Chevrolet Embarrassingly Can’t Change Tires On The C8 Corvette Z06

Jun 05, 2023

Speed Phenom struggles to find a Chevy dealer to mount the new tires on his carbon wheels so he turns to his local Ferrari dealer for assistance.

The brand-new C8 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 has been somewhat of a performance revelation for GM and Chevrolet. While some Corvette purists remain divided over the introduction of a more European-style 670 hp flat-plane V8 – now sitting behind the driver – the C8 Z06 can now go toe-to-toe with Europe's elite sports cars.

The ownership experience on the other hand, particularly the aftercare by Chevrolet, has left many customers with a sour taste in their mouths.

The reports of C8 Z06 engines exploding after less than 1,000 miles and the somewhat dubious backtracking by Chevy on their $5,000 ownership reward program have been PR disasters, and YouTuber Speed Phenom has found yet another issue with Chevrolet's halo car.

Speed Phenom has been having issues with C8 Corvette wheels for close to six months now. The original carbon wheels that came with the Z06 began to crack in the center in November last year, and after a lengthy process of getting replacement wheels sent out to him, he found that no Chevrolet dealership would fit the required tires to the car.

The C8 Corvette Z06 uses a very specific wheel and tire setup – running 345" Michelin Cup 2 R's on the rear and 275" on the front. These are factory run-flat tires though, which means the sidewall of the tire is so short and stiff that getting the tires to seal to the carbon wheels without potential damage is unbelievably difficult.

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Speed Phenom says no Chevy dealer will touch them as they don't have the appropriate training and don't want to be liable for damages. As a result, Speed Phenom decided to take them to Ferrari San Diego to see if they could fit them instead.

Despite multiple attempts, however, not even licensed Ferrari mechanics were able to fit the tires. The Ferrari Mechanics tried multiple techniques, including a Cheetah tire bead seating tool, ratchet straps, and using multiple bars among others. However, no matter what they tried, they couldn't safely fit the tires.

Speed Phenom has also had a few independent garages contact him about alternative methods, with the most viable looking like a flange method which mounts to the center of the wheel via the lug nuts. However, he says he doesn't want to go outside the licensed dealership network as the car will no longer be under warranty.

At this point, it would seem to make sense to just either find some different tires or fit a new set of wheels altogether.

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Unfortunately for Speed Phenom, though, there are no alternative tires that he can find to fit the OEM carbon wheels, and the Z07 pack on the C8 Z06 has a specific steering calibration that's designed to work with the lightweight carbon wheels, leaving him stuck on what to do next.

Callum MacHugh is a petrolhead in love with all things automotive. Growing up in the North of Scotland, his passion began at age 2 watching Rally Cars tear through the Highland countryside very, very sideways. Since then, he has become an avid motorsports fan and will cancel any and all plans to watch the latest round of the IMSA Weathertech Championship. Callum also has an honours degree in Journalism and has previously written about JDM tuner cars, various motorsport categories, and sim racing.