The Official C8 Corvette Thread...

[r0tor]

Cold tires on a MR car is scary as shit especially if it doesn't have a lot of nanny controls.  Going sideways on the RX8 was super easy to control though.

That's why I wonder how many C8s will be in trees

[giant_mtb]

So........the A/S tires are a good choice then.......lol

[Soup DeVille]

That's why I wonder how many C8s will be in trees

Watched an old dude in a C7 pull a Cars And Coffee today trying to get out of Starbucks.

Yeah, can't wait to see the C8 butcher's bill.

[NomisR]

Yeah, really depends on the car.  Granted, it's not the same, but in Gran Turismo, I was always awful with a Lotus Elise.  I could never play at the limit with it very well.

I've lost it a few times with the Elise on the track, one time it was not having been on the track in a while and I was lifting on corners on my first run, I spun out on the 3rd corner... went out checked the car, came back and spun out again on the same corner.. it was embarrassing.   

[NomisR]

That's why I wonder how many C8s will be in trees

Watched an old dude in a C7 pull a Cars And Coffee today trying to get out of Starbucks.

Yeah, can't wait to see the C8 butcher's bill.

Might not be as bad with all the electronic assist stuff that these cars has.

[12,000 RPM]

Might not be as bad with all the electronic assist stuff that these cars has.

They shut that shit off before putting on the seat belt

And yeah low polar moment + short wheelbase is no good for drifts. My favorite drift cars on Forza were big sedans

[Eye of the Tiger]

Stability control systems should come with a Cars&Covfefe mode.

[Raza]

Yeah, really depends on the car.  Granted, it's not the same, but in Gran Turismo, I was always awful with a Lotus Elise.  I could never play at the limit with it very well.

It's the short wheelbase.  Makes things happen a lot faster. 

[Raza]

That's why I wonder how many C8s will be in trees

Not that many, I'd bet.  I assume it'll have a pretty advanced stability and traction control system.

[Raza]

Watched an old dude in a C7 pull a Cars And Coffee today trying to get out of Starbucks.

Yeah, can't wait to see the C8 butcher's bill.

"Pull a Cars And Coffee"?

[Eye of the Tiger]

"Pull a Cars And Coffee"?

I assume it means applying too much throttle, combined with the wrong steering input.

[Payman]

Cars-n-coffee'd verb - The act of crashing into an object, usually a tree, lamp post, or pedestrians, due to the act of showing off by driving in a manner beyond his/her actual driving skills, usually while entering a street from a parking lot. See douchebaggery, Mustang GT.

[BimmerM3]

https://youtu.be/kgzP__qjxrk

[Soup DeVille]

Cars-n-coffee'd verb - The act of crashing into an object, usually a tree, lamp post, or pedestrians, due to the act of showing off by driving in a manner beyond his/her actual driving skills, usually while entering a street from a parking lot. See douchebaggery, Mustang GT.

Now part of my permanent lexicon.

[MX793]

Not so sure about that - ever drive grandpa's '62 Ford truck with 3 on-on-the tree and no synchros ?

Once the first modern AT hit the (the Chrysler TorqueFlight 904 and 727) in the early '60s, the AT definitely pulled ahead, esp. for the dominant craft of the day (drag racing). To that point M/Ts were basically tractor leftovers. Once more modern and robust M/Ts (4 speeds, synchros) hit the scene it was closer, but still, for the craft of the day, a well prepped AT was always faster and more consistent. Once the 5 speed hit the scene in the '80s the M/T took back the crown until the DCT/ZF 8 speed hit the scene ~10 years ago, it's been the AT since.

Grand dad doesn't have a '62 Ford truck.  He's got a '65 Impala 283 with a 3 on the tree that I've driven.  Wasn't that bad once I figured out the shift pattern.  The lousy brakes and slow steering rack jump out at me more than the transmission.

[Laconian]

Jay Leno is deeeeep into FOG territory now. That video depressed me.

[CaminoRacer]

The tirade against UHP A/S is dumb. If you're reaching the limits of those tires on the street you deserve a reckless driving ticket. The only place you're gonna notice the extra grip of good summer tires is AutoX or a track. In which case you should be on better tires than P4Ss or whatever anyway.

[Eye of the Tiger]

The tirade against UHP A/S is dumb. If you're reaching the limits of those tires on the street you deserve a reckless driving ticket. The only place you're gonna notice the extra grip of good summer tires is AutoX or a track. In which case you should be on better tires than P4Ss or whatever anyway.

With logic like that, everyone should be driving Geo Metros with 155/80/12 tires.

[GoCougs]

The tirade against UHP A/S is dumb. If you're reaching the limits of those tires on the street you deserve a reckless driving ticket. The only place you're gonna notice the extra grip of good summer tires is AutoX or a track. In which case you should be on better tires than P4Ss or whatever anyway.

I'm not a fan of summer tires at all, but there is a difference beyond grip, even at just 5/10ths. A/S and the like definitely will have tread block squirm for example, and it is noticeable.

[Raza]

Cars-n-coffee'd verb - The act of crashing into an object, usually a tree, lamp post, or pedestrians, due to the act of showing off by driving in a manner beyond his/her actual driving skills, usually while entering a street from a parking lot. See douchebaggery, Mustang GT.

Ah.

[SJ_GTI]

The tirade against UHP A/S is dumb. If you're reaching the limits of those tires on the street you deserve a reckless driving ticket. The only place you're gonna notice the extra grip of good summer tires is AutoX or a track. In which case you should be on better tires than P4Ss or whatever anyway.

Genuine question: Is this oversimplifying the difference?

