Gee Venom

Mikec7z

they bend very easily.

I would highly suggest/demand that anyone who buys these cars new get a wheel and tire warranty with zero deductible, with at least 30,000 dollars of total coverage for the 3 or 4 years they own the car.

get the mild to wild exhaust controller, and put your car back into touring mode immediately

should be around 900 dollars for the insurance. If you live on the east coast, they might charge you more, try to get them down to under 1000 and you'll be thankful later. Sometimes you can get it for 300 bucks... ill explain more in a minute...

I would also get the insurance pamphlet and call the insurance company ahead of time and ask them about "aftermarket wheels"... while the contract may say "no aftermarket wheels"... that term, is defined in the contract... and it usually reads "wheels and tires outside of factory spec"

i would then call up cw4l or brixton forged, and tell them you want forged wheels in factory sizes and offsets.. have them send those across to you with part numbers and prices...

i would forward those specs to the insurance company, and ask them if they will cover these wheels if you purchased them... and were to put them on your car immediately at time of purchase with the stock tires still used. Likely, they will respond "yes"... get that in writing, via email, etc, and write it on your contract that they are covered... THEN buy the contract.

IF you never buy the aftermarket wheels, no worries, the contract still covers your stock wheels of course. But if you buy aftermarket wheels at any time, then they will be covered also, and so will the stock tires on those wheels.

most people dont know that you can accomplish this.

Gee Venom

dvilin

I have a 2019 Z06 with the stock chrome wheels. The roads here in many areas are rough and I have inadvertently hit some deep jarring potholes. But no bent wheels or any other issues. In tour or sport mode you should be fine, track mode is another story and should be avoided on the street. You do read about owners having problems with bent rims on this forum but I believe it is more the exception than the rule..

Mikec7z

the wheel and tire warranty will run you 1000 bucks. It will be sold by your finance department when you buy the car. I would use this as an excuse to make friends with the finance guy in advance. Tell him the guys on corvette forum told you to call the wheel and tire insurance place first before you bought the car to verify they will cover specific wheels other than the oem wheels. He will give you a copy of the contract that you will sign, etc, and then you call the provider of the policy. THey are much nicer and bend rules BEFORE you buy the contract. After you buy it, its easy for them to just answer "no" and thats why you want to get it in writing from them so theres no questions later.

On the east coast with potholes, you must have it. Frankly, with these wheels anywhere in the usa, you must have it, but the east coast is the worst.

Mikec7z

it has already paid me 6000 dollars worth of wheels and tires.. in 1 year. Its a 4 year contract. They are going to lose money with me, that is for sure.

Mikec7z

ill bet money your wheels are bent and you don't even know it Its very common that people think the road they are on has tiny bumps and its part of the vette ride.

Swing by a wheel repair facility, and have them just test 1 wheel on your car... they usually test 1 free or 20 bucks a wheel... either way, i bet you'll be surprised.

3 Z06ZR1

I sold my stock wheels and bought the GM cup wheels from 2 different venders. IMO The wheel bending of the stock wheel is over blown. The one time I personally found a bent wheel was a aftermarket forged wheel.
Any of them can bend.
The wide rim is supported on one side so a good hit on the other has leverage to bend it. I drive around the pot holes when I can. Have had 20 sets of stock wheels and bent 0. You can replace one for 350 or less to the door. Nobody says a word unless they bend so you hear of it but it is not that many.

3 Z06ZR1

I agree on that! 32k on C7z and 5k on the other C7Z and all good so far. The DCS controller helps with a ride softer than regular tour setting.

dvilin

Funny you suggest that as I recently had some parts installed on my Vette and had them check the wheels based on what I have read on the forum and fortunately all good.

