C5 Z06 Tire Options
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
C5 Z06 Tire Options
C5 Z06 Tire options (265/40R17 front, 295/35R18 rear) have greatly diminished over the past few years. When I bought my last set of tires in 2018, the only choices were Goodyear SuperCar, Michelin PS4, Toyo Proxes T1 Sport.
Today on Tire Rack, zero options exist.
For those who have a C5 Z06, what are you doing for tires?
Today on Tire Rack, zero options exist.
For those who have a C5 Z06, what are you doing for tires?
#2
Instructor
I have Goodyear F1s (manufactured 2019) mounted on the OEM Z06 wheels, which have about 75% tread wear remaining. I am expecting that tire size options will continue to dwindle when it comes time to replace, so I put Plan B in place last year.
Plan B was to buy a wheel and tire set from Tire Rack that would provide me with a range of tire choices down the road. I bought Flow One F4's and Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06 Plus. The F4s are sized as follows: Front 18 x 9.5 & 50 offset; Rear 18 x 10.5 x 54 offset. The tires are sized as follows: Front 265 / 35 / 18; Rear 295 / 35 /18. The rotational diameters front and rear are the same as OEM specifications.
The F4 wheels weigh about the same as the OEM Speedlines used on my Z06. Each Continental front tire weighs 6 lbs less than the Goodyear F1, and each rear Continental tire weighs 2 lbs less. That totals up to 16 lbs of unsprung / rotational mass weight savings, which means better stopping and acceleration.
So, now I have two sets of wheels and tires. I use the Goodyears during warmer months, from May through November, and the Continentals during winter months. I expect that when the Goodyears wear out (or age out) the OEM Speedlines will go into storage, and I'll be using the Continentals year-round. The Contis have proven to be excellent tires in terms of grip and performance despite their all-season designation.
Plan B was to buy a wheel and tire set from Tire Rack that would provide me with a range of tire choices down the road. I bought Flow One F4's and Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06 Plus. The F4s are sized as follows: Front 18 x 9.5 & 50 offset; Rear 18 x 10.5 x 54 offset. The tires are sized as follows: Front 265 / 35 / 18; Rear 295 / 35 /18. The rotational diameters front and rear are the same as OEM specifications.
The F4 wheels weigh about the same as the OEM Speedlines used on my Z06. Each Continental front tire weighs 6 lbs less than the Goodyear F1, and each rear Continental tire weighs 2 lbs less. That totals up to 16 lbs of unsprung / rotational mass weight savings, which means better stopping and acceleration.
So, now I have two sets of wheels and tires. I use the Goodyears during warmer months, from May through November, and the Continentals during winter months. I expect that when the Goodyears wear out (or age out) the OEM Speedlines will go into storage, and I'll be using the Continentals year-round. The Contis have proven to be excellent tires in terms of grip and performance despite their all-season designation.
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C5Luv'R (06-15-2022)
#3
Cruising
C5 Z06 Tire options (265/40R17 front, 295/35R18 rear) have greatly diminished over the past few years. When I bought my last set of tires in 2018, the only choices were Goodyear SuperCar, Michelin PS4, Toyo Proxes T1 Sport.
Today on Tire Rack, zero options exist.
For those who have a C5 Z06, what are you doing for tires?
Today on Tire Rack, zero options exist.
For those who have a C5 Z06, what are you doing for tires?
laterz...mike
Last edited by mbinsat; 06-18-2022 at 01:06 AM. Reason: Add some pics
#4
Racer
Thread Starter
@mbinsat Thank you for your input! I am glad to hear these tire sizes "fit" with minimal modification.
I plan to track my car, so I am looking for something good for a road coarse and near the factory size.
Has anyone had success with 275/40R17 front & 305/35R18 rear tires? Nitto NT01 and Toyo R888R come in those sizes.
I plan to track my car, so I am looking for something good for a road coarse and near the factory size.
Has anyone had success with 275/40R17 front & 305/35R18 rear tires? Nitto NT01 and Toyo R888R come in those sizes.
Last edited by C5Luv'R; 06-20-2022 at 04:15 PM. Reason: Additional Information
#5
Zen Vet Master Level VII
I went through this mess with my 04 Z06 CE last week. I had a difficult time as it seemed nothing (nothing) was available. Discount tire, tire rack , Pep Boys, Costco, WalMart and several local GY, firestone dealers could get NOTHING.
