2018 Chevy Colorado Z71

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JCWages

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My apologies. The TFL Truck test I was referring to was between the Tacoma and the Ranger. But in the Edmunds video didn't they give the Tacoma a higher articulation score?

 
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JCWages said:
My apologies. The TFL Truck test I was referring to was between the Tacoma and the Ranger. But in the Edmunds video didn't they give the Tacoma a higher articulation score?
Click to expand...
Ah... OK. I do remember seeing that video. Thank you for taking the time to look.

I went back and watched that Edmunds video again on the three tested trucks. You are correct. I was wrong. For some reason I got the Tacoma rating wrong in my head. Here are the specs of those three particular trucks (With their mid range trims) from the Edmunds video.

Tacoma
Breakover = 24 deg BEST
Approach = 32 deg BEST
Departure = 23.5 deg
Articulation = 468 BEST

Colorado
Breakover = 19.8 deg
Approach = 17.3 deg (this is with air dam On... removing it gives 4" more clearance in the center and about 6" more in front of the tires)
Departure = 22.1 deg
Articulation = 410 (Now this makes sense since the bed is so much deeper)

Ranger
Breakover = 21.5 deg
Approach = 28.7 deg
Departure = 25.4 deg BEST
Articulation = 367

It looks like the Colorado is mid to worst on specs for these categories. I would have to throw on some bumpers to match/possibly be higher than them.

For crawl ratio I know that Colorado is significantly higher than the Taco. The Ranger is a little higher than the Colorado.



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jplemons said:
I was a little concerned about the automatic locking rear, but it sounds like you prefer this.
Click to expand...
One very important thing that these reviewers (as well as pretty much every reviewer I have ever seen) left out about the Chevy Colorado is... the benefits of the "Auto" mode in the transfer case. It has hands-down been the #1 useful thing in daily driving. It unlocks the Transfer Case (aka center diff) and allows you to drive in circles on dry pavement without worry. No binding of the drivetrain.

That means that this is a 4x4 system that is actually usable when the pavement is patches of dry and snow/ice. You can turn it on and forget about it. That is what we usually get in my area. Snow... with rapid melting over the next few days... except where shaded by trees.

Binding your drivetrain is very tough on it.

When I turn it on (@ speeds of up to 75mph I might add) I will see my instant fuel economy gauge drop by only about 1mpg with the cruise set to 55 - 60mph. So fuel economy does not drop much when in use.

I know the Taco does not have this feature but the Ranger may. IDK enough about that truck yet.
 
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great08

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I just did the first oil change since installing the OEM skids. Verdict... oil changes are just as easy as before. Awesome

Oil filter is up on the side of the engine and reached through the engine bay. No factor.
Drain bolt is still super open and easy to get to. I did discover that the skids act as a great flashlight holder. That is what is lighting the thing up in the pics below. Should make oil changes on the road a lot easier. lol

The oil does not drip on the plate... however... it also did at some point (just a little). I left it draining for a good 15 to 20mins. Maybe some wind blew the oil back onto the pan at some point idk. Either way.... it was not enough to run out the other drain hole further back. I was able to easily reach up from both sides and wipe it out easily.

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IMG_0952.JPG
 
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great08

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Top 10 Resale Values

Which vehicles in North America have the best resale values? I will give you a hint... Most are trucks!

I paid 4k less than MSRP which does not factor in. KBB counts from msrp.

I bet the Gladiator and Ranger will be on the list as well in the future.


EDIT: I usually don't even consider selling a vehicle until after 200k to 250k miles normally... so resale is a bit of a moot point to me. I still like the news though.
 
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madcratebuilder

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jplemons said:
Any concerns about the dreaded transmission shudder?
Click to expand...

The Shudder seems to effect about 10% of the trucks on the road. One shop cut a converter open and it shows the wear on the lock up clutch material and on the steel rings.
Why does effect some and not others? The 8L45 TCM has a "learning" process that takes about 500 miles to complete. I think driving habits have an effect. Owners with the Pedal Commander or a tune don't seem to be effected.
The 15-16 6 speed had these issues and they seem to be corrected with a new flash on the TCM. Programing may have something to do with it.
I ordered the PC 2 days after buying my ZR2 and then went with the Trifecta tune after a year. After 21 months of owning the truck it runs better than ever, I just installed 4.10 gears. Stock I didn't like how the trans shifted, the PC made a big improvement. The Tune made even more improvement and the gears are the icing on the cake. When driving in town I use manual mode on the shifter and select 5th as the highest possible gear the trans can use.
 
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jplemons said:
Any concerns about the dreaded transmission shudder?
Click to expand...
From what I have seen... either you have it or you don’t. I don’t have any worries.

So far I only have 20k miles on the odo. I have towed across country/ etc. and no issues.

GM gave the order a little while back to quit changing tq converters in an attempt to fix it. It was not solving the problems for the guys that have the issue.

They just announced that the transmissions with the issue have extreme water content in their fluids. It turns out that the transmission fluid that is in the transmission is hygroscopic like brake fluid. It was collecting and holding water and causing issues. They are shipping some new flush machine to dealerships with some new fluid to fix it soon allegedly.

It makes sense since my transmission runs so cool compared to most transmissions. I never see temps above 115F during the Summer unless I am towing. Then it will only get up to 145 to 154.... which is still cooler than most transmissions normally operate. That is a very good thing for towing, off roading , and fluid/transmission life.

I also commute for a few hours every day. So mine is likely keeping the water content low from that. The fluid is usually around only 80F when cruising down the hwy @80mph during the Winter.

I plan to flush my fluid at 30k miles either way.

I am a bit of a engine nerd though. If I had issues I would buy an aftermarket converter that was over built... and bolt it up. My truck is paid for and I am sticking with it.

