[fyrcaptain]

Noel, our good friend and supporting vendor over at Auto Buffs
www.Autobuffs.net has offered Z06.com members a group purchase buy on Tire Cradles. ( See AutoBuffs page http://www.autobuffs.net/s-cart/misc.phtml )
OR go to www.Tirecradle.com or see VETTE Magazine January 2002 page #29
These high density mats protect your tires from flat spotting. Hot or warm tires that sit on cool concrete = flat spot (somethings got to give and it ain't the concrete!)
So all he needs is 2 orders and 1 of them is mine!!
Here's the DEAL, $274 and HE pays the shipping. Regularly 299.99 PLUS shipping (these things are really heavy!), and the manufacturer charges and xtra $10 for "handling" if you buy them direct from Tire Cradle, so it's a pretty good deal. ***THIS SPECIAL RUNS 1 WEEK, THROUGH 12/7/01***
So go on over to the link to your left
<------------------------------ Right over here!
Thanks:cheers: :cheers:

 

[bibsuit]

Interesting. I didn't know flat spotting was that big of a problem. :-?

 

[Jerry Velders]

Snake oil, IMHO

 

[proexpert]

Huh ???

Jerry, what do you mean? I'm not following you, and would like to.

 

[Jerry Velders]

Re: Huh ???

Jerry, what do you mean? I'm not following you, and would like to.

Just suggesting that flat-spotting is not a big deal on modern tires. If you let them sit, even for a few days, they tend to get a little flat-spotted, but a few blocks of driving corrects the problem. Even after a winter of sitting, a little driving in the spring will erase the flat-spots that have developed. I drive my 'vettes infrequently over the winter .. avoiding wet weather .. and after the car's been sitting for 2-3 weeks, it feels a little lumpy when I hit the road .. but within a mile or two, everything's back to normal.

I'm certainly no expert on tires, but based on my personal experience, and that of others regarding this issue, I'd question the real value of the tire cradle. Just my opinion, of course.

 

[CDHough]

I was thinking about getting some of these but also had my doubt about the need for them.

In the winter sometimes I go up to 6 weeks without being able to drive. The two things I worry about are:

1) battery getting low - trickle charger could probably help. I notice a slower start after that long.
2) tires getting flat spots. I agree with Jerry though that the ride is a little lumpy at first but it always goes away and I never seemed to notice any long term effects.

I would be interested in learning if anyone has had any permenant tire damage and how long they let them sit to cause it.

- Charley

 

[fyrcaptain]

Snake Oil ?!

From the Dunlop Tire Site

http://www.dunloptire.com/tiretech/?article=tire_storage.txt


"Because tires lose air with time, leaving them on a vehicle in contact with the ground or other surface for an extended period will result in excessive deflection, which can cause permanent flat spots." (hmmmm can you ERASE something permanant????)
:lol: Yeah right:roll:

From the Hunter Tire Balancer website:

At 60 miles per hour, an average size tire rotates 850 time per minute. At this speed, slight variations in balance, sidewall stiffness or roundness can cause the wheel to literally slam into the pavement 14 times a second. The ultra-sensitive road feel of today's vehicles gives drivers a hands-on detection of vibration, a warning of potential problems. Unchecked, excessive wheel vibration can result in expensive damages and unsafe driving conditions such as:
Excessive Tire Wear
Damage to Suspension and Steering Components
Unsafe Steering and Handling

An out of round tire causes wheel vibration.
A stiff spot (hmmmm a FLATSPOT perhaps?) hitting the pavement causes vibration.

Uneven tread or sidewall stiffness can be found in new (that's those NEW material tires and state of the art manufactured tires another poster referenced) or worn tires. So it appears this malady does in fact affect those "new modern day" tires. Tires by design are never uniformly flexible throughout nor are they perfectly round. And no two tires are exactly alike in these characteristics.

At a $1000 a pop for a set of tires, they're cheap
Folks spend as much or more on a set of mats and/or a billet rear end plate, exhaust tips etc.
:roll:
:cheers:

 

[bibsuit]

A total waste of money. Total. The Dunlop quote is taken out of context. Hunter's remarks refer to exessive wheel imbalance over an extended period of time at relatively high speeds. Not the 30 seconds or so needed to smooth the tread and belt package of a modern UHP tire.

You can waste your money on such things if you want. However, it is highly misleading to others to make such rediculous scams seem necessary.

 

[VettTheRipper]

I thought tires were made to sit on concrete and asphalt:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Sanford]

How about

drive the car up on some 2 by 12 piece of wood or just some carpeting or just cardboard. That would isolate the tires from the concrete floor. Not sure what good it will do though. For some reason I know people do not put car batterys on concrete, but that could be a different story. I wouldn't mind a plastic cradle for one wheel so I know how far into the garage to park the ZO6 since I can't see the front of the car. Four I don't think so especially for 274 dollars or so. Maybe I will hang a tennis ball from the rafters down to the windshield so I will know where to stop.

 

[sigung86]

Hi Sanford,

RE: Batteries on the concrete.

I don't know about the modern batteries, but in the "Olden Days" when I was a young driver... Batteries left in direct contact with concrete floors would lose their charges very quickly.

Dan

 

[Zippy]

I've been storing motorcycles or cars for the last 24 years without driving them for 3-4 months during winter weather.....never had a flat spot, flat tire, or carpet under tires......if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Just my too sense. :roll:

Zippy :z: :z:

 

[Baron]

I try to drive my car when the raods are dry. If I can't, I just push the car ahead a couple of feet. Push it back a week later. Changes the position of the tire on the floor. Works for me.

 

[Fish-man]

I don't know a bunch about flat spotting... But I have been at a Michelin tire factory and watched how tires are built. It is amazing that they are as round as they are. There is an overlap for each of the body wraps, which can cause a "stiff" spot.

To help minimize flat spotting (if you have any)during storage would be to inflate your tires to the max. pressure.

 

[bibsuit]

Fish, which Michelin factory did you tour and what is a body wrap?

 

[Fish-man]

Greenville, SC

You could call a body wrap any part of the tire inside tread. Different nylon and steel reinforcements.. they all get "wrapped" around as if you were putting your leather band watch.

 

[bibsuit]

I've toured the Michelin plants in Lexington and Laurens but I didn't know they had manufacturing facilities in Greenville.

Modern radial tires are built with infinite attention to any factor that could cause any type of force variation, including splices. Butt-splicing became an industry trend in the 80s. In fact even the belt package on modern radials is a spirally wound unit rather than an actual belt that would require a splice.

This so-called "flat spotting" is much ado about nothing. (And is an entirely different issue by the way.)

 

[Fish-man]

bibsuit,

I didn't realize it before, but your name implies some sort of relation to Michelin (for those who don't know that the Michelin guy's name is Bibendum - if I spelled it right "Bib" for short)

Yeah, I went to their offices in Greenville and we toured a plant they had "nearby" -It was a few years back and dont remember how far it was from the office.

 

[bibsuit]

Fish, excellent observation. Most people don't get it. :cheers:

Few people have ever toured a Michelin factory. That's why I asked.

 

[bibsuit]

BTW - They have two factories in Greenville one of which uses the new C3M technology, but most tours are of the Lexington or Laurens plants which as I recall are 15 or 20 minutes up the expressway.