FaunaClassifieds - New wheels on the C5 Z06

So the tires on the C5 Z06 were getting some cracking on the edges, likely from being old and I started thinking I should be looking around for some new tires before I get stranded somewhere with a blown tire. I bought them 7 years ago, used, from a guy who had wrecked his camaro. My car was in a shop, and the owner was complaining that the tires I had on the car were old and hardened, so he was having a lot of trouble getting traction on the dyno to get a good reading. So the guy with the camaro posted an ad on my corvette forum selling the tires and wheels for a decent price, claiming they were perfect, so I figured this would solve the problem with my currently old and hardened tires.

Well, the wheels (a clear coated aluminum) were not as "perfect" as the guy had claimed, but for the price, they would do. They also had mismatched tires on the wheels, with the front tires being slightly smaller than what comes stock, and a different brand and tread style from the rears. But still, I thought I needed to do SOMETHING, so I bought them anyway.

Then come to find out that the shop suddenly seemed to not really need those new tires once I had them. It dawned on me that he wanted me to buy HIS tires he was selling. Silly me.... So anyway, the chromed wheels I had on the car while they were in the shop got ruined because the guy left my car out in the elements for the year he had it. The chrome was bubbling up in places, and just got to be real ratty looking. So I put the "new" ones on, since the wheels were now in better shape than the ones I had on the car. And, of course, the tires were newer too.

And they were just fine for the past 7 years. But now these tires were getting old and apparently developing cracks at the edges of the tread pattern. Now, bear in mind that the Corvettes don't have spare tires. And the C5 Z06 does not even have "run-flat" tires like the hatchback and convertible (nor the newer generations) does. What you DO have is an air pump and a can of fix-a-flat in the trunk. Yeah, there are a lot of things that can happen to a tire where that won't help you even one little bit. Not to mention that it is not at all likely that ANYONE locally will have that tire size in stock. So it behooves you to keep good rubber on the road.

Come to find out that the tire sizes for the C5 Z06 are pretty much unique for that vehicle. And selections are getting slimmer and slimmer every year the further back in history that model generation gets. They are 17 inch wheels in front, and 18 inch wheels in back. Yeah, that is right. No tire rotations on this puppy. Anyway, I found that if I went to the option of 18 inch wheels on front, and 19 inch wheels in back, the tire selection got a whole lot better. Since I wasn't that crazy about those wheels that came off of the crashed camaro anyway, I figured I might as well just bite the bullet now and replace the wheels and the tires.

Besides, buying a wheel and tire combo, I just have them shipped to me, put the car up on my lift, yank off the old wheels, and put on the new ones. Done. Theoretically, anyway. Well, it didn't exactly work out that way, but you can see where that would be better than dragging two vehicles to a local tire shop, leaving the wheels and car with some guys that aren't likely to give a damn whether they chip up the wheels (or your fender) putting the tires on them, and taking all day to do that. So I had to just find a wheel design I liked and which tires seemed to be best for my vehicle, and have them delivered here.

So that is what I did.

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/new_wheels_01.jpg

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/new_wheels_02.jpg

I had to wind up pulling out the wheel well liners to remove the brake cooling air ducts, as the new tires were rubbing against them, but what the heck. I don't track the car anyway, so it won't be a problem without them. I don't see any reason that my rear brakes will ever get hot enough to need that extra cooling. And it's not like you can see those ducts anyway.

Of course, we have been getting LOTS of rain the last few days, and no way I am taking the car out to mud bog down our road, so it's going to be a while before I can take it out for a test drive. But at least I can go into the garage and look at how nice the car looks now. :hehe: