My '96 coupe is at the dealer, having some long-overdue maintenance done (as pictured in the "My Mom's Car" thread from yesterday, it sat in the garage for the better part of the last four years or so, until I woke it up last month).

Among other things, it needs tires (the old ones are Goodyear Eagle F1 GS, I think).  I read most of the recent tire threads around here, and noted that some members liked the Goodyear Eagle All/Season, and a little surfing the tire sites reveals that they're also quite a bit less money than the GS.  The dealer says he was going to put Michelin Pilots on, but I asked him about the Eagle A/S, and he said he could probably get those -- and in any event, I have a few days to make a decision, because there are a number of other things that need to be worked on.  ("Welcome to the world of Corvette ownership!," he told me, in reference to how much it's going to cost to get the car into shape.)  From driving the car a few hundred miles, I am not surprised at the things he says need to be looked at -- a couple of rear-end bearings, which are making some noise, and the serpentine belt tensioners, which are probably the source of another noise I was concerned about.

In any case, does anyone have an opinion on the Pilot vs. Eagle question?  Or is there another tire I should look into, for this car?  I'm not a very aggressive driver -- my wife thinks I'm a slowpoke, but then, she's a Shelby....

Thanks for any input!

Urb

I just bought a set of Michelin Pilot Sports.  I have no complaints whatsoever with them.  I also put new Bilstein shocks all the way around.  The car is pretty "stiff" compared to the stock shocks, but this is what I was looking for.

The goodyear's weren't available at the time I was looking, so that's how I ended up with the Michelin's.

You made the right decision in purchasing the Michelin Pilot.  I have had my Michelin Pilots for over 10 years and have approximately 10 miles on them.  They have wore excellent and have given me  no problems at all.  I have 7/32 of tread left on them, That is about half the tread life left.   I do have some good advice for you and all who store there cars for a period of time.  Place some type of insulated bearer between the tire and the concrete if you let the car sit for over 1 month.  This will keep the tires from developing "flat spots" in them.  Once they are there the tire is junk, This is what happened to the previous set of tires I had.  You will know if they have the flat spots because the car will no longer ride smooth.  They will vibrate as you drive down the road.   I purchased a 1 inch piece of insulation foam board from my local home improvement center and cut them  14"X14". It works great.

I have been running Michelin PS /AS for over a year and love them. But they are pricey. I have "tested" the limit on them (in empty parking lots of course..LOL) and a few track days and they stick very well in wet conditions, drive nicely in normal conditions and hooked up well on the track. But I would absolutely shop around on buying tires as opposed to what stealership might charge.  TireRack, CJ's, your local tire shop, etc. may not only give you better pricing but

Thanks for the feedback.  I decided to go with the Michelins.  As for the dealer, the issues they found when looking the car over were all things I was concerned about myself -- I'm satisfied they're not taking me for a ride. Still, at some point I'd like to find a one-man shop specializing in C4's (or at least Vettes).  Anyone know of anything like that in Rhode Island...?

Urb

The Nitto 555's work great on the wet and dry for mine. And easier on the pocket. But I do have fewer tire choices on the ZR-1. The only problem I had was with the tire changer breaking the LTPWS sensor. They replaced it but I never put it back on.

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Toyo Proxes T1R.  I have driven them several thousand miles, and they are great in the rain.  However, I have 18" wheels, and there may be an issue of getting correct sizes for 17".

Corveddie

replaced my tires in april and put on uniroyal tigerpaws. ride is great and holds the road in wetweather. also lot cheaper than michelins and goodyear.

I put Pilot Sports on as well. However, Michelins wear because they are a little harder. I put a durometer on mine and tends to measure about 75 on year old (purchased) set. However, check the tire production dates. My rears were almost a year older ie sitting in the warehouse. When I called Michelin, they claim no degredation with warehouse time. I'm not buying that completely but the durometer readings were close on all four. On the other hand, I put M/T drag radials on the back and they had durometer of 45! There also about half the price. So I question spending big money for 100,ooo mile tires that will be aged long before the mileage. I was impressed with the M/T bite and even with more abuse, I can afford new tires every couple of years and still be ahead of the Pilot Sports. Ron Fellows says Piliot Sport Cup tires are even better and as close to race as you can get but given the cost I think you have to want some serious track time and be prepared to burn them up to make them worthwhile.