I ended up with a set of Continental sports but the sub variants were different.
So, before you get attached to a set of tire, see what is available.
#6
@mbinsat Thank you for your input! I am glad to hear these tire sizes "fit" with minimal modification.
I plan to track my car, so I am looking for something good for a road coarse and near the factory size.
Has anyone had success with 275/40R17 front & 305/35R18 rear tires? Nitto NT01 and Toyo R888R come in those sizes.
I plan to track my car, so I am looking for something good for a road coarse and near the factory size.
Has anyone had success with 275/40R17 front & 305/35R18 rear tires? Nitto NT01 and Toyo R888R come in those sizes.
#7
Cruising
You can run 315/30/18s on the rear. I did it for years. No issues. However, I would stay away from 315/40/18 tires. A 315/40/18 is nearly 28" tall!! You are effectively installing a higher diff gear, maybe effectively a 3.2 gear, or thereabouts. Also, it will put a lot more strain on the diff gears. It will also throw off the brake proportioning, and effectively reduce the braking power. The C5s, and early C6s had a tendency to spit their diffs onto the track when enough launch rpm combined with sticky tires. Running 1-1/2" taller rear tire is going to cause new problems, and exacerbate existing ones. I'd NEVER do this. My .02......
[On a side note.. I have already been down the replacing 3rd member road 4-5 yrs ago.. and I had to go thru 3 of them (from 2 diff dealerships)-brand new from Chevrolet-before finding one that didn't start whining almost immediately after putting it in-I guess a run of them got sent out that weren't assembled properly (and there was no warranty on the normal $1000 labor to install-thanks GM). I am not a big burnout/dump the clutch guy either (with this car anyway..lol).]
I have not noticed any difference with the brakes-they seem as good as they ever were-and just yesterday, I had to stand on them.. hard.. and they did exactly what they should have (IMO the C5 and newer vettes have an incredibly good and robust system). I agree with all your concerns in theory.. but what I have discovered doesn't.. and it kinda surprised me too. The speedometer is off just slightly now.. about a 1-2 mph diff at 35 mph. I know this b/c there is one of those speed limit signs that tells you how fast you are going (on one of the streets I regularly drive)-and it's a favorite spot for a radar trap-so I usually use the cruise control during that stretch. Before new tires 35 mph (showing momentarily on the DIC when setting cruise) would always match the 35mph sign-after new tires 33 mph (in car) shows 34-35 on sign and 34 (in car) mph shows 35-36. As I said in my orig post.. I don't don't baby or abuse this thing much (I've got a 6 sec 240mph racecar I can get most of my hauling *** needs taken care of with), but I will let her rip occasionally. This thing has always been a blast to drive (esp in 2nd gear around wide sweeping corners/curves where you can steer it with the throttle..lol). I typically turn the traction control/active handling off immediately after starting the car-that thing can get you in trouble very quickly and unexpectedly when it activates while you are trying to quickly take off from a stop while turning either direction (like turning from a side street onto a fast moving busy one). Apparently it thinks the car is on the verge of losing control.. so it suddenly hangs you out (at basically a fast idle) with cars bearing down on you fast-usually from both directions... But, I've forgotten to turn it off enough times (since getting new tires) w/o any alarms going off or codes being set, that I think I can safely say everything is OK with the stagger it is seeing now. I do think the C5 TC/AH has it's place-it is great for the average mundane driver (who doesn't ever drive their car very aggressively) and/or the ***** show-off.. who can fail spectacularly in a car like this (examples galore on YT).
[Another side note:The TC/AH in the C7's is a whole diff story-it's very tuneable-as I found out when a buddy let me keep (and play with) his 2017 GS model for a few months-that thing was COOL too.. (except I really disliked the lack of sidewall on the 335/25/20 rr tires)]
Back to my C5.. I specifically wanted the 40's on the back b/c the stock setup always looked very puny to me.. but I'm an old hot rod guy who likes to see some sidewall.. and now the frt and rr tire sidewalls at least look proportional to each other (and fill the wheel wheels much better). I know for the ultimate cornering you need the tires that look like fan belts wrapped around the wheels, and I understand why, but it looks stupid to me. With the new trend towards performance tires having very little (to almost no) sidewall, if you run over some pea gravel (or anything bigger than a grass sticker) you prob will feel it, and if it's not 'your day'.. you're liable to not just get a flat tire-the object will push/poke it right through the wheel too... I was in the collision repair and dealer parts depts until a few yrs ago, and I saw this happen too many times to count. I know the purists and hard core track guys will disagree with my reasoning, but I have def driven this thing hard enough to determine that for most street driving, these new tires are just as good as the 2 or 3 sets of GY/f1's we went thru.. and the sets of OEM sized Bridgestones, Uniroyals (and I think maybe even some Firestones)-all 3 of which I have tried, once the GY/f1' became almost impossible to get (since buying this thing new for the wife.. 185,000 miles ago.. way, way back in 2001). They're def good enough for me, anyway...
