Getting replacement tyres for my Z06

[UTH]

Hi all, I got pulled by the cops on Saturday, not even sure why, wasn't speeding (central London) or anything, but all of a sudden two unmarked cars behind me pulling me over.

Long story short they were convinced the tyres can't have been legal.....they're the Pilot Sport Cup 2 ones that come with the Z07 package. They passed the MOT two weeks ago before I bought the car, so I'm somewhat baffled as to whether or not they are legal or if they have been ragged to death and need replacing (car only has 1,000 miles on the clock and never tracked!) I'll get some photos taken tonight and post them up.

ANYWAY.....question is where on earth do I get new tyres from?? I've put the dimensions into black circles and a few others and basically get "NOPE, no tyres of that size"

The only joy I've had is at Demon Tweaks for the Pilot Sport Cup 2s, coming in at £621 each!?!

Am I being dumb, or is it next to impossible to find tyres that will fit this car? (This is just for the rears, the front tyre size seems to be much more common)

 

[z06_tim]

These tyres are legal in the UK for road use, as long as they meet the minimum tread depth requirements.

 

[UTH]

These tyres are legal in the UK for road use, as long as they meet the minimum tread depth requirements.

Yes, that's what I've been told/read. How do I check they meet the min requirements? I mean they passed the MOT but the police were still fairly sure they can't be legal....so how do I find out for sure?

And on the original point, where do I buy new tyres? Nowhere seems to do 335/25/20 tyres!!

 

[Oneball]

The legal minimum is 1.6mm of tread over the entire circumference of the middle 3/4 of the tyre. They’ll be tread wear indicators cast into the groves too.

Cup 2s are legal and E marked on the side to prove it.

I’ve got Pilot Super Sports on my M3. They’re nearly as good as the Cups in the dry and way better in the wet. They’ve recently been replaced by the Pilot Sport 4S ( note the S its important the 4 isn’t the same tyre).

 

[Norm]

On my '16 Z06, didn't have the Z07 tire package, but I wanted to get away from the run flats, too much noise, too much of a rough ride. I found a set of Pirellis non-runflats, but had to step down from the rear 335 to a 325, which will work in the 12" wide wheel. That was Pirelli's largest size for like tire.
So happy, almost a 180 turn around, smooth ride, and no noise.

 

[Roscobbc]

What do the police know? - they wanted an excuse (post event) to be able to quote as the reason for 'pulling' you - now they have one. It begs the question - how could they have see a suspected tyre depth/legality issue on a moving vehicle? - even if stationary they would be hard pushed to see the tread without getting down under the car. What part of London did they 'pull' you? - Chelsea, Sloane Street, Brompton Road? - rich pickings for plod with all the summer season middle east exotic car boy racers!

 

[Jack Cooper]

I haven't researched U.K. availability of your requirement, but I would recommend asking Keith Beschi (Eurovettes) to locate some in The
States; he has regular shipments - you may have to wait a few weeks, but at least you'll get what you want. Alternatively, have you tried
Ian Allan Motors ? They have shipped in quite a few new C7s (incl. Z06; see 'em for sale on Pistonheads - or is it A/trader?) so I would make the assumption that they should have thought of providing a modicum of spares, incl. tyres...…...
J.C. (1911)

 

[Norm]

OK, being a retired LEO, local, federal, & military, I may have to side with the police here, and of course not being on the scene, I will give you this scenario.
First, a bit of info. When I first saw the cup 2 tires on a Z06/Z07 model, first thing I said to my buddy, "there's no tread on it, it looks bald".
After further thought, "oh yes, summer street legal racing style tires."

Let's say the officers are not familiar with those style tires, they're thinking, "this guys running on slicks, or worn out, or bald tires." Most likely a safety violation in their eyes, warranting a pull over, yes?

See photo of new cup 2 tire.

