C6~Missle

I don't get it.. GM is obsessed with big phat tires for the corvette..
To the point where it is detrimental to the cars ride and performance.
Now... I think the car looks cool with wide azz tires.. Nothing more sinister looking than a black vette hunkered down with those big meats on the back.. but in actual everyday driving.. I think it takes away from the driving experience.
There is a point of diminishing returns when it comes to tire width and contact patch as there is with everything else.. To where the extra weight, rolling resistance and friction take away from the benefits..
Not to mention the cost, tire wander, trammeling... etc..
Looks isn't everything... sometimes less is more and I think the vette would be better off with less meat at the corners and more
weight savings..
I always felt the vette steering felt heavy and not as agile as it could be..
and this is with a narrow body Z51.. I wouldn't even consider a GS because of the damn tire size.. I think GM gave in to looks rather than function when it came to choosing tires.. I've been driving around in an E36 M3 for awhile now and I have to say.. those 245's
all around do a better job in tracking and handling than the vette did.. I know they are two different cars.. but handling performance seems equal if not better with less... just my experiences..

ohmy

given a choice of models, one with fat tires and the other with narrower ones, I would always buy the fatter ones, and I admit most of the reason would be for the looks alone since I know that I would never push the car enough to logically warrant the extra expense of the fatties... so I do see your point and it being illogical, but for most people "looks" is the part that sells them the car... besides, I can live with a little tire wandering, and rolling resistance, etc

NeoZ06

These tires are as functional to the design of this car as good as they look. Also, this car can be used as a daily driver, but in my book, it should't because wear and tear items on this car are very expensive (not so much compared to rare exotics, i know). The Corvette should be a weekend car for those concerned about spending too much on tires/brakes/clutch swaps, etc...

After going through 2 sets of tires because of daily use, i installed new tires then bought a cheap daily driver, best decision i've made to avoid crazy expenses with this car...

As far as handling, i think this car handles great even with leaf springs at the back!

Wayne O

I'm no expert but I'd say optimal tire sizes vary depending on many factors...car weight, weight distribution....setup/balance, wheelbase, driving conditions, etc. all come into play. In general (and in regard to the Corvette), bring your narrow tires to the track and let me know how that works out for you.

General Motors/Corvette Racing possess a tremendous amount of technical expertise and experience. The GT1 and the GT2 C6R's use 18 x 12.5 front wheels and 18 x 13 rear wheels with 300/32-18 front and 310/41-18 rear Michelin racing tires. These are wide-*** tires. Granted, these are purpose built track cars (versus the street versions we drive) but I think it demonstrates the superior handling and tracking capabilities afforded by wide tires in general. Now if I'm driving through 8" of snow I might opt for somewhat narrower tires.

Snobike Mike

Op, Put skinny tires on your vette and get back to us.

The wide tires are there for grip and even with such wide tires you have more power in most driving conditions than the tires can handle.

And yes, they look better too.

choprfgr

The new Ducati Diavel has a 240 on it.
My Silverado has 20" 295's.
I can't wait to get a fat tire on the back of my C6.

peter pan

Not feeling skinny tires on our 09, got 275/325s on our daily driver standard coupe and love it, I, would have it no other way

dvilin

speedraider

delete this stupid tread asap

TWOBUELLS

Like a paycheck , The fatter the better !

redzone

The grip advantage of wider tires greatly exceeds the slight weight penalty.

There's not a team in Nascar that wouldn't run the massively wider tires that F1/Indy cars do if given the opportunity.

mcandrew67

I have 335's on my Vette and a 240 on my Harley... I love fat tires

boraxman

I love my fat tires/

johnodrake

/This. And if I am driving through 8" of snow it will be in my Silverado in 4WD

FloydSummerOf68

That's because the M3 has no torque.

Drive a car with some ***** and you'll realize why you need a big tire

GM isn't the only one shoving a big tire on their fast cars. Ferrari, Porsche, Lambo, Mercedes, etc... all do it. Why would you want a fast car that you can't use the power with?

NYC6

Me, I dismiss any argument, not matter how lucid it might appear to be at first glance, when the "word" phat is used.

But anyway, the C6 Corvettes with both the 285/245 and 325/275 tires trounce the E36 M3 on the skid pad/slalom and road circuit contest I can remember.

cclive

If GM were not running C6s at the Nurburgring going for record times, your point would be more valid....

Turbo6TA

Yup ... big fat tires!

As easy as these tires are to spin, can you imagine what it would be like with narrow tires on the back!

But, the downside is price and extra noise just because of the very wide contact patch.

topper7788

If they deleted all the stupid threads we wouldn't have much left to read through!!!

JSB LS3

I don't think there's a performance car on the planet that's rear-wheel drive, makes AT LEAST 430 HP (and as much as 638) and has anything narrower than a 285 rear tire on it.

They're not there to make the car look good...they're there so you can use the engine.