GM Reveals 2017 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by Scrappy Doo

It runs on 87 FWIW. Mine got built in october and it's still sitting in Dearborn.

This truck is cool and it competes with the Tacoma TRD for sure. The Raptor is in another class. Notice I didn't say better, I just said a different class.

This. They'll be compared for sure, but technically they're both aimed at different purposes. But definitely both at the top of their classes.

[Expunge]

Originally Posted by Corner carver

The cross members do a decent job of protecting the transmission in stock form... The transmisson sits much higher than the these, although without the skid plate there is always a chance:

It just annoys me.. my 15 year old ZR2 has a skid plate for the transmission.(as well as the engine and gas tank) The new ZR2 should have one as well. If you are serious about it being a badass offroad truck, you don't cut corners. And this is cutting corners.

[COmaro]

The real competition for this will be the 2018 Rubicon, which has not yet been revealed.

A current stock Rubicon will still be better than this for rock crawling, because the Rubicon has lower gears, the front articulation is better, and a Rubicon has the remote swaybar disconnect, which I don't think the ZR2 will have. The ZR2 looks like it is trying to be a rock crawler like a Rubicon and a trail runner like a Raptor. I'm guessing it will not exceed either one at what they are meant to do, but might be more versatile.

Bottom line is what everyone has said, if this thing comes in at $45K, forget it.

[6spdhyperblue]

I think the 4door rubicon is $45k and has regular shocks. To get a position sensitive shock in the aftermarket is mucho dollars.

I think this truck would feel much better on the road. So this thing can do everything well but likely not beat the rubicon or the raptor in their arena. But the price at $40 seems right.

The extended cab at should be priced similarly to a 2door rubicon though right?

[Scrappy Doo]

Originally Posted by Nicul15

imo i think raptor is better, but its way more expensive and parking a full-size in manhattan is a problem. do you have anything to support the 87 octane claim?

i think the TRD pro is a ripoff, you can do way better for less by doing coilovers and UCA. it doesnt have widebody or anything hard to do better aftermarket.

It's not a claim. Check page 176-177 of the owners manual.

87 is fine. Recommend 91 for peak performance in heat and towing.

[drivingagain]

Originally Posted by COmaro

The real competition for this will be the 2018 Rubicon, which has not yet been revealed.

A current stock Rubicon will still be better than this for rock crawling, because the Rubicon has lower gears, the front articulation is better, and a Rubicon has the remote swaybar disconnect, which I don't think the ZR2 will have. The ZR2 looks like it is trying to be a rock crawler like a Rubicon and a trail runner like a Raptor. I'm guessing it will not exceed either one at what they are meant to do, but might be more versatile.

Bottom line is what everyone has said, if this thing comes in at $45K, forget it.

The 2018 Rubicon may get the 3.0l v6 diesel so you would have more power as well. Unfortunately, as I really like the ZR2 concept. I just think the 2.8l 4 cylinder diesel is a little too small. Yes there is a v6 gas that is plenty powerful. Although the ZR2 diesel package is what appeals to me if it has more than 180hp. The 3L v6 diesel with 240 hp has the power and tq closer to what I would enjoy. I would never buy a FIat though. Seems Like I will stay in my Camaro.

[Corner carver]

Originally Posted by drivingagain

The 2018 Rubicon may get the 3.0l v6 diesel so you would have more power as well. Unfortunately, as I really like the ZR2 concept. I just think the 2.8l 4 cylinder diesel is a little too small. Yes there is a v6 gas that is plenty powerful. Although the ZR2 diesel package is what appeals to me if it has more than 180hp. The 3L v6 diesel with 240 hp has the power and tq closer to what I would enjoy. I would never buy a FIat though. Seems Like I will stay in my Camaro.

It's no stop light warrior, that i can attest to... That torque though, it quickly becomes addictive ... Tuners (just a tune mind you) will take you to 230-250whp and over 500ft/lbs torque... I'd better check that, I might be quoting numbers from SDP's compound turbo kit, haven't been over to Colorado fan forum in awhile;
Regardless this ZR2 package with the 2.8 diesel will be a force to contend with!

