2005 Chevy Colorado Build Up

[Northern Explorer]

First Post

A short introduction…. I’ve always wanted to do some type of upgrades/customizing to my vehicle but I’ve never had a truck worth putting any money into. I usually drive my vehicles to the point that they are towed away to the big scrap heap in the sky.
I had the same final end point in mind with my 1994 Chevy S10 (2wd, four cylinder, manual). It had about 86,000 miles on it and was chugging along just fine. Just fine that is until an 84-year-old woman ran a red light and totaled my truck.


Due to the unfortunate demise of my S10, I was now in the market for a new used truck. I already knew the basics of what I was looking for. I wanted four-wheel drive, more power, automatic transmission, and cruse control. After a very quick search I ended up getting a 2005 Chevy Colorado.

Vehicle Specs.
Z85 LS Model
4-wheel drive
Crew Cab
5’ 1” bed
5 Cylinder, 3.5-liter, 220 horse power
Four speed automatic
Stock tire size 235/75r15 (Diameter = 28.9”)
Anti lock breaks
Torsion bar suspension on front
Leaf under axel in back
Cruise Control
Power Windows
came with plastic bed liner

Now I have something to play with.
The only modification I had in mind initially was to get some Bushwacker fender flares to make it look a little more like the Z71 model (don’t ask why I didn’t just get a Z71 model truck in the first place). I ordered a set from ebay and installed them soon after they arrived. This simple modification set off a chain reaction that ultimately led me to the Expedition Portal web site. The fender flares looked great and were easy to install. The problem now was that my stock tires looked even smaller than they did before. I wanted to see what other people with similarly sized trucks have done to their rigs to get an idea of how big I waned to go. I knew I didn’t want to make my truck into a rock crawler or anything like that. My friend has a jeep that is one step away from being put on a trailer to get from location to location. I would rather take my four-wheeler down that type of road/trail. What’s a man to do…what’s a man to do…click…click…click.. Expedition Portal??? What’s this site about? This was the answer that I was looking for. Not 100% street, not 100% off road, but right in the middle. The ability to take you to some of the most remote locations, and still be a daily driver. (That’s the direction I’m going with anyway) Let the mods begin.
I will post some pics of all the goodies that I have accumulated over the winter. No garage, so most of them are sitting on my closet floor right now.

Plan of attack:
I plan on keeping this truck my daily driver. The whole reason for me getting a crew cab was to comfortably carry more then two people. So no taking out the back seat. I am somewhat going with the Wescott’s Weekend Warrior concept. I want this to be a multi use vehicle. I am defiantly new to all of this and will welcome any and all comments and suggestions.

More to come as time permits.

[Scott Brady]

Welcome to ExPo.

With 15" wheels, I would be very tempted to buy 31x10.5 tires, as they will not overtax the driveline or affect the DD performance too much.

Any pictures of the new truck?

[kcowyo]

I'd be interested in hearing your impressions of the 3.5ltr. I like the looks of the Colorado and Canyon, but I haven't had the opportunity to drive one with the 5 cylinder.

As our host mentioned, a tire upgrade is usually the best place to start. I like to follow that with some recovery gear (tow strap, shovel, place for cold beer) and some form of communication to call for help or stay in touch with others on the trail.

It's good to have some GM blood here. Welcome to the forum!

[Northern Explorer]

Modifications so far…

Last fall after one of the first snow falls of the year I wanted to test out the four-wheel drive. I went to a place fairly close to my house where I used to bow hunt when I was in high school. To make a long story short, I drove through an iced over puddle that was way deeper than I thought it was going to be. I ripped off half of the little air dam that hangs down from the front bumper and broke one of the hard plastic universal fit mud flaps that I just put on a month before. When I got home I removed (sawed off) the other half of the air dam, the mangled mud flap, and the one surviving mud flap on the passenger side. Luckily I only got around to putting them on the front. I had been thinking about removing the air dam all along to help a little with approach angle and general ground clearance. In the future I plan on installing the flexible rubber type universal fit mud flaps. You may not need them in the south, but around here they really help with keeping some of the salt and ice build up off the rocker panels. One of my worst fears is to build this truck up and then have it turn into a big chunk of iron oxide. I don’t know how many times I’ve gone to the do-it-yourself car wash this winter.

Back to the subject…

For my birthday, my wife bought me a Garmin GPS MAPS 60CS along with the City Select mapping software. I’ve just started to use the mapping software and have a lot to learn. My overall review of this product is that it is a great GPS. I currently have it mounted on my dash in the center, which sometimes makes it a little hard to see (small screen for handheld use). I plan on moving it closer to the drivers side as soon as I figure out an ideal mounting location. If you want a GPS for in vehicle use only, I would probably recommend something with a larger screen. For our use this one works out great because we plan on using it hiking as well.

