Hi Po Street Tire Recommendations for C5 Z06

Kevin Butler · **Posted:** Thu Mar 01, 2012 8:14 am

First off, the good news - I bought an '03 C5 Z06 'vette! Woo Hoo! :redcool:

Now the bad news - it's gonna need tires in a few months. Waaaa! :cryin:

So what would be a good set of Hi Perf Summer Tires to shoe it with? Size recommendations needed also. At present it has the stock 17/18 inch, Front/Rear wheel set up. No plans to change wheel stagger for now.

Thanks,

RobLupella · **Posted:** Thu Mar 01, 2012 1:26 pm

Nitto NT's They have a 200 treadwear tire that I've been told works well for a hiperformance street tire/occasional track tire.

BriceJohnson · **Joined:** Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:33 am **Posts:** 2230

Assuming you mean the NT-05s? Can't really go wrong with Star Specs. I don't know if they are offered in Vette sizes tho. I think the Kumho XS and Bridgestone RE-11 is though, and would probably be a good choice. The other ST tires aren't very streetable.

As for REAL street tires, Continental Extreme contact DW's are what we have on the mini, and they are AWESOME. We autocrossed some on them without difficulty, and their rain performance was really quite impressive.

Ryan Hill · **Posted:** Thu Mar 01, 2012 3:15 pm

BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW NT are good to if they make them in the right size. Great wet/dry and 300 tread wear

Kevin Butler · **Posted:** Sat Mar 03, 2012 1:08 am

How about Toyo TR-1s?

RodneyWright · **Posted:** Mon Mar 05, 2012 9:34 am

enter you vette info into Tire Rack and look at the performance tests and reader feedback for their suggested tires. From there, talk to Mark Cooper at performance chassis and Jeb Brookshire at Discount tire on Milbrook rd for tire options.

steve remchak · **Posted:** Mon Mar 05, 2012 5:09 pm

for the street to the track and back?

Michelin PS2s. end of discussion. :stick:

BriceJohnson · **Joined:** Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:33 am **Posts:** 2230

If you want to overpay, then yes. If not, the Conti DW's I suggested.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/tes ... p?ttid=140

If you are going to overpay for Michelin's, at least get the newer Pilot Super Sports:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/tes ... p?ttid=148

steve remchak · **Posted:** Mon Mar 05, 2012 7:22 pm

"Crisp handling on the road and around the track"

only one of the four that they said this about. let's get real here Brice. you are bringing a knife to a gunfight. the PS2 is a track tire that has excellent street manners. the Conti is a street tire.

to be fair, i have the Contis on two of my cars. but if i still had my Z06 i would not put Contis on it.

JamesShort · **Posted:** Mon Mar 05, 2012 8:11 pm

PS2s are junk. Lots of good words regarding the PSS though. Generally I've been pretty annoyed with any Michelin shod car I've driven. Always terrible performance per unit $.

Ram has Conti DW on the Cayman S now and they feel a lot better than RE050As. The DW on the Civic are exponentially better than the Michelins that came on it.

Steve couldn't even drive the Z06 so why would anyone trust his tires choice on said car

.

steve remchak · **Posted:** Mon Mar 05, 2012 8:57 pm

JamesShort wrote:

PS2s are junk. Lots of good words regarding the PSS though. Generally I've been pretty annoyed with any Michelin shod car I've driven. Always terrible performance per unit $.

Ram has Conti DW on the Cayman S now and they feel a lot better than RE050As. The DW on the Civic are exponentially better than the Michelins that came on it.

Steve couldn't even drive the Z06 so why would anyone trust his tires choice on said car

.

a rumor from which you have no experience James. besides, if i need vindication i can have Graham chime in on this.

BriceJohnson · **Joined:** Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:33 am **Posts:** 2230

steve remchak wrote:

"Crisp handling on the road and around the track"

only one of the four that they said this about. let's get real here Brice. you are bringing a knife to a gunfight. the PS2 is a track tire that has excellent street manners. the Conti is a street tire.

to be fair, i have the Contis on two of my cars. but if i still had my Z06 i would not put Contis on it.

Well either of those tires is bringing a knife to a bazooka fight with the Bridgestone re-11 or kumho xs. What are we looking for here, a street tire, or a track tire? Judging on the category of "max performance summer only tire", the conti is the better choice. If performance is more critical, step up to the "extreme performance tire" category and get an even better performing tire than the PS2, again without overpaying. Michelin is way too proud of their tires, although the pilot super sport does sound like the bees knees.

Kevin Butler · **Posted:** Mon Mar 05, 2012 10:46 pm

What I want is a decent street tire that won't get me into trouble due to the car's power. So a good amount of grip will be necessary. I'll worry about autox and track later.

RodneyWright wrote:

enter you vette info into Tire Rack and look at the performance tests and reader feedback for their suggested tires. From there, talk to Mark Cooper at performance chassis and Jeb Brookshire at Discount tire on Milbrook rd for tire options.

Good suggestion. Problem is you only get 2 recommendations from Tire Rack.

1. Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercars - Not an option. I DON'T DO GOODYEARS.

2. Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sports - Actually I've always liked Bridgestones for street tires. Not sure that a 340AA treadwear will be sticky enough.

Car currently has Firestones on it. Don't think much of them at the end of their life.

steve remchak · **Posted:** Tue Mar 06, 2012 8:21 am

tire gurus will tell you what their opinion is all day long Kevin.

someone that has actually owned a C5 Z06 and replaced the hydroplaning Goodyear Super Car tires with Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s will tell you what they have experienced.

PS2s are very good in wet weather.
PS2s can be driven to the track, then on the track and then home.
PS2s are very expensive, and you will only get 10 - 12k miles wear.

you didn't buy an economy car. the tires no matter which brand will be expensive.

if you haven't already, browse thru www.corvetteforum.com

BriceJohnson · **Joined:** Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:33 am **Posts:** 2230

Tire technology is making big advances, which is why a "budget" brand like continental can beat out the old guard PS2. You say you have continentals on 2 of your cars Steve, are they the Extremecontact DW's, or some other model? The sportcontact series are junk. Make sure they are the DW's, not the DWS's. DWS=DryWetSnow=All season tire. Big difference there too.

I'm not telling you that the PS2 is a bad tire, it most certainly is a good tire. Its just slightly older technology, and Michelin is too proud of them as far as what they charge (they are still aware of the tires reputation, and cashing in on it even though other tires have surpassed it). If I was going to overpay for the Michelin brand name, I would at least get their latest and greatest tire, the Pilot Super sport.

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Hi Po Street Tire Recommendations for C5 Z06

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