 

[Daytona Vette]

Some say the Gendarmes play a game of Snooker with motorists - 1 point for a red and 5 for a blue etc - so proportionally a lot of Reds and heaven help you if you have a Pink car.
I got pulled for no reason in a blue car and exclaimed at the time they had just made a foul shot.
They pulled me Starsky and Hutch style - said I was driving erratically, I was in town doing about 15 to 20 mph, I said I was driving slowly - they then changed it to I was driving slowly and erratically.
I said why have you stopped me - they said you have been seen driving in the town - I said that is because I am in the Town !

Apologies - get back on the post of the Tyres.

 

[z06_tim]

Yeah. I would say ignore the coppers, and drive your car on the tyres it was designed for - The Cup 2 are the absolute best tyres money can buy for a high performance car, and they will be awesome on a track day. It would be a shame to remove them and not have the performance your car was designed to have.

I would just enjoy them, while we still have a summer, as come winter you probably may not want to venture out with them much! They are not really recommended for winter use or rain.

I have the Michelin Pilot Super Sport mentioned above, and I would agree, it is a pretty amazing tyre for a performance car (good on track), and quite surprisingly OK in the wet. It is however, not that great in the cold weather - say below about 7degC.

If you talk to Keith from Eurovettes about importing US tyres, as there is more choice, I would have a look at www.tirerack.com - here you will see all the options available.

 

[UTH]

What do the police know? - they wanted an excuse (post event) to be able to quote as the reason for 'pulling' you - now they have one. It begs the question - how could they have see a suspected tyre depth/legality issue on a moving vehicle? - even if stationary they would be hard pushed to see the tread without getting down under the car. What part of London did they 'pull' you? - Chelsea, Sloane Street, Brompton Road? - rich pickings for plod with all the summer season middle east exotic car boy racers!

Haha, spot on mate, on my way to the Chelsea Embankment. I can only think it was the noise the car made that initially got me pulled, the guy who first got out the car said something along the lines of "one thing I can't stand is show offs" but then made no reference to driving style, speed, noise or anything else....and moved onto the tyres.
My brother said same as you, plod just enjoying pulling cars like this over in the summer season expecting to come across some jumped up tosser......luckily I know how to be very polite and courteous so clearly I wasn't really what they were looking for.

 

[UTH]

I haven't researched U.K. availability of your requirement, but I would recommend asking Keith Beschi (Eurovettes) to locate some in The
States; he has regular shipments - you may have to wait a few weeks, but at least you'll get what you want. Alternatively, have you tried
Ian Allan Motors ? They have shipped in quite a few new C7s (incl. Z06; see 'em for sale on Pistonheads - or is it A/trader?) so I would make the assumption that they should have thought of providing a modicum of spares, incl. tyres...…...
J.C. (1911)

Yes I've heard Ian's name come up a few times, so I'm going to get in touch with him as I think he'll be who I get to service it etc, so no doubt he can advise on tyres too

 

[UTH]

OK, being a retired LEO, local, federal, & military, I may have to side with the police here, and of course not being on the scene, I will give you this scenario.
First, a bit of info. When I first saw the cup 2 tires on a Z06/Z07 model, first thing I said to my buddy, "there's no tread on it, it looks bald".
After further thought, "oh yes, summer street legal racing style tires."

Let's say the officers are not familiar with those style tires, they're thinking, "this guys running on slicks, or worn out, or bald tires." Most likely a safety violation in their eyes, warranting a pull over, yes?

See photo of new cup 2 tire.

Yes I do agree with you, that's probably exactly what they thought, as I thought similar when I picked the car up, but after some research and looking at photos like you have posted, it just seems that's just what the tyres look like.

However, I still wouldn't say that the tyres are the reason they pulled me over because there's no way they would have seen them as I drove past, and also they didn't make a beeline straight for the tyres, they simply looked around the car, spotted the tyres then started the discussion.

 

[UTH]

Yeah. I would say ignore the coppers, and drive your car on the tyres it was designed for - The Cup 2 are the absolute best tyres money can buy for a high performance car, and they will be awesome on a track day. It would be a shame to remove them and not have the performance your car was designed to have.