I'm not trying to be smartass or an a-hole.. but I really disliked the puniness of the OEM tires in relation to the rest of the car.. and I think it looks close to perfect now.
Sorry this got so long... good thing I had nothing important to do.. laterz-mike
#8
My speedo odometer, running 285/40/18 rears, is off 3 miles every 100 actual. It's off 2-3mph at 70mph actual. As for not noticing any difference....Probably not in normal street driving. However, if you tracked the car, either strip or oval, you definitely would notice a small loss in performance.......
#9
Hi,
I'm also in the market for the new sets of tires and need them asap.
I tried to look for 275/40R17&295/35R18 and other recommended sized above but no luck. However, if I can wait for 2-3 months, I can get Michelin PS2. My tires will explode by then...
I chatted with Tire Rack and he recommended me to get wheels with popular sized tires which don't require any adjustments.
Here is his recommendation;
Wheels for 2004 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (tirerack.com)
Tire Search Results (tirerack.com)
Unless there is other options, I have to go with new wheels....
I'm also in the market for the new sets of tires and need them asap.
I tried to look for 275/40R17&295/35R18 and other recommended sized above but no luck. However, if I can wait for 2-3 months, I can get Michelin PS2. My tires will explode by then...
I chatted with Tire Rack and he recommended me to get wheels with popular sized tires which don't require any adjustments.
Here is his recommendation;
Wheels for 2004 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (tirerack.com)
Tire Search Results (tirerack.com)
Unless there is other options, I have to go with new wheels....
#10
Well there is an option recommended by Disc Tire.
Never heard of this brand but General GMAX RS but size combination is 275/40R17 and 285/35R18 or 295/30R18.
Do you think these tires will look and ride well on C5Z6?
What do you all think about going 295 down to 285?
How about keeping 295 and going 35 down to 30?
Thanks for your input!!!
Never heard of this brand but General GMAX RS but size combination is 275/40R17 and 285/35R18 or 295/30R18.
Do you think these tires will look and ride well on C5Z6?
What do you all think about going 295 down to 285?
How about keeping 295 and going 35 down to 30?
Thanks for your input!!!
#11
Pro
The vast majority of track and autocross guys get another set of Z06 rear wheels and run 315/30x18 on all four corners. There are a decent number of tires in that size. There might be some slight rubbing in the front, but nothing significant unless you have the car lowered beyond what is possible on the factory bolts.
Spec Corvette runs this setup, and have begun selling their own 18x11 wheels with the proper offset for this. OEM Z06 wheels are getting scarce, so having another option is great. Plus the Spec wheels look great. I run them on my car and am very happy with them.
Spec Corvette runs this setup, and have begun selling their own 18x11 wheels with the proper offset for this. OEM Z06 wheels are getting scarce, so having another option is great. Plus the Spec wheels look great. I run them on my car and am very happy with them.
#12
The vast majority of track and autocross guys get another set of Z06 rear wheels and run 315/30x18 on all four corners. There are a decent number of tires in that size. There might be some slight rubbing in the front, but nothing significant unless you have the car lowered beyond what is possible on the factory bolts.
Spec Corvette runs this setup, and have begun selling their own 18x11 wheels with the proper offset for this. OEM Z06 wheels are getting scarce, so having another option is great. Plus the Spec wheels look great. I run them on my car and am very happy with them.
Spec Corvette runs this setup, and have begun selling their own 18x11 wheels with the proper offset for this. OEM Z06 wheels are getting scarce, so having another option is great. Plus the Spec wheels look great. I run them on my car and am very happy with them.