[6spdhyperblue]

Originally Posted by Corner carver

It's no stop light warrior, that i can attest to... That torque though, it quickly becomes addictive ... Tuners (just a tune mind you) will take you to 230-250whp and over 500ft/lbs torque... I'd better check that, I might be quoting numbers from SDP's compound turbo kit, haven't been over to Colorado fan forum in awhile

just curious, is there a good understanding of the tradeoff to increasing to this power level? is it reduced turbo life? transmission life?

def interested in this myself

[Corner carver]

Not far off (i checked) about 230whp and 460ft/lbs with just a tune

[Corner carver]

Originally Posted by Nicul15

just curious, is there a good understanding of the tradeoff to increasing to this power level? is it reduced turbo life? transmission life?

def interested in this myself

Unfortunately, these trucks haven't been running around very long (got mine in March and it was in the first 1/2 dozen to come to Canada... Waited 7 months after ordering) and very few at this power level; mind you I haven't read of any failures either; check out duramaxtunner.com for more info (instead of me re-writing it )
Their tune has 4 different power levels you can switch to on the fly (stock+, eco, towing, max effort)

GDE is another, but they're still working on it
Lots of good info on the colorado fan forum also... They're a little anal over there, but mostly good people looking to help out.

It's my understanding that you'd be mostly at the limits of the factory A6 (this is the limiting factor at this time), then again there's guys at higher power levels with a still stock A6... Guess we won't know untill people start blowing them up lol

[6spdhyperblue]

Originally Posted by Scrappy Doo

It's not a claim. Check page 176-177 of the owners manual.

87 is fine. Recommend 91 for peak performance in heat and towing.

you may be correct. the 2017 F150 does not specify anything for the Raptor.

In 2014 the 2014 F-150 SVT Raptor Supplement calls out specifics for the raptor on page 10, Fuel and refueling -> Octane recommendations....but i think they are the same as the other F150s

I don't see anything confirmed on the raptor forums. But again, the lower 10:1 compression in the raptor 3.5LHO vs 10.5 in the 3.5L, so i would imagine they could lower the boost for when it switches to low octane

[RLHMARINES]

No outrageous pricing straight from GM.....and it rides better on road than the base truck...WOW and it's better off-road than the H3 Hummers and this from the same engineers who worked on the Hummers that were brought in to help develop this amazing truck.




http://gmauthority.com/blog/2016/11/...#ixzz4QtwxSG9A

Interview: 2017 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Picks Up Where Hummer Legacy Left Off

BY SEAN SZYMKOWSKI — NOV 22, 2016



From our short ride in the 2017 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2, it’s clear the brand has built something quite capable. It’s been a long time coming since a proper off-roader found its way to a General Motors’ branded dealership since Hummer was sent to the automotive graveyard in 2009.

But, off-road enthusiasts can take solace in the Colorado ZR2, especially after we found out Chevrolet assembled a pretty incredible team to engineer the truck. Upon the project receiving a green light, former Hummer engineers were called back to duty from across GM brands. The result is the truck we have today.

We sat down with Todd Hubbard, a ZR2 program engineer who described himself as an off-road subject matter expert from Hummer days, and discussed how Hummer’s glory days influenced the engineering team’s goals. The following interview has been condensed for length.

GM Authority: We wanted to talk to someone from the former Hummer program, because it seems like it’s been a long time coming – for a vehicle like this to come back into the fold, in some way, shape, or form – one way or another. So, when the program was first being talked about –

Todd Hubbard: Yes, a couple of years ago.

GMA: How did the vetting process go to see which engineer got to be on this program?

TH: Well a lot of it was the base Colorado engineers [who] continued on the ZR2 program, but then there was also still some expertise within the corporation from the Hummer days. Myself – I was brought in as a subject matter expert for off-road and I took the team to Moab, to the Rubicon Trail because I had been there so much with Hummer, and I kind of knew, based on the expectations of the vehicle, what trails to run, what expectations to have, and I was also able to provide feedback [in order] to make sure that the ZR2 was heading in the right direction.

