diyguy

It still appears that you are not getting a direct answer to your question. Simply put, NO... you don't know exactly when or where it's going to break loose. There is very little warning and also NO.. you don't have a 'seat of the pants' feeling it's gonna happen either.

While all the replies about better tires will help minimize breaking loose, the harder you push it, the harder it's going to break loose on you.

I am convinced the GM developed the Traction Control and Active handling systems, which have improved many time over from the first version, it is still your best friend. Unless you are out intentionally trying to find that 'ragged edge', do so only in wide open spaces, not on the city street when it lets go.. right into a curb or worse another car. Whatever, it isn't going to kill or endanger you (unless at very high speeds), but the basic answer still remains exactly as you have surmized.

I will also chime in on the tire thing as there is no doubt the OEM F1 Crap Tires are almost scary and near flat out dangerous, especially with 1/2 tread or less remaining on them. ANY choice of replacement tire is infinately better than the bottom rated #27 tire on TireRack's evaluation profile.

Unless you are quite skilled and ready to expect the unexpected, the TC/AH is your best friend, hands down!

Hope that helps. With 2 C5's and now a C6 under my belt, they are actually more similar in handling than I would have anticipated. - all things being equal of course.

Mark VerMurlen

I mostly agree. I don't think there's a lot of warning, but I think there is some. As you're pushing the car hard out of a corner, roll onto the throttle and you should be able to feel the car start a 4 wheel drift. That's your warning. More throttle beyond that and you risk the rear end stepping out. You should be smooth with your throttle and steering inputs. Jabbing the throttle with these high horsepower cars is not good. I definitely recommend that everyone that owns a high power car like these takes a performance driving class. You don't have to go to an expensive school (but they are definitely worth it if you do). Many local car clubs run them and you don't have to go to a Corvette club event. I've gone to both Bonderant as well as a couple other local driving classes, including an excellent Porsche club event 2 weeks ago here in the Pacific NW, and I've learned something new from each one of them. You can never get too much seat time. For all the money we spend on our cars, set some aside to spend on improving the nut behind the wheel.

- Mark

06 C6 vert

Cold OEM run flats, monster torque , plus trans in the back will get the rear end loose real quick.

If you don't know how to powersteer your Vette I would drive it very carefully at this point.

With the OEM run flats you cant put a lot of power on at low speeds all of a sudden.

I personally like the weight that the C6 has in the back, it makes tossing the car much easier.

Until you get some better rubber you are going to want to ease on the power slower in tight slow turns.

The C6 is a very good handling car but you must get to know it before you toss it in the turns.

rockethead7

Yes, this is helpful indeed, thanks! All of the other responses were helpful too (thanks!), but yours, yes, did directly answer my main question about the car breaking loose without warning.

So, if I'm reading you (two) correctly... you're saying that new/better tires will increase the traction and extend the limits before the car's rear end breaks loose... but, as far as the difference between "well planted" and "broken loose"... there's still a fine line with no warning, or maybe some very small warning... but that fine line with little/no warning is merely pushed further out.

As for the GY F1 "crap" tires (as you put it)... do you hold that same opinion about GY F1 "supercar" tires (which came with the Z51 package as upgraded tires over the standard GY F1 tires)? Both the base F1s and the supercar F1s are crap?

Are you aware of whether the traction control system (and/or active handling system) makes its calculations based upon programmed expectations from the original GY Supercar tires? If you change to something else, do you have to update the computer(s) to new traction properties? Or, does the system work 100% independently from tire properties, and is reactive to whatever the traction conditions are?

I was looking around at other threads, and on the Tire Rack ratings, etc. Seems that there is an infinite supply of opinions. Tough to pick. But, I do have some brand loyalty to Goodyear and/or Michelin. The Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 ZP seems to be the highest rated tire (on Tire Rack anyway, for whatever that's worth) for my car. Do you (or anyone) have any opinions on that tire?

diyguy

You will find many ardent supporters of the Michelin PS2 ZP tire here. You'll also see many rave reviews of other tires as well. It's more a personal choice in what sort of tire you are looking for. While I've had the Michelin's on a G35, it was an OK tire, but very dissapointed in the wear characteristics (IMO). Others will disagree.

Runcraps or non-runcraps....that is the question. Personally, I perfer the latter as they are lighter tires, a slightly better 'feel' and feedback from the steering wheel, in general a noticeably quieter tire by a good margin. On my C5's I ran Nitto's on one and GY F1 GS-D3's which IMO was one of the best tires I'd ever experienced. Unfortunately, they are not available in C6 sizes except for the run-flats and carry a hefty 2 grand price tag.

Good luck in your choice, but remember, while any new tires will help in stopping the back end from coming loose, when it does, it's generally much more violent because the speeds are higher and the lateral G's are greater.

Mark VerMurlen

I have the Supercar tires on my car and I wouldn't call them "crap". They have 12,000 miles on them and they did very well at the driving school I was at a couple weeks ago. One of the Porsche driving instructors was quite impressed with the amount of grip in my car. My tires will need to be replaced by the end of the summer and I plan to put Michelin PS2 or PS2 ZP on. I had PS2s on my C5 and I liked them a lot. I just need to decide if I want the runflat or non-runflat version.

As far as the active handling (stability control) system goes, its a reactive system meaning it senses the rotation (or yaw) of the car along with steering wheel angle and intervenes when the yaw rate of the car is much less than or exceeds what the steering wheel angle would call for. When the car is understeering, it will apply some inside corner front brake, When the car is oversteering, it will apply some inside corner rear brake and maybe cut some power. I've found it works very good, especially in Competitive Mode. I do turn it off when autocrossing but I like to have the safety net for HPDE.

- Mark

AORoads

since we're all giving opinions here, and no one knows your exact car, your conditions or how it was designed, I'll give mine. IIRC, your car has auto trans. it could be the auto trans is a little more on/off compared to linear feeding in of power as you hold a gear in a manual trans. this could affect the "breakaway" feeling you are experiencing.

also, different cars are set up differently, specifically, to handle differently. change any one component, such as tires, and that changes possibly a little, or even a lot. and also, just because a particular tire brand and model of tire runs one way on one car, that is no indication of how it will handle or communicate to the driver when on another car.

finally, my take on runflats or non is that it depends on what you want. maybe the ultimate in handling isn't in the design of a runflat. maybe. that doesn't mean it can't be made to handle, or that the driver can't find out how it handles to, and at ITS limit. while the car is designed one way, so is the driver. as said before by racers, the largest improvement sometimes you can make to a car is to the driver.

and as a ps, I have no problems with handling, noise, etc., and have had none w. the goodyears supplied for the Z51 option, throughout its relatively short lifespan, if short is defined as anything less than 50K miles.

rockethead7

Thanks for all of the input in this thread (and for the private messages). It's been very helpful to me.

Max EPR

At six years old your tires are aged to the point of being dangerous. I have seen similar behavior on my 08 car. Warming the tires with some driving reduces the tendency to slide. I plan to change to Michelin very soon with just a bit over 10,000 miles on the car. I'll get the all season run flat tires. Driving a Corvette like a GT car does not require the super performance tires.