For Xmas, my wife bought me a Jensen Multimedia Receiver. If you're keeping track, my wife has spent more on my truck so far then I have. This thing has everything…7 inch flip up touch screen that plays DVDs or television stations (so far all I can pick up is the Jesus channel), input for Ipod, SD card, XM ready, and navigation ready if I decide to not use my Garmin. You can also hook up an on board camera to it. The SD card is great. I have downloaded all of my choice songs from my entire cd collection to something the size of a postage stamp. I made one small modification to the unit. It has a safety feature that disables the screen if the vehicle is in motion. The parking break has to be on if you want to watch tv or play a DVD. I installed a pushbutton switch to bypass this safety feature so my wife can watch DVDs when we are on long trips.

Sorry these are the only pictures I could manage tonight. A blizzard kicked up out of nowhere and I don’t feel like running outside to take in dash pics right now.


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[Northern Explorer]

Thanks for the advice. The 5 cylinder really has a lot of kick to it. Keep in mind I have had 4 cylinder vehicles all my life so I guess it’s all relative.

I’m slightly farther along in my build up then I let on in my first two posts. I purchased a set of used H3 rims on ebay. They measure 16 X 7.5 with the same bolt pattern and about the same backspacing as the stock rims. They are made of some kind of alloy and are fairly light for their size. I also purchased a set of BF Goodrich All-Terrains that measure 265/75r16 (Diameter = 31.7” Width = 10.5”). Scott…If you're wondering how they work in the snow…

I had planned on putting on my 2-inch lift before mounting these but due in part to slow shipping I put them on with stock suspension. I haven’t noticed any rubbing with this configuration but I haven’t really flexed my suspension too much either. I had volunteered to drive a group of friends out to a camp a few weekends ago so the tires had to go on. I wanted to see if I could drive in the camp road that had not been plowed all winter (about ½ mile in length). This winter had so far been light on the snowfall (till this weekend), so I thought there was a good chance that I could make it in. Despite the bumper pushing snow in a few placed, and a fallen tree that had to be dragged out of the road with a tow strap, we made it in no problem. Wish I had taken pictures.

Tire info.
Stock tire size on the Z71 model Colorado = 265/75r15
BF Goodrich AT 265/75r16 Diameter 31.7”
On my truck Z85 stock tire size = 235/75r15 Diameter 28.9”
31.7” – 28.9” = 2.8” Divided by 2 = 1.4” of extra clearance over stock

Stock tire and rim weight = 47.5 pounds (measured on a bathroom scale)
H3 rim and new BF Goodrich AT weight = 73 pounds

Net gain of 25.5 pounds per tire

More to come later.


Tire comparison...Installed in friends' garage.

[BCJC]

welcome! i've had my 04 Canyon since new and am quite pleased with it. you should have no issues with the new tires, i had 31x10.50 at's on my z85 with no suspension mods and they had zero issues. i've since cranked my tb's about 1.5" up and run 33x10.50 bfg at's with only slight rubbing on the sway bar, no big deal. i would love to see pics of your truck, i'm curious about the fender flares. please keep us (me) up to date with your progress. cheers.

[teotwaki]

.............. The problem now was that my stock tires looked even smaller than they did before. I wanted to see what other people with similarly sized trucks have done to their rigs to get an idea of how big I waned to go.

navigate to the EW home page and look for the white paper on tire sizes. Excellent paper and rare to see keen analysis rather than opinionated hype.

http://www.expeditionswest.com/resea...tion_rev1.html

[opie]

I wasnt epxecting to find another Colorado on an expedition forum!! Much less to be in MI too.

Good job on your truck, it looks good. Ive got a 2005 Z85 as well. I had those Bubaloo shackles for about 2 years and 7 turns on the TB's. Just recently I returned the suspension to stock but went with some 31 10.5 15 tires on the stock Z85 wheels.

No big plans to lift the truck anytime soon...maybe someday though.

I saw you got the indexing keeys for the torsion bars...I dont think the ones you got are the same as the stock ones...What they should have accomplished was change the resting point of the suspension without having to crank the adjusters. Say if you kept the stock keys and turned the bolts 5 complete turns...the indexed keys should accomplish the same lift without touching the adjustment bolts.

A friend an I are heading up to Mounds ORV park tomorrow, last weekend before thye close until May. We should be able to get some pics and should be decent weather.

[Canyon2006]

I was thinking the same thing as you ^^^^^ I didn't expect to find one on here either. I have a 2006 Canyon Z85. 2 Inch springtech spring up front and airbag helper springs in the back. 30x9.5 BFG At's. I don't want to lift it much more either....not yet....Next tires will be 31's for sure though!

[opie]

I was thinking the same thing as you ^^^^^ I didn't expect to find one on here either. I have a 2006 Canyon Z85. 2 Inch springtech spring up front and airbag helper springs in the back. 30x9.5 BFG At's. I don't want to lift it much more either....not yet....Next tires will be 31's for sure though!

The 31's (which is the equivalent to the 265/75/15 that come stock on the Z71) do look better. Much better footprint too.

I dont want to go crazy with lift...2" all around I was happy with. With 2" of lift Ive seen guys get 33's on their Colorado and Canyon.