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Whether it’s battling for Nürburgring lap records or embarrassing supercars in zero to 60 mph acceleration, the C8 Corvette ZR1 is taking “America’s sports car” to new heights of performance. It features numerous upgrades over lesser ‘Vettes to make that happen, but one thing Chevrolet apparently needs to upgrade next is the paint.
Owners are reporting that the big rear wing that’s part of the optional ZTK performance package can push down on the bodywork with so much force at high speeds that it chips the paint. A ZR1 owner who goes by Wheelr_ on YouTube said he first noticed chipping around the mounting points for the rear-wing struts after a track session at Daytona, where he claims to have topped 185 mph.
Wheeler via YouTube
Wheelr_ first posted a video about this on his YouTube channel seven months ago, then posted an update on Instagram earlier this week saying that a friend had the same thing happen after installing the ZR1 wing on a Z06 and running it at 183 mph. Both videos show chipped paint where the rear-wing uprights meet the rear bumper, although not a huge amount. Both required up-close inspections to see, with the struts themselves hiding most of the damage. But this is admittedly not something I’d want to leave as-is on a six-figure car.
In the Instagram post, Wheelr_ also confirmed that Chevy covered the repair costs, repainting the affected area at no cost to him. He said no remedy, such as foam padding under the wing, has been issued to prevent this from happening again, but at least Chevy is doing the right thing and covering repainting.
The big wing is packaged with front dive planes, a Gurney-lip-equipped hood, and underway strakes on the ZR1’s ZTK option. The upgraded equipment group also includes different suspension tuning with stiffer springs and Michelin Cup 2 R tires, but buyers who just 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, that being around 215 mph. As it turns out, that’s a lot of force acting on the paintwork.
Performance upgrades can have unintended consequences, as one C7 ZR1 owner found when they modified the exhaust system of their car and did multiple runs averaging 173.004 mph at the Big Bend Open Road Race, ending the day with a melted rear bumper. GM engineers should perhaps have been a bit more thorough, but sometimes you (or in this case, your customers) need to exceed the limit to find out where it is.
Stephen has always been passionate about cars, and managed to turn that passion into a career as a freelance automotive journalist. When he’s not handling weekend coverage for The Drive, you can find him looking for a new book to read.
