JMB

Thanks, now I am better informed!

Curious though...was wrecking the car due to poor handling, smoking the tires when he shouldn't have been or the fact that it was 20° outside and there was ice, frost or a frozen glaze on the roadway

BT ZR1

I agree.

JoesC5

My understanding was that he gave it more gas then what the tires could hold, driving to work. He had just left his home in the morning, the car coolant/oil was still cold, so I doubt if he was being stupid(but you never know). Roads were dry.

Based on my 505 HP experiences with the OEM GY's in temps below 50 degrees, it only takes a little gas to set them spinning. I suspect that with 638Hp it's even worse getting traction.

Greenstealth

My stock supercars still have some usable tread and they are worthless for any type of spirited driving in colder temps. Driving conservatively, I don't have any trouble. Foot to the floor and its trouble all the way.

BT ZR1

The ZR1 is insanely fast and at that temp you would bust the tires loose with very little pressure on the pedal.

harrydirty

Yeah, I tried for Dirty Harry when I registered, but that (and some variations) were already taken!

Vito.A

I disagree with your evaluation but I agree the Michelin PS2 tires slip quite easily when cold, but so do all the other extreme performance summer tires. You have to give them a few minutes to warm up, especially if it is damp and cold out. When new, they need to be heat cycled before they work properly. When I put the new set on my Z06 last year I pulled out of the tire shop and almost did a 180. I heat cycled them a few times, let them warm up, and then they are absolutley great!

Think about your remarks. You say they pick up every pebble in the road. They do that because they are sticky. But, they are a dual compound tire and to work properly on a 500hp car the entire tread needs to warm up for a few minutes. Remember, they are the tire GM chose for the ZR1 and Z07.

Michelin is coming out with a new Super Sport tire to join the Pilot Sport lineup. Just not sure when the Z06 sizes will be available.

Best of luck with the Bridgestones.

blaine123

NT05's did fine in snow with 690 rwhp. Surprised me. But any tire in the cold is going to give subpar performance. Esp. at high HP levels.

Gary '09 C6

Vito.A,

could you please explain how one heat cycles the tires
(assume they are mounted on the car) ?

thx Gary

boost2na

Not trying to speak for Vito, but basically, take the car out for a sufficiently long drive (could be 30 minutes on the highway if it's cold enough), and monitor your tire pressure on the DIC, they will eventually max out, typically 3-4 psi above cold pressure (maybe 2 psi more if it's absolutely freezing). At that point they're warm. Take the car back home and they'll cool down. After you repeat the warming/cooling process a few times, the tires will be broken in.

Gary '09 C6

boost2na,

thank you for the explanation.

I've basically done this already; just wasn't sure if there was more to it...

Gary

40YRW8

I may be way off track but I would have thought a licensed PE would have been a lot smarter than this.
Gary

boost2na

No problem. I think others have said it best, with the Z06 (and especially the ZR1), there's only so much you can do in cold temperatures. I've taken my Z06 out a few times in ~45 degree dry weather, the absolute best I could do, with the tires hot (hour of highway driving, 34 psi, from 30 psi cold) was easing into first then increasing to about 80% throttle before the shift to 2nd, briefly easing into 2nd then steadily increasing to full throttle. And it stuck.

These cars are animals.

Rob

Gary '09 C6

they are; I just try to learn as much as I can about their capabilities and peculiarities every day

as has been said: ...have come far, but still have far to go...

thx again G

cbgpe

THERE IS NO "BEST TIRE"
Tire selection is a function of the duty cycle. I know this is stating the obvious. My typical drive is about 8-9 miles to and from my gym I go 5 days a week sometimes more. It is a short drive. Within 2 miles
I am getting onto a parkway with a tight on ramp with severely polished concrete with a short acceleration ramp. SO FOR ME and what I use the car for cold traction IS a big issue. The Z is a daily driver with a short commute. IF I wanted to drive a car with the performance of a some nondescript econo box I might as well drive that as the Z with either the goodyears or michelins due to poor cold traction performs about the same. So for all of you who love their tire great you selected the "right" tire for what is important to what YOU do.
For me and what I do the Bridgestones are the best. When warm they pull 1.27 latteral on a traffic polished asphalt. So warm they are ok too
They may NOT be good at the track when hot I don't know I don't track the car.
I think these tire posts are really worth while if I knew what I know now could have saved myself the two tire mounts and balance and not lost the use of the car for 3-4 days.
BTW today is very pretty clear blue sky sunshine but 27 degrees, I would be driving my car to the gym today if I had my old bridgestones on it. I will be driving my 02 STS instead it performs way better than the Z right now.

boost2na

I should have been more specific, I meant best traction I could achieve in cold weather. Also, wasn't trying to knock you in any way. If you found what works best for you, that's all that matters.

I think you nailed it though, for your type of drives, it's probably better to take something else if you can.

DrtyHarry

Can you guys describe what "heat cycling" is? Pardon my mechanical ignorance.



Harry

cbgpe

I appreciated the clarification , THANKS !!!
The Bridgestones work quite well when cold even very cold. When they were new, when it was below freezing they would pull 1.08 lateral g new. The goodyears would do a big slide at .9 under the same conditions with active handling on. as the pole positions aged the got down to about 1.0 g with no slide that is why they are coming off @ 22k miles about 0.125 tread over the wear bars on the fronts less on the rear (I wonder why ...LOL ). This was after about 2 miles of slow suburban driving and maybe 2-3 stops. This was on a worn out concrete surface a challenge for most tires as the aggregate was worn smooth with no sharp asperities. These levels of performance are plenty for the street and as they warm up they get better quickly, so it makes the Z a livable daily driver for much of the year, a plus for me. SO the Bridgestone for those who need this aspect of performance might be the best choice but well may not be that good very hot day or on the track. The right answer depends on the the question that is being asked, to state the obvious yet again
Thanks for everyone's comments

dagartdan

This topic has been beat to death! Summer tires suck when the temp is below 40 degrees and don't have the traction as they do in the warm season. This being said, Michelin does have an All Season tire that works well on c5 size rims, but doesn't make a tire in an z06/GS size to fit the rear end of a c6. My question is , why not? You can get a front All Season tire but no one makes a rear A/S tire -325 30 19? BTW, the Michelin A/S will get 40000 miles under normal driving conditions and I believe the speed rating is Y? Why can't they produce a tire that will fit our rims with A/S features?

ldimm

I've got a question for all of you folks that have gone through different manufacturers tires........Have you found any real difference any that really do seem to throw less stones and road cinders? Or are they all pretty much the same especially when warmed up. I've only experience with original GY's which seem to me at least to throw quite a few stones.