Mikec7z

all types do bend... and thats why im saying if he gets the wheel and tire contract... make sure it covers the aftermarket wheels he buys too. Keep in mind, the contract covers nails and debris, which is common in cities as well, stuff falls off work trucks, etc.

so take the wheels out of the equation, and lets just look at tires... 2 flats and you are at the cost of the contract. It also cover's towing and lodging if you get a broken wheel or flat tire and it takes a couple days to get it shipped in. its more than just wheel replacement.

keep in mind, the contract is refundable at a pro rated value... so if you get a 4 year contract, and a year later determine i was wrong and you wasted your money, you can go get 750 of the 1000 dollars back. Also, ask for less than 1000 for the contract, offer them 4 bucks a month or 300 bucks basically. Finance guys have to sell 2 products every customer through their office or they get in trouble essentially when their averages fall. They will take it out of the price of the car if they have to sometimes. It helps them keep their jobs. Keep in mind, if you cancel the contract later, and they only charged you an extra 4 bucks a month for it, it will still refund you back 75% of.... what should have been... the larger real retail number in many cases.

im telling you.. wheel and tire insurance is a no brainer... the people who dont buy it, dont understand what all it does and how to get their money back if they dont use it.

It also covers curbing your wheels, as long as they are not chrome. They have to fix scratches and dings as well. It means you can throw your wife the keys and its okay when she goes through the drive through... its not ww3 later that night.

Gee Venom

Mikec7z

you have some magic wheels my man

3 Z06ZR1

Miles vary on that. I use America's tire which gets me free flat repair I would have lost money over all after 8 Corvette's if I bought wheel insurance and I have curbed 1 rim total and that was 325.00
The people that don't use it (did it ever occur to you ) may not deem it worth it?

smjlosgatos

In 2 years, about 23,000 miles, my left rear wheel has started losing pressure. Maybe 10 psi over 5 days. Upon examination there were no nails. But when the wheel was examined there were several cracks in them. This has occurred twice, both times after about 10,000 miles were put on it. Both times it was the left rear wheel. These are the stock black Z06 wheels found on the 2016 model.
Has anyone else had an issue with the wheels cracking?
I am wondering if the metal is fatiguing and failing on that wide wheel under the acceleration/torque put on it.
Those wheels are more than a $1,000 each. I got Chevy to warranty the second failure but not the first one.
Anyone else seeing this?

HOCKEY

MSG C5

Mikec7z

yeah, i would go into the finance guy, take the car with you so they dont think anything strange is going on, like fraud and existing damage already.

he should easily be able to add it on... i would go into his office and say "if you can give me a deal on wheel and tire insurance, i would consider buying it IF there is still time to do so" and then just let him talk himself into it. The deal is not finalized yet, takes 30 days usually, so he can easily make changes. I think you can get it at anytime anyway, but its always cheapest at time of sale.

Mikec7z

then don't buy it, but if you pull 1 lateral g on a daily basis... you are putting tremendous force on the outside wheels and tires...

you have to figure, they have at least 2500lbs of the cars weight pushing down on them due to the weight going to outside tires, plus they have another vector of force laterally 1 g, and again we will say only 2500 of the 3500 is 1 lateral g of force, so the 2 perpendicular vectors of force, combined and calculated a2+b2=c2, basic geometry, you have a lot of force per wheel during hard turning, especially under acceleration and braking during the curve... put well over 2000 to 3000 lbs of total weight on a single wheel, and then it hits a bump.. and the inside of the wheel barrel is not spoked, so it bends easily... and with the caster and camber well all run, the inside lip of the wheel takes a lot of impact during bumps... you are probably talking about over 10,000lbs of force on the wheel at the moment it hits a bump... they bend, its simple.

its game over, they will bend if you drive like this daily, i know not all do, but i do.

To the person asking about their drivers side rear, yes, i have cracked mine, not just bent, but cracked. Many here have.

MSG C5

I spoke with the dealer finance guy today and he told me that aftermarket wheels are covered as he simply needs to check the box on the insurance form. Basically $1,150 for 5 years with any balance being refundable in the event I trade or sell my car. Covers all wheel and tire damage, road hazard, etc. It just doesn't cover cosmetic damage, i.e. curbing the wheel, etc.