Michelin Pilot Sport 2 Zero Pressure Tire

Mounting A New Set of skins on your late-model Corvette will put a big dent in your budget. We kept this thought in mind during a recent tire test at Spring Mountain, Nevada, where we had a chance to thrash Michelin's impressive new C6 Z06 Pilot Sport 2 Zero Pressure (PS2 ZP) tires on the racetrack. Since the Michelins carry a 10-15 percent price premium over OE Z06 replacement tires, we wanted to find out if they were worth the extra cost. To that end, we decided to put them to a real-world road test, including both low-speed city driving and an extended trip at highway velocities (and beyond). Another test on our list involved trying the new tires out on a racetrack. We spoke with Nicolas Goubert, Michelin's brand category manager, who sent us four PS2 ZPs (P275/35ZR18 front and P325/30ZR19 rear).

While we don't have a C6 Z06 in our fleet, we do have a fixed-roof coupe (FRC), in the form of our former project car, the Pewter Rocket. The Rocket is fitted with C6 Z06 reproduction wheels (9.5x18 up front and 11.0x19 in the rear) and OE tires. It weighs 3,153 pounds, while the '10 Z06 tips the scales at 3,180. The nose-heavy FRC has 51.4 percent of its weight in front and 48.6 percent in the rear. The Z06, meanwhile, boasts a near-perfect 49.3/50.7 percent distribution. The Rocket's 416ci LS2 puts out plenty of grunt, at 481 rwhp. In a previous test, its upgraded suspension (including sway bars, springs, shocks, and brakes) helped us lap Road Atlanta 1.3 seconds faster than a stock Z06. So while the cars are not identical, Editor Heath agreed they were close enough for this review.

First, we had to get our new tires mounted correctly. After our new skins arrived, we met with Ed Burge, service manager at Maher Chevrolet in St. Petersburg, Florida, to discuss our project. Maher has a full-service shop and regularly performs high-quality work on area Corvettes. Burge agreed to help us out and assigned Service Technician James Ritchey to the job.

Like many high-end tire shops, Maher uses Hunter mounting, balancing, and alignment equipment. The Hunter mounting machine grasps the rim from underneath to avoid surface damage to the wheel. Ritchey applied a soap solution to each tire's bead, and the wheel was rotated as a stationary arm stretched the bead onto the rim. The tire was then inflated until it was seated securely. Because we live in a high-humidity location, Goubert recommended that we use nitrogen to fill our tires. "Regular" air retains water molecules, which can rust the bead of the rim and cause an air leak. Nitrogen does not hold moisture, eliminating this concern. After filling our tires with the specified element, Ritchey used the balance machine and stick-on weights to achieve a perfect balance. With the wheels once again bolted to the car, we were back on the road with our new skins.