Like I explained earlier, that was my main contribution, and it revolved more around the rock crawling because that was really the purpose of the H3 – not a high-speed vehicle, more of a mobility ‘get where you need to go’.

Then we also brought in Bryan Kudela from a company called Light Racing. He’s been involved with desert running, desert racing, for 30 years, back when he was in college he was doing baja stuff. He really handled the high-speed part of it, because that was his expertise.

Then Brad Schreiber, the Ride & Handling engineer, he knows the ins-and-outs, the sensitivities of the vehicle, and so he concentrated a lot on the on-road dynamics of the truck, and then also did the specific damper tuning at our new course out in Yuma. Brad spent a lot of time, Bryan came in and they constructed a whole course and they worked together to tune the dampers for higher speed stuff.

So that’s kind of how all [of] the pieces fit together, to bring the team together. Also Darren Bohne who was the program engineering manager. His first assignment with GM was on the H2 program, so he had exposure, he kind of knew what was to be expected. We had some ‘Aha!’ Moments – one at Moab where we used to bring the H3 teams, [now] we have a different vehicle and all of a sudden it’s all like… man, [the H3] was more of a pain in the ass getting through the Moab Rim trails than the Colorados.

GMA: I remember us going up that hill, I remember you saying it was a 60 percent grade – that number resonated with me because that was the old Hummers’ claim to fame. They were the only SUVs or trucks that could climb 60 percent.

TH: That’s exactly why that requirement was set. We basically took the requirements for Hummer, and that was the framework for the ZR2. So, everything that we asked that Hummer to do, we’re asking of the ZR2. We’ve completely validated everything we set out to do, and, to be honest, we didn’t actually expect it to – we were targeting a slightly lower grade off-road trail, like the class 3 trail, but we’re running class 4 trails, we’re running Moab Rim, Poison Spider, Cane Creek, those are solid class 4 trails that the truck is – we were all greatly impressed, and it exceeded our expectations on a 31-inch tire.

The H3 had a 33-inch tire, and so this is doing everything the Hummer was on a slightly smaller tire, which, to be honest, we think that tire is part of the balanced approach; It gives it the on-road dynamics. When you get a chance it’s a pleasure to drive. It drives as well as the pace, it has very good on-center precision, it’s not harsh, it’s very comfortable. I think it’s as comfortable as the Z71 or even the base truck. I prefer the ride a little bit just because it has such dynamics.

GMA: Regarding Hummer and what this truck means, do you think there’s been a spark in the team? Does everyone kind of see the light a little bit?

TH: Everyone gets it. We’ve had to bring directors out, and Mark Dickens, the director for [Performance Parts and Motorsports Engineering] said he never realized he could have this much fun at 5 mph, and he loves it. He’s in his element out there, he’s a driving force.

If we thought that we compromised or that we needed additional horsepower, we need this feature, we need this functionality, the whole team from Anita Burke to Mark backed us the whole way. They weren’t hands off, but they allowed the engineers to really build the truck we knew it needed to be. They only supported us, there was never, “oh we can’t afford that,” or, “we don’t want to do this,” we never had those types of discussions. It was always very performance-focused from the beginning.


Read more: http://gmauthority.com/blog/2016/11/...#ixzz4QtyTWNzZ

[6spdhyperblue]

Hmm more jeep than raptor it seems, makes sense now why they didn't go Al for the lca to better handle getting smacked on rocks

It also sounds like they had the support to put the ecotec3 4.3L from the Silverado. That would've been a very nice option, especially for crawling. That engine delivers excellent off-idle torque in a small, light weight, low center of gravity package.

[shaffe]

Very cool that they built it, but I will still say there will be variants of it that cross 50K. A Diesel Z71 Crew Cab long box already starts at almost 41K