fsvoboda

Sure, it's a cheaper way to do it than tooling a whole new set of fenders, but given that Corvette's market niche is bang for the buck, would it really make sense to incur that expense when there's a cheaper way to go?

Want to spend a lot of bucks on a performance car? Porsche is right there to take your dollars.

(BTW, the spats are in the tradition of racing, where the simpler solution is generally preferred, and often the only way to go for fast results.)

Always Red Dave

The SPATS however do match my raw piece of plastic front spoiler in my stage 1 aero.

village idiot

which also doesn't match every other black accent on the car.

village idiot

I thought the GS fenders were already slightly different.

I assume they have more than one (pair) of fender tooling made anyway. They had to make tooling for the spats anyway.

Even if they didn't, the per vehicle cost is pretty nominal, it's one less part and one less process at the factory and a huge value add.

TOMZ07

change them out to carbon fiber if you think the plastic looks cheap. You can purchase the carbon fiber spats for about $400

djnice

I am not picking on one person here, but some people are completely clueless with this tooling excuse. The Z06 fenders are different than the stingray fenders. How long will people live in ignorance of facts. They did "retool" whatever that means, but didn't do it right.

village idiot

:facepalm:

TOMZ07

Not sure what that means

Sub Driver

It means you don't get it. The point is they are ugly and out of place. Dressing them up in carbon fiber doesn't help, they still look silly.

TOMZ07

Too each his own. I have never let it get to me like you cry babies do over everything.

The origanal coment i believe was about how they are ugly cheap plastic. So put expensive carbon on it or go buy a ****** porche

TOMZ07

CRY BABIES

Snorman

Somebody posted some "in the wild" pics of two ZR1's on the VOA FB page.
Compared to the show pics posted of the ZR1, the front looked bad. Like really bad IMO. The wider nose looks big and goofy and while they are very functional, the air intakes exacerbated the big, wide, goofy look.
I always thought making the entire front wider and eliminating the "spats" that some people whine about would look goofy, and those pics confirmed it for me. I'd absolutely need to see one in person.
Obviously an incredible performer though!
S.

bapd77

I agree. As soon as I saw the front end of the ZR1 I hated the look.

VETTE-NV

Ahhh....Somebody gets it! The spats, or fender flares, or whatever you want to call them, was a conscious design choice. Maybe not the best decision but that was the design they went with. I doubt doing a full fender such as the ZR1 would’ve cost that much more. But if they had done that, they would have needed to do a new front fascia because it would have been wider. So if there was a cost-cutting expense that would’ve been the reason. I really don’t like them and I wish I had a full front fender to cover my tires, but I absolutely love the car and that is one small aspect I can certainly overlook. No car is perfect. It seems like that if there’s anything we could possibly bitch about on this forum we find a way to focus in on it. I’m over it and I love my C7 grand sport. Couldn’t care less about the spats at this point.

2016_Z06

For the base aero they look fine it's when everything else looks carbon flash or fiber they look junkie

Always Red Dave

Sorry guys but that picture of the red ZR1 is ugly! Maybe it needs spats.

Always Red Dave

Thanks for the nice comment VILLAGE IDIOT!

JerryU

When the Z06 came out felt, like many thought that the spats looked tacked on. Then Tadge in his post said they considered other options including molding them in and painting body color but with some colors it didn't look good. For aero reasons they had to make a sharp angle with the fender. "Made me feel better" when I bought my Grand Sport!

They certainly were not going to made me not get it for the added tire width I felt my Z51 always needed!

Think the Stage 3 winglets and wider ACS Splash Guards I added help make them look more integrated. Also wider front fenders and bumper increase drag, more than wider rear fenders. With 755 hp the ZR1 can handle! As with the wider rear fenders and spats on the Grand Sport, for the ZR1 "Form Follows Function," so they look fine for it!

Just Sayn'




Stage 3 Winglets and Wider ACS Splash Guards Help Integrate the Spats, IMO





Painted, Molded Spats on Original Grand Sport Don't Look Better

G fix needy

The original GS was a race car, not sold to the public, & it was cost effective for a few cars to just add fender flares.
The present day winglets probably only add more drag on a street car unless it's cornering at over 90 - 100 mph (on a track of course).

JerryU

^^

The point was the original Grand Sport has spats molded into the fiberglass fenders and painted body color. That no doubt was preferred over wider fenders (if that would have even been legal per the SCCA rules) since Duntov was trying to keep drag low as the Cobra's he designed the car to beet had a smaller frontal area.

Yep the Stage 3 Winglets I added probably do increase drag although they reduce turbulence around the front wheels. At highway speeds probably little difference or function. I added strictly for looks. I'm sure the spoiler extensions that come with that option package increase drag even at highway speeds and are also on no value at those speeds! Perhaps a bit when I hit redline in 3rd but more rear downforce not really needed even there!

Although the ACS Splash Guards were added to help keep pebbles thrown by the wider tires from hitting the side of the car, they do help integrate the spats as well.