Chevy Dealer Damages $20K Set of Corvette Z06 Carbon Fiber Wheels
One YouTuber claims repeated tire changes have caused serious scuffs and scratches to the center bores.
The new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 is a big deal in the world of performance cars, especially because it's one of the cheapest vehicles to be available with carbon fiber wheels. They're made by Australian company Carbon Revolution, and while the performance they provide is impressive, they don't seem like something your average Chevy dealer can handle. Even the one willing to change YouTuber SpeedPhenom's tires scratched them pretty badly.
The damage is limited to the area around the center bore of the wheel, which is held down when the tires are changed. Images in a video posted by the YouTuber show scuffs and even delamination in this area after repeated changes of high-wear track tires, which need to be changed pretty often if the vehicle is regularly taken to the track.
In a comment, the channel's host, Austin, clarifies the level of damage caused by the dealer. Despite his video title saying his wheels are "RUINED"—this is YouTube after all—he notes, "This has to do with the dealership/servicing aspects, not manufacturing. The face was cracking from damage. The wheels were not fracturing structurally to their core."
Speaking to The Drive in the past, Carbon Revolution stated, "There's no difference in changing a carbon fiber wheel to an aluminum wheel, you use the same equipment, there's videos out there on how to do it. It's just, unfortunately, people are a little bit scared of damaging an expensive wheel." The latter part of that statement is definitely true; the former is less clear. It's plausible that the dealer isn't using the best equipment they could be to change the tires, as Austin speculates in his video. It's also plausible that dealers just haven't been trained to do it properly.
The kicker here is that these wheels are, of course, expensive. They become an option when you pay $8,995 for the Z07 package. Once you check the box, it's another $9,995 to get the wheels. It's a lot of cash to put down for something that a dealer might refuse to service or damage in the process, although we can't speak to the experience of other Z06 owners.
We've reached out to Chevy for comment and will update this post if we hear back.
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