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Warning - c7 z51 cracked tire treads

You might perhaps expect that in a 15-20 year old tire. The 40 year old Uniroyals on our old Chevelle looked better than that, not that I would drive on them either. This will certainly turn me off buying the Michelin Pilot Super Sport ZP tires if this is what we will be running into. I'm in the process of cleaning up my two sets of Goodyear Runcraps as everyone calls them. Nine years old and no cracking at all. Perhaps they are not all that crappy after all. I got a price last year of about $1700 for four Michelin non-runflat tires mounted and balanced on our Corvette. I wouldn't even accept this from a hundred dollar tire never mind a $350 tire. You might want to run this tire past Michelin to see what kind of a response you get.
 
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I saw on the Tire Rack site that these tires are not available to purchase until the end of March 2014. I wonder if they know there is a problem.

Wonder what happens to these tires on cars sitting on dollies etc. in cold storage?

Expensive scary.
 
If these tires are so fragile that cold storage would harm them, then I don't want any part of them. Just give me ordinary old passenger car quality. They last. Better still, I'll just stick with my Goodyear Runcraps that we all put down all the time. I can tolerate the harsh ride and tire noise a lot more than tires disintegrating on the highway.
 
My guess is that it is a freeze/thaw cycle that has done these cars in. I saw this on some Mustangs as well when I was at the Ford dealership (for my wife not me! ). I see new tires in your future. Sort of makes me scared to store my vehicle in a non heated environment! :ekk:
 
Cracks appear to start in the tread, creeping towards sidewalls.
The fact is that these cracks are appearing at dealerships in new, undelivered cars.
GM is well aware of the issue, yet still delivers cars in extreme cold conditions.
A suitable zero pressure all weather tire should be a factory option.

2014 Corvette MYLINK page 39
C7 tire temp is determined through a variety of parameters including the TPMS
& an algorithm based on ambient temp, solar load & tire tread thickness.
Temp readouts:
• Frozen (32
 
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Other maximum performance summer tires have a similar issue at extreme temps. The rubber compound is designed to manage heat and not extreme cold. If someone wants the non-Z51 PSS tires, they are likely less prone to this as they don't have the more aggressive compound.

As C7Jake noted, the cracks are cosmetic only (although I would still insist they be changed myself) and just demonstrates the need to have a summer and winter tire compound on the car.

GM's mistake was allowing delivery of Z51 cars to extreme climates (-20 deg) which would make this an issue. I am not aware of seeing this on cars delivered in other cold but less extreme areas (NY, NJ, etc).

Wait until you see what happens to the Cup tires on the Z06 in extreme cold The might implode or something
 
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I just checked Tire Rack and the Z51 tire is in stock and ready to ship.

There is no "problem" people

This is a characteristic of the rubber compound used on extreme tires. The Yokohama AD-08 also warns of the same thing. It's a choice between summer performance and winter use. If you want the ultimate summer traction, this is the compromise you make. If you want an all season compromise then it would be easy to swap out to a no-season tire

The regular PSS tire (non-Z51) has never been reported to have this issue as it doesn't have the more aggressive compound.
 
I guess I should have been specific about the tire size when I made that comment. The Michelin Pilot Super Sport 305/30/19 inventory item at Tire Rack says unavailable until the end of March 2014. Sorry for any confusion.

Still think that there is a problem with this tire, can't believe with even with an ultra sticky compound that it should crack like that. If you take delivery of the car in the winter how do you get it home without damaging the tires? Just asking.
 

Agreed. Any obvious damage is very disturbing. An appropriate replacement should be installed.
Doug might be onto something there -- test drives either at the factory or dealer may have caused this.

Scary and unacceptable for sure.

C.
 
I don't drive the Corvette in the winter and I can't imagine anyone doing it. Mile wide tires and no ground clearance would be a nightmare. I could very easily sell it and go back to a Chevelle. No problem with discontinued parts. Simple to repair. Even I can do them myself. Tires are not in the insane price range and last, No on going active handling problems that no one seems to be able to figure out. Just the amount of electronics in these cars boggles the minds of mechanics let alone me. We thoroughly enjoy our Corvette but things are starting to worry me about these cars. Anyone know of a GOOD Chevelle for trade?
 

that's one of the primo reasons i like my shark so much. highest tech stuff on it is the h.e.i. distributor. as far as hot cars go i will go older rather than newer, but that's just me. bottom line......go with what pleases you.
 
A friend has a '69 390 hp 4 speed 427 Corvette in his collection of cars. The engine just had a stock rebuild a couple of years ago. HMMMMMMM. A little arm twisting might do the trick. Will be going out for supper with them this evening.
 
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