Whether it’s battling for the Nürburgring lap record or embarrassing supercars in going from zero to 60 mph, the C8 Corvette ZR1 is taking “America’s Sports Car” to new heights of performance. To do this it involves a number of upgrades compared to lesser ‘Vettes, but one thing Chevrolet obviously needs to upgrade is the paint.
Owners are reporting that the large rear wing that is part of the optional ZTK performance package can press on the bodywork with so much force at high speeds that it peels off the paint. A ZR1 owner who goes by Wheeler_ on YouTube said he first noticed the chipping around the mounting points for the rear-wing struts after a track session at Daytona, where he claims he hit 185 mph.
wheeler_first Posted a video about this seven months ago on my YouTube channel Posted an update on Instagram Earlier this week a friend said the same thing happened after installing a ZR1 wing on a Z06 and driving it at 183 mph. Both videos show chipped paint where the upper portion of the rear wing meets the rear bumper, though not to a very large amount. Both required close inspection to see, the struts themselves hiding most of the damage. But it’s definitely not something I’d want to leave behind in a six-figure car.
In the Instagram post, Wheeler_ also confirmed that Chevy covered the cost of the repair, repainting the affected area at no cost. He said no solution has been issued to prevent this from happening again, like foam padding under the wing, but at least Chevy is doing the right thing and repainting.
The large wing is packed with front dive planes, a Gurney-lip-equipped hood, and under strakes on the ZR1’s ZTK option. The Advanced Equipment group also includes different suspension tuning with stiffer springs and Michelin Cup 2R tires, but buyers who only want the aero upgrades can get them separately with the Carbon Aero package. Chevy claims the wing and other aero additions generate 1,200 pounds of downforce at the ZR1’s top speed, which is about 215 mph. As it turns out, this is a lot of force acting on the paintwork.
Performance upgrades can have unintended consequences, as one C7 ZR1 owner found out when he modified his car’s exhaust system and drove multiple times at an average of 173.004 mph in the Big Bend Open Road Race, ending the day with a melted rear bumper. GM engineers probably should have been a little more thorough, but sometimes you (or in this case, your customers) need to cross the line to find out where it is.