Wheel and tire options for flat tires and survey


You don"t want runcraps!

I hate them on my viper got one with reg and one with runcraps they are bad.
I would not put them on my GTs
 
GFORCE said:
I hate them on my viper got one with reg and one with runcraps they are bad.
I would not put them on my GTs
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What exactly don't you like about the runflats on your Viper? The local Corvette specialist (32 years) at one of our largest dealers says they function as advertised, and he has had no problems with them performance-wise. He did say they are difficult to mount, transmit more road noise and ride stiffer than the comparable non-runflat. He also indicated the Michelin ZPs are more road compliant and quieter than the Goodyear "Runflats". He said most of his customers love them for the "non-worry factor". Nail and screw repairs have not been a problem as long as the repair was not in the sidewall. He said a couple of guys have had holes the size of your finger and driven over a 100 miles without trouble bringing their cars in for repairs. Those tires with the big holes had to be replaced, of course. The big complaint has been the noise/ride and cost of the tires (almost $1800 for a set of the Viper Michelins), and the so-called "necessary" extra charges to mount and balance (some shops charge a $15-$20/wheel surcharge on top of their regular charge) when dealing with folks who don't have the latest technology mounting equipment. This particular dealership has the right equipment and doesn't charge anything more for runflat work versus standard tires. He said patching the inside face has never been a problem, and once you do a few runflat tires and learn, the job isn't that much tougher than regular tires. As to the warranty issues after a repair or two, he said as long as the work is done by a reputable runflat certified Goodyear or Michelin shop, you should not have any issues. The warranty deal is stated to avoid responsibility for road hazard problems which end up being a marginal repair. Road hazard coverage is standard from Michelin for these tires. Michelin comes with 10/32 tread and Goodyear with 8/32. Most of the tire companies, from what I have read, are developing more runflat sizes to cover a wider variety of applications (remember, these are not the type of runflat tires requiring special wheels to use). Also, I understand the local Costco shops are certified, and will guarantee no scratches or damage to the wheels or they will replace no questions asked. You do need some sort of LTPWS (OEM cars come with the systems standard) to maintain the tire/road hazard warranty, but there are some aftermarket certified by Michelin and Goodyear. These systems are either internal band or valve stem design, and run from around $125 to $400 or so with receivers...another cost to switching to the "runflats". So, again, what are the legitimate issues any "runflat" owners have had?
 
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Do not know if you are supposed to or not, but I have 2 cars right now that have plugs in them (not the GT) with probably 40K miles run combined.

For sure the plug kit will easily get you home.

fjpikul said:
If I'm not mistaken, you aren't supposed to "plug" radials, but patch from the inside. I guess a plug would work in an emergency, but I wouldn't want to drive much over the limit with it. Also, I think I read where there are now lawsuits over the runflats becasue you can't re-use them (no one will certify after repair) so they may be going the way of the dodo.
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Be carefull of trying to drive to and from the track. I wore through a heck of a lot of tires, and the ride home was a little too exciting with holes in my tires. Think I went home twice with the Viper donut wheel on. Rememer it's easy to flat spot your tires. And after a few heat cycles, your tires won't have any grip left even if they have plenty of tread left.
 
They don"t have anywhere the stick.

And down right scray####.Don"t know where Richard head lives,but here in the northeast,where we drive below 45 temp and with lots of HP mods on both GTs and vipers they are nasty.
 
ultimate run flat

maybe you have seen this wheel.33.jpg
 
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