Can tires make or break Corvette C7?

The answer is actually very simple: NO they cannot.  However, superior tires can create an advantage in case when two vehicles are separated very closely in their performance.  This is exactly the case with Corvette C7 vs. C6.

Let us face it, the poor design of the original Good Year F1 run flat tires was the Achilles heel of Corvette C6, stiff side walls combined with very tough compound resulted in otherwise very well handling car riding on the modern equivalent of wooden wheels fit for a horse carriage and not modern high performance vehicle.  Absolute lack of side wall flex combined with very low coefficient of friction cause even the lowest power base C6 to fishtail and lose traction in about any weather condition. 

The later generation of Good Year run flats did improve somewhat on the road friction but the stiff sidewalls and high rotational mass of these tires remained, hindering the performance of these cars (with the exception of cars using Michelin Sport Cups which are not the best all around tires, especially regarding fast wear and no traction in wet weather)  until the very end of the current model.

Apparently now, Michelin found a way to keep the cake and eat it-or so Michelin claims.

Corvette C7 Michelin Tires

So what is happening here?  Stickier compound but not too sticky and more flex due to softer sidewall compound and of course different design of sidewall stiffeners to keep run flat rigidity at bay.  Could this work?  To a degree, yes, it could however, the sidewall flexibility will still be affected and the weight penalty is still there.  In reality, this is a better mousetrap and mainly useful to the same people who will use AFM and seventh gear.

Apparently, the advances in tire science do help C7 to get ahead of C6 in performance department but only slightly, should one remember that Goodyear turds date back to 20th century, certainly one would expect improvements over such a long period of time.

What is the reality?  There is still no substitute for non run flat high performance tires, simply due  to the weight advantage which is of rotational variety and even small differences here can create big results.  Are these new tires worthy contenders?  Well, it depends if you prefer to listen to Tadge Juechter or do some investigating yourself and use your head for a constructive purpose.