Eritosthenes

Umm. Talladega? But I hear they only teach left turns.

mack morrow jr

Richard Petty,Jeff GordonDale Jarrett and several other notable schools are available in Alabama and located at Talledega. I am sure you can get phone numbers schedules etc from the net. There are many others but these are the best known. You know in Alabama we like to drive em hard and fast. You may also want to check with the local Corvette club depending on where you live. Here in Montgomery it is called The Capitol City Corvette Club.

whiteboy

Barber Road Course in Birmingham probably offers a beginners course in high performance driving. Talledega also has a Grand Prix course.

keyplyr

I have:

275/30-19
305/30-20

John at CCW put them together w/ the wheels as a package.

calaher

I put firestone Wide Ovals (run flats) on my 06 Base last year and they've been great.

Say, isn't there something about the rear ends on 05's being weaker so need some caution when launching hard?

Chemdawg99

Welcome to the Forum

Here is my standard advice on tire choice.

Many here are either firmly in the run-flat camp or firmly in the standard tire camp.

I used to be in the run-flat camp until I moved to Maryland from Texas.

Many here will sell you on keeping the overpriced (yes, overpriced) run-flats for a variety of paranoid and some valid reasons. Here's something to consider. If you catch a flat, not every tire shop or dealer has the equipment and expertise to deal with run-flats. This means that even with run-flats you might need a flatbed (roadside assistance) just to get to a dealer that can handle run-flats. Run flat tires also tend to be unavailable because they are not a high-demand item (ran into this problem at several Goodyear dealers).

You live in Alabama, so OEM tires won't be the problem for you that they would be for me in the fall/winter. GY Run Flats are terrible in the cold and in the wet, IMHO.

I base my tire decisions on how I drive my car and in what conditions I will commonly run into where I live.

This tire fit my needs here in MD:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...ese-tires.html

I would recommend Tire Rack to you and use the tire decision guide and then make your decision.

I know about the "you bought a premium car" argument, but I don't see paying $1300-$1700 for tires when you can buy good quality tires for a 1/4 of the price.

Good luck and Merry Christmas.

ICE RN

Very well said...

category4

Also remember when the outside temps are 40 degrees and lower these summer tires are extremely slippery. Make sure you have some heat in the tires before hard cornering or acceleration.

COWGIRL

I do not think I need lessons, drove it today with different mind set.Thank you for all the good advice and am going to check on the Firestone tires. I once saw a vette with vanity plate that said "SIDEWAYS" and now I understand what that meant!

mbzboy

Drove from Factory to Discount Tire and had Michelin PS2's installed. At 11K miles I installed Hankook tires at about 1/3 the cost.

The Hankook tires are great except for a little wiggle in the tire when exiting corners in tight turns. Doubt that you will feel the wiggle on even high spirited street driving. I was on track when I noticed the wiggle.

Suggest you make a trip to Bondurant Racing school in Phoenix or Spring Mountain Motor Sport in Nevada to learn how to handle your car.

If you are worried about a flat, then buy a Triple A membership. I have 24K miles on my car and haven't had a problem. Hated the original runflats and removed them the 1st day.

06 C6 vert

Your car will get sideways if you have any slant at all on the road and you are lit up. I have a very wierd onramp that I like to hammer but it has a optical illusion and seems flat. Ask me how I know.

StKnoWhere

Joining the club...

I never understood how I could catch 430HP Vette's on the track in a 160HP Miata until I drove a stock C6 with run flats.

Run flats really cripple the performance of the car but probably keep the GM lawyers happy by scaring the driver long before approaching the limit of the automobile.

A set of real performance tires will make a Corvette a completely different (and safer) car. For the once in 20 yr occurrence of a flat tire, a AAA card and cell phone work well...

Chemdawg99

It took me 6 years and 3 Vettes to realize these very simple facts.

jschindler

I completely dissagree with your statement about tire dealers not having equipment to change runflats. I've watched many sets of runflats changed - there is zero difference in changing them. I don't doubt that some dealers balk at them or want to charge more - but its total B.S.

Anyone who can't change them I wouldn't trust to work on a Schwinn Bicycle tire.

One last thing - I have a friend who had a blowout on a tire on a Sunday in a remote area of the Hill Country in Texas. He tried and could not find anyone who had one in stock within about 100 miles. He wound up putting 200 miles on it to get home with no problems at all.

Keep in mind that I've run four of my last six Corvettes on non-runflats. But as I said in an earlier post, runflats have come a long way and I think it's no longer necessary to switch to non runflats to get an excellent all around tire.

diyguy

The GY F1 GS-D3 (runflat) is about the only one I know that will give superior summer performance. PS's are SOOOO overrated.

Tirerack shows the OEM vette tire checking in dead last at #29 on the rating scale.

Proxy T1R's are a great alternative. Don't expect to get 40,000 miles out of them, but a good inexpensive choice. ANY Discount tire will order them for you. Takes a few days to get them in.

Anyone that has a flat now, and with no cell phone, or towing on your car insurance is living in the dark ages. I've never had a catastophic blow out, but many slow leaks. Easily enough to go many miles before completely flat. I'd bet 99% of flats are the same.. Nothing catastrophic - just a nail or screw here or there.

Even a can of fix-a-flat will work...so what if you destroy a sensor - still cheaper than getting a new run-flat, and unless they have more than 75% remaining, you will likely end up buying two at a minimum..

keyplyr

sgac6

I put on a set a Continential Extreme DWS tires and went to Sears and bought a kit that contained a compressor and some sensor safe slime. Drives like a completely different car and I love it. The tires have a 45000 mile tread warranty and are Z rated. Have no regrets about ditching the run flats.

dpigguy

Around here there are multiple folks who work on GYRF's as well as other RF tires. I bought my last set through my dealer who beat Tire Rack's price and gave me a $50 gift card to boot. Shop around as there are deals out there including GM dealers!

Chemdawg99

I have the Continental Extreme DWS tires as well. Excellent tire

I won't get into a run-flat vs. standard tire argument with you, because they go nowhere.

That said, I frequently ran into issues getting replacement run-flats and/or finding a place that had the equipment and the training to replace them. That has been my experience. While I agree they have come a long way, they still have a long way to go. Having them takes away from the performance of the car. Lots of high-performance cars that don't have run-flats. That's why I have USAA roadside assistance.

Silver Fox

A friend recently directed me to a website were they tested a number of tires. The article was one of the best of many I have seen. I suggest you go there.......... www.allaboutvettes.com
As far as buying tires I don't think you can get a better deal than TIRERACK.
I bought Firestone Wide Ovals from them and was not disappointed. I have had the tires now for over 20K. I like them much better then the org. Goodyear tires. ( not as noisy )