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In a pinch to order my z06 tomorrow am. I am torn on the CF wheel option. Its alot of money and Pennsylvania roads are notoriously ****. I will likely never track the car. It will likely only ever see typical road use, and me staring at it in the garage. But the draw of carbon fiber wheels is oh so enticing. Am i just ignorant? Save the hassle and get alloys?
Also as a pre cursor I am buying the car as a means of having a long term investment that I can enjoy in the mean time. I feel that this is the last blast for american v8 that i can afford (I suspect ZR1 will be out of my budget) and I think in 30 years this car will have yielded me great enjoyment and a few bucks in the bank if my son wants to sell it. So having a "desireable" config is of course important.
I will get them and deal with the difficulty of finding a competent tire shop to mount new tires when the time comes. With the number of miles I put on my Corvette in a year it will be at least five years before I face this. The exposed carbon fiber wheels are dead nuts beautiful. Between the ceramic brakes and carbon rims you are taking 10 lbs of unsprung weight off each corner as a bonus. I looked long and hard at this. Screw the practicality and taking the “safe" route. My Z06 will probably be the last new Corvette I will own. It will go down in the annals of automotive history as one of the most significant cars ever designed and built by GM. I’m going with the Carbon Aero package to boot. Get what you want. Get the exposed carbon fiber wheels. You’ll kick yourself down the road for not doing it. Only my opinion. I’m sure many will say not to do it.
I am getting the CF wheels, but also an additional set of wheels in the normal as well. I intend to have the CF wheels for the track or special car shows, the "normal" ones are the daily usage.
CF wheels could add to the ride quality due to the lower interia, but just by really careful near curbs.
I’d say get them if you like them. I almost backed out on mine because of fear of getting a flat fixed or curbing one or even ruining one. But after some research and a few calls I found companies to change flats. Also found out they can be repaired if you curb one. And if you were to curb one or hit something hard enough to ruin one my insurance guy said they would cover it just like a bent fender. I could have got a tire and wheel warranty with no deductible where I bought from but felt didn’t need it since it’s covered anyway. I’d just have to pay the small deductible. Never put a scratch on the previous two vette wheels.
It’s hard to say if they are worth it in a financial sense. Usually higher optioned cars don't hold there value as well as the lower optioned ones, but the Z06 and other cars like it is a bit different market. You’d have to find the right buyer who wants them and is willing to take the risk if they’ve been taken care of properly etc. I’ve always avoided CF brakes and now in this case CF wheels even when shopping new. I don’t want to deal with the hassle of finding and trusting a tire shop to change tires. Nor the replacement costs if something goes wrong, especially the CF rotors.
If I was looking used, I’d definitely avoid a car with CF brakes, not sure about CF wheels though. If I understand it correctly, the only way to tell if used CF rotors are still good is by taking them off the car and weighing them. It would have to be one hell of good PPI for me to trust buying it and not be on the hook to replace them. Also, if they get chipped from road debris or said tire installer made a mistake removing/installing etc, I’ve heard you need to replace CF rotors quicker than steel ones.
From a practical perspective, if I get a rock stuck in a caliper and eff up a steel rotor, it’s expensive to replace but not nearly what a carbon fiber rotor is. Same with a CF wheel, if you destroy one or curb one, yes you can get them fixed or go through insurance, but that’s one of the hassles I don’t want to deal with. Also, there always seems to be shortages with CF anything, with traditional wheels, brakes etc there are a lot more choices on the market to get you back on the road quicker.
But, they do look awesome so if you want them get them! I don’t think they’ll have anything to do with ride quality, IMO the Z06s already ride amazing, even on RF tires.
St. Jude Donor '09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17,'22-'23
I had a C6 ZR1 and now a C7 ZR1 both with carbon ceramic rotors and have had zero problems. Yes you have to be careful removing wheels but if the foam protectors are in place or stud guides are used it's no problem. They are basically dust free, stop great, look great and will last nearly forever on a street driven car. If I get to order a Z06 or ZR1 they will be on the order. I wouldn't be nearly as concerned about the rotors as I would finding a shop with the correct equipment to repair a flat or replace tires on the CF wheels. They do look great though.
I was recently facing the same decision when submitting my order. I ended up getting the exposed CF wheels and CF ground effects and have since been paired with an allocation.
Does anyone opt for the painted CF wheels, and why? Maybe those are more easily repaired cosmetically if you scuff them?
I would not worry about the roads in PA, although they do suck, been driving on CF wheels on my porsche's since 2017, just make sure you have a good wheel shop and you will be fine, and some dealerships just do a better job than others, and some you do not want anywhere near your corvette
I’d say get them if you like them. I almost backed out on mine because of fear of getting a flat fixed or curbing one or even ruining one. But after some research and a few calls I found companies to change flats. Also found out they can be repaired if you curb one. And if you were to curb one or hit something hard enough to ruin one my insurance guy said they would cover it just like a bent fender. I could have got a tire and wheel warranty with no deductible where I bought from but felt didn’t need it since it’s covered anyway. I’d just have to pay the small deductible. Never put a scratch on the previous two vette wheels.
Looking ahead, the other concern would be if you could still get one if you needed a replacement. These wheels are probably not in great supply, and GM won't keep them around forever.
I ran into this issue with my Carbon Edition Z06. A trip last summer to the Corvette Museum resulted in 3 bent wheels. With the limited production of the Carbon Editions, there are no replacements to be found, so I opted for aftermarket forged wheels in a style similar to an OEM to keep my vehicle looking somewhat original.
I'd hate to spend the very large sum of $ on the cf wheels only to have them unavailable if I needed a replacement.
Another thing to keep in mind is the cf wheel cars come with different wheel studs than the standard wheel cars for those thinking about swapping between cf & standard wheels regularly.
Another thing to keep in mind is the cf wheel cars come with different wheel studs than the standard wheel cars for those thinking about swapping between cf & standard wheels regularly.
This is correct. The CF wheels have a thicker hub the necessitates longer studs. I believe there is a TSB out about it because if you put none CF wheels on a car with these longer studs, the closed style lug nut will bottom out before it fully seats the wheel. You will either need to run wheel spacers or open lugs.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
C4 of Year Winner (performance mods) 2019
Get them if you want them, but don't count on them or any other option really "holding" value on the car. Personally, you're statement of the car as a "long term investment" is absolutely not something I would count on. Could the Z06 hold value as the last great naturally aspirated high revving V8? Maybe, especially if you're talking 30 years from now. But more likely as with almost every other Corvette model that's been produced, it will likely lose value.
02-19-2024, 10:25 PM
Are CF wheels worth it