I would just enjoy them, while we still have a summer, as come winter you probably may not want to venture out with them much! They are not really recommended for winter use or rain.

I have the Michelin Pilot Super Sport mentioned above, and I would agree, it is a pretty amazing tyre for a performance car (good on track), and quite surprisingly OK in the wet. It is however, not that great in the cold weather - say below about 7degC.

If you talk to Keith from Eurovettes about importing US tyres, as there is more choice, I would have a look at www.tirerack.com - here you will see all the options available.

Thanks mate. I will definitely keep them on the car now that I'm (99%) sure they aren't worn out and so can't get me in trouble.....I was only considering changing them if it turned out they actually were on their last legs. I don't imagine I'll be taking it out much if at all in the winter, pretty rare that we actually get a weekend with beautiful winter weather with no rain in sight anyway.

 

[Roscobbc]

Haha, spot on mate, on my way to the Chelsea Embankment. I can only think it was the noise the car made that initially got me pulled, the guy who first got out the car said something along the lines of "one thing I can't stand is show offs" but then made no reference to driving style, speed, noise or anything else....and moved onto the tyres.
My brother said same as you, plod just enjoying pulling cars like this over in the summer season expecting to come across some jumped up tosser......luckily I know how to be very polite and courteous so clearly I wasn't really what they were looking for.

Many, many years ago I had a Nascar lookalikey '66 Galaxie fastback coupe - with 4 speed c/r box, chopped suspension, wide black steel rims it looked the part. With its 428 cu in big block engine, seriously rumpity, rumpity cam and Thrush straight thru mufflers with 3" tailpipes it certainly sounded the part too. Not earsplittingly noisy, just a very low frequency choppy rumble that would pound your chest if standing behind and vibrate the window and door frames of any house you stopped outside. Only ever had one copper who had the temerity to give me a 'tug' - a young plod, "its a bit noisy isn't it"? (as his shirt flapped in the 'breeze' from the exhaust) - I replied "its 7000cc and 400+ horsepower - that's the sound of power - I can't do anything about it" (thinking what a dick) "Oh, OK just keep it down - off you go" (a kind, nice, sensible 'dick' - not to get involved any further)

 

[UKBeancounter]

Thanks mate. I will definitely keep them on the car now that I'm (99%) sure they aren't worn out and so can't get me in trouble.....I was only considering changing them if it turned out they actually were on their last legs. I don't imagine I'll be taking it out much if at all in the winter, pretty rare that we actually get a weekend with beautiful winter weather with no rain in sight anyway.

My Grand Sport has Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres fitted (Z07 Pack) and I was concerned when I took it for the IVA test.
Had a discussion with the tester before he started to check the car, and he confirmed they are 100% legal for UK road use. He is employed by VOSA so knows a little bit more about these things than your average flat foot. Mercedes use them on the AMG SLS, Porsche on the GT3 and Ferrari on the 458 I believe. The only thing to be careful of is the tread depth is only 5mm from new (most tyres 6.5mm) and they wear quickly due to the compound being so soft.

 

[Stingray]

I've recently switched to Michelin PS4S. Nice tyres from Black Circles at a sensible price. (And no more expensive than the PS2s I put on my C5 a decade ago.)

Personally I'd recommend sticking with the stock runflats - if you can get them. Mainly because ride quality on these tough, high performance Michelins is much the same as stock tyres. I think new Michelins might have slightly better cold, wet grip than 5 year old runflats but that's hardly surprising. My cars are in use all year round so winter performance is high on my priority list.

 

[UTH]

I think when the day comes that my Cup 2s need changing I'll go for the PS4S.....Cup 2s are damn expensive and are useless in anything other than hot and dry conditions.

 

[Chevrolet]

This guy likes these Continentals on his Z06:

 

[Chevrolet]

UTH finishes the new tyres story/saga on Pistonheads:

Getting replacement tyres for my Z06 - Page 1 - Corvettes - PistonHeads UK

www.pistonheads.com