Goodyear Eagle MS EMT

Sports car enjoyment was once a seasonal affair. Every fall, owners faced the prospect of tucking away their pride and joy for a long winter's nap while the wind blew cold and the roads were slippery. Adding the fourth season necessitated a long list of improvements—tighter sealing convertible tops, more powerful climate control systems, and fuel injection capable of responding to temperature extremes. Corvette shouldered that challenge and led the way with innovative solutions to problems posed by winter driving. The addition of Acceleration Slip Regulation (traction control) in 1992 and this year's new Active Handling (yaw control) option are just two of the engineering breakthroughs aimed at stretching the Corvette's performance envelope to encompass every nastiness that Mother Nature has in store. For Corvette owners on a mission, neither rain nor sleet nor snow shall keep them from their appointed rounds.


This is not to suggest that Corvettes may now proceed where Chevy Blazer 4x4s fear to tread. Nor have chassis engineers given up their pursuit of confidence and control enhancements. Last winter Goodyear contributed another major gain in the form of tires specifically constructed for sure-footed fourth-season operation. The new Goodyear Eagle M+S EMT tires combine two extraordinary capabilities: superior winter-weather traction and handling plus the capability of traveling up to 200 miles at speeds up to 55 mph with zero inflation pressure.


Bob Toth, Goodyear's marketing manager for high-performance tires, explains why his company went to the bother of creating special winter tires for the Corvette. "For the majority of drivers, all-season tires have replaced the need for snow tires. But there are certain applications such as the Corvette's ultra-performance realm where the all-season approach just isn't appropriate. Corvette drivers won't stand for the performance compromises that are necessary in a 4-season tire. And since Corvette owners expect to use their cars year-round, it's our job to provide them with suitable tires.


"The challenge is complicated in the C5 Corvette by the fact that there's no jack or provision for carrying a spare. Our Eagle M+S (mud and snow rating) tires provide excellent winter driving traction and they're offered in the sizes required by the new Corvette, but fitting them leaves the driver without a spare. We didn't consider that an acceptable solution to winter-driving needs.


"To avoid disruptions in service, our policy has always been to match ultra-performance applications with a corresponding M+S tire for winter use. In this case we married the carcass construction of the Eagle F1 GS extended-mobility tire to the tread and compound from the well-proven Eagle M+S design. It wasn't what I'd call a miraculous feat, but for Corvette drivers in the northern regions of the U.S., these new tires do offer major improvements in winter mobility. It's what I call a no-compromise solution."