[C7Jake]

GM SERVICE BULLETIN #04-03-10-013
☛WARNING
If temps drop below 20°F/−7°C, don't move a '14 Corvette
CRACKED TIRES SHOULD BE REPLACED IMMEDIATELY
Should GM risk shipping cars in these temps?
Warning isn't noted in the C7 owner's manual.

 

[edvossen]

Summer tires, cannot be moved below freezing. Michelin was supposed to have winter tires within month or two. We were told of this problem when at Spring Mountain in November.


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[rdslon01]

I suspected that trying to prevent this from happening is why some shipments of Corvettes have been delayed. Does GM eat this, or will the shipping company be responsible for paying for replacement tires? Those in the know: what are your thoughts?

 

[edvossen]

As mentioned above we were warned not to even move vehicles on lot when temps were at freezing or below. Not GMs fault.


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[Orange 5814]

I'm going to have to take a close look at mine. She arrived earlier this week, it was below zero. Ugh.

 

[C7Driver]

I will be adding this to my check list as my Stingray was built on Feb. 11 and will be arriving in several weeks. It's cold here with snow in the forecast. With my luck I'll be driving it home during below 32 degree temps.

 

[C7Jake]

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° & below)
• Cold (46.4°F to 32°)
• Warm (46.4°F to 104°F)
• Hot (above 104°F)
• Overheated
If driven when FROZEN indicator is ON, COSMETIC CRACKS may appear
in the sidewalls which won't affect tire performance/longevity.

 

[CruznCorvette]

4 degrees here, non Z51, no cracks, tires look fine.

 

[Crawler]

ZL1 ans 1LE Camaros are produced in Canada, GM actually won't allow us to order those particular cars in the dead of winter for this exact reason. Since Stingrays are in such high demand and most people wouldn't accept that the cars shouldn't be moved in Freezing temps, they're still being shipped out. JMO

 

[zimm888]

That is unbelievable, totally would rather another tire if this is going to be common. My garage is not heated, what a bummer. I roll my car around to avoid flat spots at the moment, is that going to be a problem?

What if the temp drops real low at night when you're out on the town, can't drive home? This is pretty nuts.

 

[mjw930]

That is unbelievable, totally would rather another tire if this is going to be common. My garage is not heated, what a bummer. I roll my car around to avoid flat spots at the moment, is that going to be a problem?

What if the temp drops real low at night when you're out on the town, can't drive home? This is pretty nuts.

It sounds like you need to plan on replacing the summer tires with a decent all season from the get go.

It really is not uncommon for sports cars to be delivered with summer only tires, all the manufacturers of true sports cars do it and buyers in places where the cold will be a problem usually purchase a second set of tires at a minimum. Many buy a complete wheel, tire combo so they are easy to swap out. I've been doing this with my Porsche's for over 2 decades.

What's really exacerbated the situation are the new compounds that will actually crack in colder temps. That's a recent phenomenon where up till now it was mostly for performance that people made the switch.

Another thing to consider is these tires are designed specifically for this car. The suspension is calibrated to their characteristics. If they offered multiple tire configurations it would mean modifying the setup to accommodate all variations which in the end takes performance away that many would be unwilling to see go, me being one of them. In addition, it means dealers would then need to consider yet another variable in their ordered for stock cars. It would kind of suck if they lost a sale because the car they stocked had the wrong tire for the customer waving cash at them.

 

[zimm888]

I agree with most of your points Mark, but it's still pretty nuts that these new compounds can literally just crack from temperature alone. Hopefully they develop something to reduce the possibility of this, there's going to be a lot of pissed off people getting caught off guard. It sounds like just moving the car on the lot created those cracks, that's a little much in my opinion. I'd consider a set of winter wheels/tires but my plan was to make it a 3 season car. I might have to now, just sucks to go through the hassle of swapping out every winter and laying out the cash for a set that I'm going to use to park the car on, and for the 1-2 weeks as the winter begins and ends. I checked today, fortunately no cracks at all. All I've been doing is moving it back and forth a foot or two in the garage.

