Michelin tire issue
 

I bought Porsche rated 335/30/20s for the rear of my 57. When im just easing down the road. I hear constant pinging underneath the car, the wheels end up with little rock pebbles in them. I pulled the tires off and noticed that the underneath has been sandblasted from just 80 miles of driving. These are 200 tread wear tires the same that are on my Camaro which doesn't have this issue. What do you guys think the issue is? I have read the reviews on Tire Rack and I don't see any issues from the Porsche guys. These were on sale at Tire rack.

Michelins are just nice and soft. Nothing wrong with the tire. Im guessing you have the ps2? The super sports have a higher treadwear

Porsche has the N compound. Not sure how much stickier it is but competitors seem to like them.

Better paint and a few coats of rubberized under coating might work for you.

Michelin's built to spec for various manufacturers can vary the compound quite a bit, treadwear rating is not indicative of how sticky these tires are....knowing which ones gives you an advantage, you obviously found one and expect the tire to wear pretty quickly if used for track...all I can say is my 300TW PSS is stickier than some 200TW's tires out there....

Don't get me wrong I like that the tires are sticky but not at the cost of damaging the underside of the car after 80 miles. My truck has Hossier quick times that are way stickier than these and it hasn't blasted the underside of it. I'm going to call Tire Rack and see what they think. Even the exhaust pipe is blasted. lol

:y0!: Modern-days cars (Porsches) have plastic fender liners so not an issue... Real steel on a chebby is a different application.
Jim.

I haven't got a clue about the issue you're having, but damn that's a good looking 57!

:thumbsup:

All I see is normal wear and tear from driving. When the Tire rack puts you on hold its so don't hear the laughter. : )

Seriously get some undercoating under there!!

I have the same issue with the new Rival S 335/30R18s I just put on my 69 Camaro. I did not have this issue with the Michelin PS2s or the KDWs I have used.

I too am concerned about damage to the car paint surfaces behind the wheels.

That's 80 miles worth you are looking at. Same paint and tires (except Porsche rated) as on my 69. It has 5700 miles and still looks new.

Michelin is having me drive the car to NTB and have them inspect it. We'll see where it goes from there. Love everything about the tires other than that.

Thanks:D

I have Michelin PSS tires in 285/40-19 all four corners and they do the same thing. I hear that pinging sound while driving around.

We hear it on the factory Pirelli P Zeros on our 5th gen Camaro too. Don't think it's an "issue" specific to michelins.

Which ntb? I'm a District Manager for them

Again it's not the tires fault. Personal opinion is that they won't do anything for you. Not to sound harsh but i wouldnt.

Soft compounds and rocks don't mix. Trade them out for a normal compound.

So which tire would you suggest in 335/30ZR18 and 275/35/ZR18?

I ran KDW NT on my last car and did not have this issue. They don't make them any more.

I'm installing clear bra behind the wheel wells and thinking about a coating inside the wheel wells.

I have the same issue with Rival S's. Badly enough I am probably going change them. They are not your answer.

If you find one that has decent traction & doesn't kill your paint, please share.



Bill

I'm shopping today to most likely change them out. I'll post up what I find

I've been out of the game a while so I'm not sure. The original poster is running a Porshe compound so it's likely similar to the Rival. I would think a normal ps2 or super sport would suffice?

I ran the r888 on my car a majority of the time. I used a clear bra on behind the rear wheel wells but it needed it in front of the rear well up to the body crease. The rocks would carry around and bounce up in front of the wheel well. It was only clear coat damage. I raced mine quite often.

PS2's were my 1st thought, until I read this thread.
Last I looked (Saturday), PS2's were removed from Tire Rack's site. They have been on BO since about October and most of last summer anyway.
Not sure if PS2's will be available this spring...


Bill

I really like the tires as the traction is great. I will not ever track the car so I might keep them and use clear bra front and rear of the rear wheel wells.

Dis you have rock/chip issues in the front?

Do you guys that run the Falken 615's have this problem?

On my C6 Z06 the Pilot Super Sports with 300 treadwear were stickier than the 220 treadwear pilots. The PSS tires ROCK! 1st time I ran that C6 Zat an AutoX I smoked some guys who had been racing their cars for Quite a while on 180 treadwear Kuhmo XS tires with a lot better alignment than I was running.

Corvette racers who worry about paint chips cover their cars in 3M blue painters tape when they race them. Performance comes with compromises, paint and sticky tires generally aren't compatible.

I used a clear bra behind the front tires up to the crease as well. I did get one chip before I put the bra on.

I don't really care about your tire issue at all but damn that's a great looking '57!!


LOL

Please let me know. Thanks

Good to see you on here Todd.

:thankyou:

good paint and undercoating in all the right places.

Well after hours searching not much out there to choose from. I ran michelins before and no rock issues but traction was marginal. Tires would spin well into 3rd. The Rivals grip well with hazing only at the top of 2nd a bottom of 3rd. So the car is faster.

I'm going with some well placed clear bra and will revisit under coating the wheel wells.

Yes they throw rocks like crazy. It is not a problem, it's a sign of a sticky tire.

Sorry, but rock chips are a problem. Just glad I found out now, versus after my first drive. I will be ready for this issue.
I raced asphalt late models on Hoosiers, and my powder coating would get blasted off the chassis in certain areas. I had no idea that these type of street tires would do this also.

Michelin is trading the tires out. After I gave them the #s they told me the tires would be 4 years old in February. I guess they have been on a shelf at Tire Rack for a good while.

Ok. So will new new ones still throw rocks like the fact old ones?

Will know in a week or so.

Michelin and tire rack is doing this to keep you happy. Thats customer service. I would be shocked if the new tires don't throw rocks. I would say you have about a 2% change lol

Shelf life of a tire is 6 years. Road life is 10 years.