#13
C5 Z06 Tire options (265/40R17 front, 295/35R18 rear) have greatly diminished over the past few years. When I bought my last set of tires in 2018, the only choices were Goodyear SuperCar, Michelin PS4, Toyo Proxes T1 Sport.
Today on Tire Rack, zero options exist.
For those who have a C5 Z06, what are you doing for tires?
Today on Tire Rack, zero options exist.
For those who have a C5 Z06, what are you doing for tires?
Last edited by Dbl_D718; 07-07-2022 at 03:44 PM.
#14
Instructor
Pictures posted at the request of a Forum member: Flow One F4 wheel and Continental DWS 06 Plus tire package from Tire Rack (refer to Post #2, above for complete details).
Stock ride height in front
View of passenger side front wheel well looking down from hood
Stock ride height in rear
View of passenger side rear wheel well looking down from rear window area
Passenger side profile
Stock ride height in front
View of passenger side front wheel well looking down from hood
Stock ride height in rear
View of passenger side rear wheel well looking down from rear window area
Passenger side profile
#15
I have Goodyear F1s (manufactured 2019) mounted on the OEM Z06 wheels, which have about 75% tread wear remaining. I am expecting that tire size options will continue to dwindle when it comes time to replace, so I put Plan B in place last year.
Plan B was to buy a wheel and tire set from Tire Rack that would provide me with a range of tire choices down the road. I bought Flow One F4's and Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06 Plus. The F4s are sized as follows: Front 18 x 9.5 & 50 offset; Rear 18 x 10.5 x 54 offset. The tires are sized as follows: Front 265 / 35 / 18; Rear 295 / 35 /18. The rotational diameters front and rear are the same as OEM specifications.
The F4 wheels weigh about the same as the OEM Speedlines used on my Z06. Each Continental front tire weighs 6 lbs less than the Goodyear F1, and each rear Continental tire weighs 2 lbs less. That totals up to 16 lbs of unsprung / rotational mass weight savings, which means better stopping and acceleration.
So, now I have two sets of wheels and tires. I use the Goodyears during warmer months, from May through November, and the Continentals during winter months. I expect that when the Goodyears wear out (or age out) the OEM Speedlines will go into storage, and I'll be using the Continentals year-round. The Contis have proven to be excellent tires in terms of grip and performance despite their all-season designation.
Plan B was to buy a wheel and tire set from Tire Rack that would provide me with a range of tire choices down the road. I bought Flow One F4's and Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06 Plus. The F4s are sized as follows: Front 18 x 9.5 & 50 offset; Rear 18 x 10.5 x 54 offset. The tires are sized as follows: Front 265 / 35 / 18; Rear 295 / 35 /18. The rotational diameters front and rear are the same as OEM specifications.
The F4 wheels weigh about the same as the OEM Speedlines used on my Z06. Each Continental front tire weighs 6 lbs less than the Goodyear F1, and each rear Continental tire weighs 2 lbs less. That totals up to 16 lbs of unsprung / rotational mass weight savings, which means better stopping and acceleration.
So, now I have two sets of wheels and tires. I use the Goodyears during warmer months, from May through November, and the Continentals during winter months. I expect that when the Goodyears wear out (or age out) the OEM Speedlines will go into storage, and I'll be using the Continentals year-round. The Contis have proven to be excellent tires in terms of grip and performance despite their all-season designation.
#17
On TireRack, there are a few options but they're harder to find than just using the recommended search criteria. If you search for only rears, 295/35-18, you can then look at additional sizes available for that tire. Adjust the front size to 255/40 (my pick) or 275/40, and you can find some options. They don't show up in the standard search because the service descriptions are different.
#19
Drifting
C5 Z06 Tire options (265/40R17 front, 295/35R18 rear) have greatly diminished over the past few years. When I bought my last set of tires in 2018, the only choices were Goodyear SuperCar, Michelin PS4, Toyo Proxes T1 Sport.
Today on Tire Rack, zero options exist.
For those who have a C5 Z06, what are you doing for tires?
Today on Tire Rack, zero options exist.
For those who have a C5 Z06, what are you doing for tires?
Here's what the Contis look like on my C5Z ...
Front (255/40R17)
Rear (295/35R18)
#20
Melting Slicks
The problem that is currently being posed is that the Continental EC Sport is on backorder currently in 295/35/18, 275/40/17, and 255/40/17. So even though you were able to get them last year, these tires are not currently an option for us to purchase.