My 2021 non Z-51 just turned 5 years old in May with 9866 miles. The battery seems fine but I don’t know how much more life remains. I keep the car plugged into a battery tender when not driving. All that said: how much longer before I should replace the OEM battery?
I don’t want to run the risk of being stranded somewhere.
Tires are the same concern: after about 6 years is it worth the risk of running old rubber?
thanks in advance for your opinions and insight.

 

I would say you should have at least another year or so on the battery, but it is one of those parts that can die unexpectedly. I just replaced the battery in my 2014 that I bought in 2019 - nothing was wrong with it but I didn’t want to take a chance on being stranded.

Likewise, I am running tires that are about 7 years old and have just 7K miles on them. Plenty of tread, always garaged, but I will most likely buy new ones this fall. I do not use the car for competitive events, just normal driving.

 

I’d say it kind of depends where you are. I learned the hard way that batteries and tire last a lot longer up around Seattle than they do in the summer heat of Tucson. Common to replace oem batteries under warranty just before 3 years down there.

I’m headed on a 1000 mile road trip in the 23 SR I just bought used. Only 9500 miles, but I’ll throw the little battery jumper in. I’ve had those save me to get to an auto parts store before. And some slime and a plug kit with a little compressor. Montana and Wyoming don’t have a roll back and a tire store on every corner.

Up north on “sporty” cars like a Vette they get hard (and slick) before they fail. Rolling down a 75 or 80 mph limit at 110F in the AZ desert they just might come apart first.

The cars I leave in Tucson and let the family drive get tires at 7-8 years, and they’re garaged but not air conditioned in the summer. But my Z4 will probably get new ones a bit sooner. Fast lane traffic out of town often moves 90.

 

The C8 is harder on batteries than other generations, you are due.

I still have original tires on my ‘20 at 16k and I keep pricing new ones but haven’t bought them yet.

 

Were it mine, I would just keep the battery and get a Li-On jump start pack, they are getting so small they hardly take any room at all.
For the tires, again I would keep them and run them.
For a car stored inside, away from damaging ultraviolet light, just like your skin, they will last longer before starting to break down.
Just keep an eye on them for any sign of deterioration, then buy some new ones.
But, hey, that is just me and I am very frugal(cheap).

 

Replace battery ASAP!

 

A general rule of thumb is that anything beyond five or six years on a battery is a roll of the dice. I have had cars with batteries that died after three years, with others lasting up to eight! Keeping your Corvette hooked up to a battery tender certainly cannot hurt. The C7 and C8 probably have a heavy parasitic draw while parked - because of all of the electronics.

As for tires? Generally, anything beyond ten years is going to elevate your risk of a failure. That's for a "street driven" vehicle, though. For a car that is tracked or otherwise driven at the limit, the effective life of tires might be shortened a bit. You cannot always judge a tire just by looking at the tread depth.

 

I have a ‘20. Just replaced the orginal tires as I got a flat on one by hitting every pothole in Ohio. 29,000 miles.

Lucked out have a Rim & Tire warranty so I got the front one covered. Then GM had a sale that ended the end of May, buy 3 get one free so instead of about $1850 I was 1450, then I get my warranty money

as for a battery I replace mine every 4 years on my vettes. To me trying to get an extra year is not worth it if u do have issues

 

My father always said "If it isn't broke, then don't fix it" Preventive maintenance can be worth it at times. I will go a maximum of 6 years on a battery and even longer on tires based on there condition.

 

I do not know how much longer your battery has. But on my 2021, I replaced it at five years with another OEM FLA battery. The old one showed no signs of impending failure. Mine stays on a charger when it is in the garage, and the garage is climate controlled.

