Attention ZL1 owners-to-be! Cold-Weather Bulletin on Eagle F1 G:2 tires

[Mr. Wyndham]

We recieved a clarification to the questions that have been asked about cold-weather storage of the Ultra-High Performance tires that come equipped on the ZL1 from the factory.

Fbodfather mentioned this earlier today, but I wanted to stick it in a thread of its own, too.

Please note that this informational bulletin is from Goodyear, the manufacturer of the tires, and not General Motors directly.

**Also, I would highly recommend you read through the full bulletin and not take the picture alone at face-value.

[hairtrigger]

Thanks for that Dragoneye.
In all my years of competition I have never seen glass shattered tires from such a moderate temp.
Never did like Goodyear tires.

[Mr. Wyndham]

For what it's worth, I also received this message from Goodyear after a personal info request about the ZL1 tires a few weeks ago...it seems to me to be a copy/paste from a standard tire-care literature. Possibly the "Proper Procedures for the storage of tires" bit they mention above.

Thanks for contacting our website.

The best place to store tires is in a clean, dry, sunless area away from
strong air currents. Even though the rubber used to make tires is
formulated to resist effects of sunlight, ozone and water, the life of a
tire can be extended if exposure of these elements is minimized during
storage.

Stack tires flat so that the bottom tire will maintain its shape
Wrap each tire with an opaque polyethylene covering to minimize the
effects of oxygen and ozone. Most Goodyear retailers have storage bags
made specifically for this purpose
If tires are being stored outdoors, they should be raised off the
storage surface
If tires are being stored while mounted on rims, they should be inflated
to 10 psi
If they are put in storage during warm weather, the initial inflation
pressure should be about 15 psi to offset the pressure drop during cold
weather months

How Not To Store Your Tires

Don't store tires in an area that is wet, oily or greasy
Don't store tires where they are subject to direct sunlight or extreme
temperatures
Don't store tires near electric motors or other ozone-generating sources
Don't store tires on black asphalt or other heat-absorbent surfaces
Don't store tires on or adjacent to highly reflective surfaces such as
sand or snow

If you plan on storing your tires on the vehicle, we recommend inflating
the tires to the maximum inflation stated on the sidewall of the tire,
and moving the vehicle a few inches every couple of weeks ( to change
the footprint)so that it doesn't develop flat spots.

Barbara Hummel
Consumer Relations

I don't foresee a huge issue. The lacerations, imo, would only be caused by extreme amounts of heating/cooling cycles during the few truly arctic weeks of winter, probably coupled with dry air, ozone, etc....they look tortured, not made of glass, imo.

Based on all this info...I'll store it somewhere dry (ie, not outdoors), and inflate them to max pressure. Roll the car 1/8 wheel-turn every month until the snow melts.

[Scarrzz]

I was slightly relieved to read the bit about (paraphrasing) "If the [stored] tires have been exposed to temperatures less than 20° F, let them warm up to a minimum of 40° for at least 24 hours."

That would seem to indicate to me that the rubber wouldn't be damaged by the cold temps as long as it was allowed to warm up properly before being put under stress.

Even in El Paso last winter we had three consecutive nights where the temp got down to 3-5 degrees below zero. My garage was below 20° F.

If I have to I can move to Florida... I like the beach, but then - SUDDENLY: Salt !

[Shurenuff]

Originally Posted by Dragoneye

For what it's worth, I also received this message from Goodyear after a personal info request about the ZL1 tires a few weeks ago...it seems to me to be a copy/paste from a standard tire-care literature. Possibly the "Proper Procedures for the storage of tires" bit they mention above.



I don't foresee a huge issue. The lacerations, imo, would only be caused by extreme amounts of heating/cooling cycles during the few truly arctic weeks of winter, probably coupled with dry air, ozone, etc....they look tortured, not made of glass, imo.

Based on all this info...I'll store it somewhere dry (ie, not outdoors), and inflate them to max pressure. Roll the car 1/8 wheel-turn every month until the snow melts.

Good post.

My only concern was cold weather storage when the tire is on the vehicle, not off like this bulletin describes. It's still a little cloudy in regards to that subject.

I'm going to do the same thing as you, inflate them to max, and not worry about it. I may even invest in these

http://www.raceramps.com/flatstoppers.aspx

I don't think this is going to be an issue, but I'm sure it would be a good idea for everyone to visually inspect their tires after a winter storage just in case.

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by Shurenuff

Good post.

My only concern was cold weather storage when the tire is on the vehicle, not off like this bulletin describes. It's still a little cloudy in regards to that subject.

I'm going to do the same thing as you, inflate them to max, and not worry about it. I may even invest in these

http://www.raceramps.com/flatstoppers.aspx

I don't think this is going to be an issue, but I'm sure it would be a good idea for everyone to visually inspect their tires after a winter storage just in case.

Pricey...but those look like a great idea I'll have to look into!

[506JTF]

This is kind of a letdown but I am glad you guys are bringing attention to this matter. Does GM recommend a tire for all season use that would work well on the zl1, have they tested any other tire combinations? I don't wanna sound like a jerk when I say this but I guess GM assumes that if you buy a 50k plus vehicle and want to drive it conditions not suitable for the stock tires, you can afford replacements or an alternate set? Seems fair!

[SSMickey]

Just looked on tire rack and noticed there are no all season tires for the rear. There are a few choices for the front. Any ideas? Maybe run the same size all around for winter? Of course this would mean buying another set of front wheels.

[2012ZL1]

Car is designed as a performance car not a winter car. It is not intended as a daily driver by design

[mlee]

Originally Posted by 2012ZL1

Car is designed as a performance car not a winter car. It is not intended as a daily driver by design

But winter is when some of us get the best performance...

[collins motorsport]

So if we have an indoor space to store the car but it isn't heated then our first set of tires is basically screwed?

[Z4me]

Saved this thread under favorites, thank you for posting this.

I've planned from the start to have my car stored away for the winter time anyways. But now is the concern about how the tires will hold up during the winter months. It can get pretty cold at times around here.
Now I'm thinking I need to find a heated storage unit and keep the tires
on. Or take the rim and tires off and place them inside, and place the car on some kind ramp that does not require tires. Third option like others have said is to buy the other set of rims and hope that some kind of winter tires would work. But that gets kinda pricey.

Again thx for the post, I'm hoping my car will arrive to me after all the cold weather is gone for this winter season.

[ShnOmac]

This thread is Sticky worthy!

[Rice Killer]

Originally Posted by ShnOmac

This thread is Sticky worthy!