Is there something I'm not aware of regarding Corvettes and alignment going out???? I've never had alignment redone after setting it....on any of my cars, and never an issue. Confused.
ANY cars alignment can be off after a few months. It's not Vette specific. That's not to say that they are. Pot holes and general rough roads can cause this. Have you ever noticed that FEA's are only good for 3 to 6 months. There's a reason for it.
I saw that problem on my first 05. On my current car, I did a pfadt street alignment to prevent that kind of scrub. The stock alignment in the books will cause that kind of wear to both front tires usually. If its on one side, I'm thinking something may be up with the shock or your alignment is seriously off (pothole season?)
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Slideshow: A Jaguar designer's personal project imagines what a modern front-engined Corvette might look like if Chevrolet revisited the golden age of the Stingray.
Check your front tires!