The Tacoma’s had issues with their engines, transmissions, and some diffs when it first came out. They are squared away now and are good to go.

GM updated its V6 and transmission in 17’. Just like with everything new ther are issues that will arise in new products. It takes a year or two for the complicated ones.

Carcomplaints.com is a great resource for seeing which years of any model are the most reliable.

The Tacoma and Colorado were pretty bad at first but have gotten much better each year. The Ranger will go through that too. The Frontier was the same way too.

That is why I don’t like buying the first year of any vehicle unless I am willing to deal with things until they are figured out.

Just remember that on forums vehicles tend to look worse than real life. There are probably 10 Chevy Colorado’s at my workplace. I have not heard of anyone having that issue. On the forum it would seem like 50% of the trucks have that issue. Same on tacoworld
 
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I just installed some LED reverse and bed lights onto my truck. They were $8.79 per pair from Amazon.

Saw them on a Chevy Colorado YouTube channel. They make the bed lights much brighter and the reverse lights a little brighter (and more modern). I can hit the door unlock button @ night with my key fob and light up camp with them. I may come back later and wire in a switch as well. Or I can just use the bed lights as well.

WAIT!!! I just came up with something both Simple and Brilliant!!! I can just use the bed light switch and wire in the reverse lights to that! Just a best use of factory buttons! Man oh man am I good. lol (Easier said than done!)

There are some up to $200 options out there that are like little spot lights. Not for me and my needs. This will work just perfect for me!








EDIT: I know wiring and I put some more thought into it. I would have to wire it to power a relay to keep the systems separated. It would totally work though.
 
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great08 said:
From what I have seen... either you have it or you don’t. I don’t have any worries.

So far I only have 20k miles on the odo. I have towed across country/ etc. and no issues.

GM gave the order a little while back to quit changing tq converters in an attempt to fix it. It was not solving the problems for the guys that have the issue.

They just announced that the transmissions with the issue have extreme water content in their fluids. It turns out that the transmission fluid that is in the transmission is hygroscopic like brake fluid. It was collecting and holding water and causing issues. They are shipping some new flush machine to dealerships with some new fluid to fix it soon allegedly.

It makes sense since my transmission runs so cool compared to most transmissions. I never see temps above 115F during the Summer unless I am towing. Then it will only get up to 145 to 154.... which is still cooler than most transmissions normally operate. That is a very good thing for towing, off roading , and fluid/transmission life.

I also commute for a few hours every day. So mine is likely keeping the water content low from that. The fluid is usually around only 80F when cruising down the hwy @80mph during the Winter.

I plan to flush my fluid at 30k miles either way.

I am a bit of a engine nerd though. If I had issues I would buy an aftermarket converter that was over built... and bolt it up. My truck is paid for and I am sticking with it.

The Tacoma’s had issues with their engines, transmissions, and some diffs when it first came out. They are squared away now and are good to go.

GM updated its V6 and transmission in 17’. Just like with everything new ther are issues that will arise in new products. It takes a year or two for the complicated ones.

Carcomplaints.com is a great resource for seeing which years of any model are the most reliable.

The Tacoma and Colorado were pretty bad at first but have gotten much better each year. The Ranger will go through that too. The Frontier was the same way too.

That is why I don’t like buying the first year of any vehicle unless I am willing to deal with things until they are figured out.

Just remember that on forums vehicles tend to look worse than real life. There are probably 10 Chevy Colorado’s at my workplace. I have not heard of anyone having that issue. On the forum it would seem like 50% of the trucks have that issue. Same on tacoworld
Click to expand...
Very good point on the trans temps. Mine runs really cool, I was hoping the the full set of Super Skidz would warm it up but didn't seen to. I don't think I've seen over 150*F. If it got to 220 it would burn that moisture out.
 
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Yeah. I thought my trans temps would go up a bit when I added the OEM ZR2 style skids. It may have... but only a few degrees if it did. This morning on my way into work I looked at my trans temps after driving down the hwy for 30mins. The temp was 89F. Pretty darn cool.

I actually like the uber low temps because it will drastically increase fluid life/ transmission life. However, if it starts causing the fluid to actually go bad even sooner by causing water to build up in the system... then I shall put a switch in there to turn off the transmission/Tcase cooling lines. Then when I tow or go off-road for extended challenging conditions... I will pop the hood and open the valve up.

I need to read up on that new fluid type. I will post anything I find in here. Stuff like that takes reading time though. I only have time for things like that on the weekend usually. I did hear that GM was supposed to make an announcement for either a new fluid or software update some time early this year. Mine is working great though. I will keep an ear out and get the new fluid/or software when they come out with it.
 
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GM has a new fluid and a new flush machine with a special procedure for doing the latest TSB. It well take a few months before all dealerships have the equipment.
 
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madcratebuilder said:
GM has a new fluid and a new flush machine with a special procedure for doing the latest TSB. It well take a few months before all dealerships have the equipment.
Click to expand...
Roger. Sounds like it will be a simple fix then. Just have to get the water out of the system and put in some good fluid. Then they can change out the converters of those guys that had them damaged.

Do you know what the new fluid type is?
 
madcratebuilder

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great08 said:
Roger. Sounds like it will be a simple fix then. Just have to get the water out of the system and put in some good fluid. Then they can change out the converters of those guys that had them damaged.

Do you know what the new fluid type is?
Click to expand...

If I remember right it's a new Mobil One product. There are several threads at coloradofans.com that have been following the 8l45 shudder issue. As more trucks get this new fluid we'll see if it is the cure. If you already have damage to the converter clutch that may need to be address. I still believe that the TCM programing is partially to blame.
 
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