In the "old days", we (I) could rely on signs of a weakening battery like slow cranking, And maybe in the past it was ok to go longer until that happened. The problem now, based on forum reports, is that the battery will fail without any warning. I don't think it is necessarily hard on batteries - when it off the parasitic draw is very low. But when it on with ignition in service mode, it takes 10 amps just to run all of the car systems, not including lights. But I think the car systems may be extremely sensitive to low voltage Most everything in it relies on sensors for proper operation. And the sensors essentially provide a signal in the form of voltage. When those voltages get out of range, a DTC will be set, and often when a DTC is set, there are related actions taken by the car systems. In any case, now the "early" and in some cased "only" indication of a failure is that the car essentially goes haywire with blank screens, erratic behavior. And typically a bunch of seemingly unrelated DTCs are set (which I suspect are a result of voltages being out or range, but that is just a guess). And...it seems to brick the car.

So I concluded, for me, that I want to replace the battery before any of that happens.

 

My vote (Echos post 7):

1 - Battery - A general rule of thumb is that anything beyond five or six years on a battery is a roll of the dice.
2 - Tires - Generally, anything beyond ten years is going to elevate your risk of a failure. That's for a "street driven" ....

FWIW, in environments such as high-heat Arizona, many change batteries at 3 years, and "racing around" - sticky tires - maybe (maybe) 3 years is prudent here too as the stickiness/ age of the rubber and low thread depth are factors.

Good luck with your decision.

 

Same as others have said.
5 yrs on battery your now getting into much greater risk. Replace.
Tires in good shape and garage kept out of UV and harsh environment I would think they would be good for at least 8-10yrs. I would keep another couple year.

Good luck

 

On my 2023 I replaced tires at 25k. I just bought a new battery and plan on installing in a day or two. I am in AZ and the heat here is tough on batteries. I bought an Inerstate AGM at Costco for $179. GM wants $350 for the same.

 

My 2020 will be six years old in September - still on the original battery. It is not a daily driver and it spends most of the time with my CTEK MUS 4.3 Test & Charge plugged in. Still going strong.

 

I have replaced Corvette tires at 30K+ miles for the last 36 years, have replaced 33 sets of tires. Batteries generally replaced around 5 years....

 

I replaced the battery in my 2020 when it was a little over 5 years old. It would sometimes crank a little slower than normal and I would get a low battery notification sooner than it used to when using accessory mode. When I tested it it had good internal resistance and tested good with an old-fashioned load tester but it was towards the weak side. I replaced it out of caution and rotated it to my generator, I'll see how long it lasts there.
Your tires will probably be fine but once they are more than 5 years old you need to be vigilant about inspecting them.

 

My 7 Vettes have all been DDs. Not a lot of mile/year BUT PIA if car doesn't start.

So my thought at 5 years, look for a battery sale on a AGM battery, assuming you intend to keep the car 3+ more years. Far better changing a battery at your convenience and when there is a sale than on a cold day when you'll pay top dollar.

As far as tires, the C8 tires will last much longer than your ~10,000 miles. Miles not time are key if not exposed to sunlight most of its life. My Street Rod is now 26 years old. Has few miles and 99% of its life is in the garage. No indication of tire issues. In fact the Mickey Thompson 16.5" section width rear tires have tubes. Each year before going to its first Show the rears are down to ~12 psi and I pump them up to 16 psi. Fronts are Firestone Run Flats and lose same 3 to 4 psi in a year as well.

Now if I was going >100 mph as I did when I first built-it, would have some concern about tire age. But don't go over the speed limit driving to only a few local shows/year.

 

I use a Solar BA9 digital battery/system monitor. It tests the battery to estimate health, and can check the charging system. You can periodically check CCA, and when it starts to drop significantly, buy a new batt. It uses internal resistance of the battery as the check. Others swear by a carbon pile tester, which can test at high loads, but that is all it does.

 

If your dad lived in a hot environment Ala Florida... He would amend that to 3 years tops!

 

I have got 10 years out of GM Batteries using a Deltran Battery Tender on my C4s and C7 Corvettes. My 2023 has 8,500 miles and is connected now to my My Deltran Tender That is 39 Years Old !!!