Warning - c7 z51 cracked tire treads

  • Thread starter Thread starter C7Jake
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Explain this from a recent thread...
Five new C7's on a dealer lot in Florida, all with small cracks in tires.
 
C7Jake said:
Explain this from a recent thread...
Five new C7's on a dealer lot in Florida, all with small cracks in tires.
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Where were the cars shipped from? Where were they stored? Have we seen pictures showing the cracks? Other than Alberta and a few anecdotal stories from Florida, this hasn't been reported anywhere else. We don't have a history on the cars that someone reported had cracks.

If there was a defect in the tire, you can be damn sure Michelin/GM would have done a recall by now. There are not a lot of Z51 PSS out there yet and it wouldn't cost Michelin/GM near as much to do this as it would having someone in a car killed on a track from a cracked tire failure.

I contend this is simply a function of the design as it is also seen on other tire brands on similar types of tires. This is becoming a somewhat Chicken Little... but, hey, maybe I'm wrong and the sky is, in fact, falling :D
 
gthal said:
I don't believe this is a flaw in the tire... which is what I believe some might be suggesting.

It is a characteristic of the rubber compound used/needed to get such a high level of warm weather performance. There are other tires (Yokohama AD-08 comes to mind) with similar warnings around exposure to cold. The tire is specifically designed for a purpose (exceptionally high performance in summer/dry conditions) and the compound cannot deal with extreme cold for this reason. GY also has tires with similar temperature warnings... again, no flaw as it is a result of a specific type of design.

I also understand that tires with cracks have been replaced under warranty. If one of these tires is cracked it is because the car was exposed to temps that were very low.

Some people will argue that it should not be used on the car but my personal view is these are the right tires for the car given what it is. If someone wants a tire that is more versatile in a wider range of temps (with a sacrifice in summer performance) they can always switch out to an all season.
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Do you think that there is a reason then for concerns for the Michelin tires on our cars that are stored for the never ending winter in a cold garage? Do I need to take the wheels and tires off and store them in a heated area? Too expensive to take chances with I guess.
 
Black 03 Z06 said:
Do you think that there is a reason then for concerns for the Michelin tires on our cars that are stored for the never ending winter in a cold garage? Do I need to take the wheels and tires off and store them in a heated area? Too expensive to take chances with I guess.
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I think GM has said it's only an issue if they are below -7c. My attached garage isn't heated (well, I should say I turn the heat off) and even when it was -15c outside last night my garage didn't go below 0c. If it were a detached garage where the inside temp got really cold, it could be an issue IMO.

Having said that, other than GM's guidance on the tires freezing below -7c, everything else here at this point is somewhat speculation.
 
gthal, whatever the temperature is outside it actually feels colder inside my garage, it is not heated at all. Based on that I think come next winter that I will put the Michelins in the heated basement and put the original Goodyears back on just for garage storage. Thanks for the input.
 
I understand your point of view but if you read Navion post about his road test of a C7 in Florida, all the corvettes (5) on the dealer lot had cracks so I am not sure about only a cold weather problem.

On the Goodyear case about the Maxima, it was in early 2000 and the problem was there in summer too and it was on some serial numbers only, it was a problem whit a batch of tires not on the complete production of this part number

The plane is waiting for me so as the the sand on the beach

Stephane :seeya:
 
theboss said:
I understand your point of view but if you read Navion post about his road test of a C7 in Florida, all the corvettes (5) on the dealer lot had cracks so I am not sure about only a cold weather problem.

On the Goodyear case about the Maxima, it was in early 2000 and the problem was there in summer too and it was on some serial numbers only, it was a problem whit a batch of tires not on the complete production of this part number

The plane is waiting for me so as the the sand on the beach

Stephane :seeya:
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I hear you for sure.

At the end of the day, who knows what is going on with those tires. Having said that, it is the only report... to date... outside of Alberta. It would seem to me that if the tires in general were bad or there was a large, bad batch we would hear lots more on this given the 17,000+ cars already sold.

All I'm suggesting is that the most reasonable conclusion, at the moment anyway, is that we are seeing a few cracked tires which is exactly what GM warns of and that is an issue with the aggressive race rubber compound used on the Z51 PSS. Given there are only 2 reports (Alberta and the one from Navion which hasn't been confirmed) from the huge number of cars out there, it just seems unlikely to me, at the moment, that it is anything more sinister than a cold tire issue.

Having said that, who knows... maybe it is a defect but I just don't see it based on what we know today given the very plausible and known reason that is out there and the small number of reports of issues (especially without confirmation or background on those cars).
 
I myself have believe what Navion had to say about the tires. I only say this as he saw the tires himself and didn't hear it from a friends who heard something. However, I have to agree that we don't know where the cars came from, the condition of the storage or any information before the cars showed up at the dealership.

It is quite plausible that Michelin had a bad batch of tires as this is a pretty new tire technology with dual compounds being softer on the outside than in the inside (towards the center of the car). To me this sounds like with cold temperatures, the tire is going to have an uneven stress throughout the tread as the belts and rubber shrink at different rates. This is only compounded due to the different amount of rubber along the tread surface where it is thinner in the middle and thicker at the sides with the tread creating a perfect opportunity for stress concentrations. If the chemistry was a bit off on one batch and the tires hit cold temperatures, I could see the stress causing the rubber to split.

It sort of sucks if this is possible on normal tires because only a lucky few can afford heated storage or a second set of wheels for the storage period if the car has to be in the cold, however, as stated, we don't know enough and this may be an isolated grouping of tires.

The biggest thing I think is don't stress about this until your tires split, and if they do, they'll get replaced. At least the cracks happen on the outside and not inside the carcass. That would be scary!
 
theboss said:
At least the cracks happen on the outside and not inside the carcass. That would be scary!
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:agree: And hard to notice[/QUOTE]

GM is concerned about it. You can bet it's serious enough. If I had one with crap tires on it - It would get one more careful drive : straight to the dealer.

He then could take it to a tire shop or get it fixed however he pleases.

Call me when it's finished.:D

C.
 
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