For example, you could make the same claim about most parts of the car. If you aren't pushing [x component] past its limits you really don't need anything more. I can see this being the case for some things (alternator, coolant, etc...) but not the case for others (engine, transmission, suspension).

To me, I have always placed tires in the second category. Even if you aren't pushing the maximum adhesion limits, different tires still impact how the car drives. I can certainly imagine a situation in where just the maximum grip doesn't tell the whole story of how a tire will perform on the street...but who knows I could be wrong.

The trick for me, as someone tire shopping right now, is that I can't test drive different tires. I have to pick them based on reviews and expectations combined with my past experience with other tires. IME, all-season tires are squishier and have less grip than summer tires. Maybe the newest A/S tires are better...but since I can't really test them myself I am hesitant to buy them because I KNOW how good summer tires will perform and I KNOW I will be happy. It would be nice to have year round tires that perform as good as summer tires but can also be used safely during the winter...it just seems like one of those things that are "too good to be true" to me.

[ChrisV]

I'v spent some time on UHP AS tires (both BMWs have them) and what they offer for the street is better, more progressive breakaway at the limit which is easier to catch, and yes, lower overall limits, but higher than you really need on the street. Along with better grip and feel in lower temps or in the wet. I've driven serious autocross tires on the street as well as UHP Summers, and the snap transition from grip to no grip, while at higher limits, is much more dangerous for most drivers. And I can imagine that in a ME car like the C8, that would be a death sentence on the street.

I'd rather the tires communicate predictably and clearly what's happening, as well as have a much more progressive breakaway at the limit, than just "grip, grip, grip" and then "oh, sorry, you got nothing."

This is also why cars like the Miata have always been considered so much fun on the street vs much higher performance cars. The limits are lower, but they are more approachable and fun to drive at than many more "capable" cars on paper.

[CaminoRacer]

Genuine question: Is this oversimplifying the difference?

For example, you could make the same claim about most parts of the car. If you aren't pushing [x component] past its limits you really don't need anything more. I can see this being the case for some things (alternator, coolant, etc...) but not the case for others (engine, transmission, suspension).

To me, I have always placed tires in the second category. Even if you aren't pushing the maximum adhesion limits, different tires still impact how the car drives. I can certainly imagine a situation in where just the maximum grip doesn't tell the whole story of how a tire will perform on the street...but who knows I could be wrong.

The trick for me, as someone tire shopping right now, is that I can't test drive different tires. I have to pick them based on reviews and expectations combined with my past experience with other tires. IME, all-season tires are squishier and have less grip than summer tires. Maybe the newest A/S tires are better...but since I can't really test them myself I am hesitant to buy them because I KNOW how good summer tires will perform and I KNOW I will be happy. It would be nice to have year round tires that perform as good as summer tires but can also be used safely during the winter...it just seems like one of those things that are "too good to be true" to me.

I've had 3 different tires on the El Camino.

Conti AWS
BFG Comp 2 A/S
Bridgestone RE-71R

The Contis had a bit of a squishy sidewall. I liked the BFGs on the front better, since they had a stiffer sidewall and helped the steering feel more direct.

I can't really tell the difference between the BFGs and the RE-71Rs at normal speeds. Steering feel is similar. Except the RE-71Rs are louder, kick up rocks, and wear twice as fast. They are way faster for AutoX, but on the street the BFGs are a better tire. And if the RE-71Rs don't transform the car's street performance, a PSS isn't going to either.

I know a few other people rocking the BFG Comp 2 A/S and they love them as well. They actually do pretty well for AutoX too, given the compound.

[12,000 RPM]

Only time I really felt the squishiness of the DWS06s was in the hard braking zone of that fated track day (not where I crashed, wasn't braking then)

On the street the squishiness might have explained the vaguish steering feel but they were no worse than the stock tires the S came on

Plus we have to remember in terms of feel tires are one piece in a long chain of components. I suppose they are easier to change than suspension parts, but overall I'd say suspension has a much greater overall effect on feel than tires. Going straight or making light turns all tires prob feel the same outside of bumps and noise. But you feel the suspension all the time.

In any case SJ_GTI already bought his tires and in his case with the R in the garage he can keep summers on the Z3. But for only one car I still think 1 set of tires that can cover the 4 seasons you deal with is ideal

[CaminoRacer]

I agree, because switching tires is a PITA. I've kept the RE's on the El Camino because I'm too lazy to switch them for events and switch back after.

[SJ_GTI]

I mean, maybe because I have the space to keep extra wheels/tires handy in my garage the notion of switching them out never struck me as onerous. Even before I had a garage I kept them in my basement (when I lived in an apartment I kept them in a random corner somewhere). I feel like changing wheels is maybe the easiest of things you can do to a car. Anyone can do it and it isn't particularly time consuming.

[giant_mtb]

Especially if your second set of tires is already mounted on its own set of wheels...then you don't have to take it into a shop or anything.  Just swap 'em out in the driveway and make sure they have enough air.

[BimmerM3]

If you do a lot of street and event driving, I can see how swapping tires on/off all the time would be annoying. But once every 6 months isn't a big deal.

[12,000 RPM]

The less fiddling I can do with a car the better

Only time I ever want to take tires off is to do a brake job

[BimmerM3]

The less fiddling I can do with a car the better

Only time I ever want to take tires off is to do a brake job

Oh, how times have changed.

It's definitely area dependent as well. It'd be silly to have dedicated snow tires in NC for like the 3 times a year it actually snows.

I ran summers year round in Georgia. Just gotta take it easy when it's really cold, and stay home for the occasional snow/ice storm.