Michelin Advises Corvette Z06 Owners Not to Move the Car in the Cold

Over the past few months, new owners have been taking delivery of the 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and while those folks up north are getting their new supercar with the knowledge that they will be tucking it away until the snow has cleared, there are some people in warmer climates who are getting to enjoy their new Corvette right away. At least, those folks thought that they would be getting to enjoy their new Z06 right away, until they found massive cracks where the sidewall of the Michelin Pilot Super Sport Cut 2 tires meets the soft, sticky tread.

Cracking Tires on the new Z06
Discussions have been popping up all over the internet with owners of the new Corvette Z06 complaining that they are finding a substantial number of very large cracks that run from the sidewall to the tread area of the Michelin Pilot Super Sport Cup 2 tires that are included in the new Z07 performance package. The image above was posted on CorvetteForum.com by member sdtoothdoc, who recently took delivery of his 650 horsepower Chevy in San Diego California. This same problem was referenced in the post by sdtoothdoc by an owner in Las Vegas with the same problems, and the dealerships involve claim that many other new Corvettes – including the “entry level” Stingray with the Z51 handling package and the same Michelin tires – are experiencing the crank issue.

The owners of these cars with the cracking tires have been led to believe that this is a tire manufacturing problem, so rather than complaining to General Motors or the local Chevrolet dealership, 2015 Corvette Z06 owners with the troublesome tires should be complaining to Michelin. However, Michelin insists that this problem isn’t their fault, as owners should know that they shouldn’t be driving their Corvette with summer performance tires in weather under 20 degrees Fahrenheit, or they are likely to encounter cracks on the sidewalls. Michelin went so far as to instruct owners not to move their Corvettes when equipped with these tires and if the vehicle cannot be stored in a heated garage, owners should consider removing the tires and bringing them into the house.

The problem is that in the case of sdtoothdoc’s Corvette Z06 with the cracking tires, is that he lives in Southern California, where the temperatures have not been anywhere near those danger zone temperatures. So, if the cold is causing the cracks, then how are people in San Diego, Las Vegas and other warm climates running into this problem?

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We should keep in mind that all new Corvettes are built at GM’s plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It has been plenty cold in Kentucky this winter and there is a good chance that when these new Corvettes rolled off of the assembly line and out of the building, they spent at least some time moving around in temperatures well below 20 degrees. They are then loaded onto transport trailers and strapped down, also often in temperatures below 20 degrees. Based on this, Michelin would like to put the blame on General Motors, but in the meantime, the tire company is suggesting that owners of new Corvettes with cracked tires avoid driving the cars at all.

We are certain to hear more about this problem in the coming weeks, as either GM or Michelin will surely have to end up replacing the cracked tires on brand new cars. In the meantime, it seems that some of these owners are left with no real advice on what to do – shy of not driving the car on failing tires and if they do want to drive the car in the cold, they need to buy all-season tires.

Source: CorvetteForum.com