It sounds like you need to plan on replacing the summer tires with a decent all season from the get go.

It really is not uncommon for sports cars to be delivered with summer only tires, all the manufacturers of true sports cars do it and buyers in places where the cold will be a problem usually purchase a second set of tires at a minimum. Many buy a complete wheel, tire combo so they are easy to swap out. I've been doing this with my Porsche's for over 2 decades.

What's really exacerbated the situation are the new compounds that will actually crack in colder temps. That's a recent phenomenon where up till now it was mostly for performance that people made the switch.

Another thing to consider is these tires are designed specifically for this car. The suspension is calibrated to their characteristics. If they offered multiple tire configurations it would mean modifying the setup to accommodate all variations which in the end takes performance away that many would be unwilling to see go, me being one of them. In addition, it means dealers would then need to consider yet another variable in their ordered for stock cars. It would kind of suck if they lost a sale because the car they stocked had the wrong tire for the customer waving cash at them.

 

[mjw930]

I think there are 2 temperature regimes to be concerned with. The first being sub 40 F where the performance drops off rapidly and some lower number, possible sub 0 F where the compound appears to become brittle. If the garage you are rolling the car around in is above 0 F then it's unlikely to cause damage. If you do live in a place where it gets sub 0 for extended periods of time and you are worried about flat spots then a tire cradle is your best bet (Welcome to TireCradle). If you need to be able to move the car the EZ VJack is pretty ingenious (http://www.ezvjack.com/)

 

[Bigdog]

Summer tires, cannot be moved below freezing. Michelin was supposed to have winter tires within month or two. We were told of this problem when at Spring Mountain in November.


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They make a tire NOW and have for many months. These are what I run and they are great on wet roads and light snow.
The Pilot Sport A/S Plus ZP (Zero Pressure) is the Ultra High Performance All-Season run-flat tire

 

[GQ4Life]

Someone must of been speeding on really cold tires.

Mine indicator never said frozen even in one degree. Under 32° it says cold. Anything above 32° it says warm

 

[Fdxpilot]

That photo is from a C7 delivered in Canada, Calgary if IIRC. Realize that temps in that area have gone down to -30 to -40 deg F at times. While GM is definitely hedging their bets with the warning, I'm not surprised that a Max Performance Summer tire would crack at -30 deg F. We have driven our non-Z51 C7 in 20 deg temps with not much problem, beyond a lot of Traction Control intervention if you stomp on it too hard.


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[Trueblue]

We were never warned that the tires could be damaged by movement in cold temperatures. If mine have cracks I will expect a free replacement with something that isn't so fragile. I wonder if a recall is in the works? Is this a safety issue?

 

[mjw930]

We were never warned that the tires could be damaged by movement in cold temperatures.

There was a warning published for the Camaro but I don't know if there is one for the C7.

If mine have cracks I will expect a free replacement with something that isn't so fragile.

I believe this is exactly what is happening for the one customer we have seen pictures of in this thread but the car was like this before he took delivery

I wonder if a recall is in the works? Is this a safety issue?

No, there will be no recall as this is cosmetic only, the tires will work, even cracked but I'm sure there capabilities are significantly diminished

Keep in mind that we have only seen ONE documented case of this from a place where it's documented the temperatures were at or below -30F. There are literally thousands of C7's with these compounds all over the northern US with no reported issues.

Also, if you live in areas where it gets this cold then be honest, this isn't the first tire you've seen crack from the temps. Hell, at these temperatures steel become brittle........

 

[C7 Stuart]

This is helpful Jake - I am interested to see how this plays out. I just ordered my new Corvette and believe I saw yours at the dealership the day before placing my order (small world). Stay in touch, I will be doing some research on the tires as I will need them in the spring and fall as I plan to get the most out of our shortened driving season. I plan to have another set of wheels and rims for this.

 

[Blue C7]

Do the base tires crack also?