2023 Chevy Colorado just dropped... What does that mean for the Gladiator.

[DirkG]

Zr2 Bison

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[The Duck of Earl]

Just to clarify -- and I'm not sure if you were saying this or not, but you can fit 37's with very little money. Just a spacer kit on Rubicon -- few hundred $$$. My buddy just bought (few days ago) a fully loaded out EcoDiesel Rubicon '22 with 1k miles for $57k private party. It had a spacer and 37's (Toyo MT).

I really think the Canyon looks nice. If I didn't rock crawl, that's the truck I'd probably veer towards, unless the '24 Tacoma looks better. Can't fit a full size in my garage.

I am disagreeing with you that 37s can fit for very little money - now I guess what constitutes 'very little money' is subjective... but looking at your signature line, I would guess our definitions would be different.

Also, I guess you could just put on 37s on with spacers, but that seems like a very bad idea to me. The stress on the driveline from being that far out of stock geometry without installing corrective (and stronger) parts is something I would not be interested in, particularly for a practically brand new vehicle like your buddy's.

In addition, maybe the diesel has the torque to compensate for that jump in tire size without a regear, but I'm sure it would be a lot better if you did (let alone the gasser which absolutely should have a regear with 37s, otherwise an already ostensibly underpowered motor will turn into an absolute dog).

 

[guarnibl]

I am disagreeing with you that 37s can fit for very little money - now I guess what constitutes 'very little money' is subjective... but looking at your signature line, I would guess our definitions would be different.

Also, I guess you could just put on 37s on with spacers, but that seems like a very bad idea to me. The stress on the driveline from being that far out of stock geometry without installing corrective (and stronger) parts is something I would not be interested in, particularly for a practically brand new vehicle like your buddy's.

In addition, maybe the diesel has the torque to compensate for that jump in tire size without a regear, but I'm sure it would be a lot better if you did (let alone the gasser which absolutely should have a regear with 37s, otherwise an already ostensibly underpowered motor will turn into an absolute dog).

Meant coil spacer kit, not wheel spacer kit. There's lots of opinions on wheel spacers and while I'm generally fine with them, there's caveats to it and I don't want to beat that dead horse.

That said, I was under a grand to put 37's on a Rubicon excluding the actual cost of the tires I suppose What I will say, is the flex sucks --so eventually you'll spend way more if your use case involve any serious trail use. Otherwise, if your goal is just forest roads, camping, street use, you can be creative.

Diesel does not need regeared for 37's (and we get 3.73's on the Rubicon with the diesel!) It actually felt like 3.73's were a bit much stock. Feels just right with 37's on stock gearing. I'd probably want 4.10's if I ran 40's.

But yeah here's what you can do:
1) Sell Rubicon stock wheels/tires.
2) Buy set of XR take offs.
3) Sell tires
4) Buy 37's
5) Buy Teraflex or AEV 2" spacer kit (typically includes coil spacers, extends bump stops, brake lines, sway bar links, shock extension brackets). I think my kit was $350?
6) Tazer Mini ($329, set speedometer).

Install 37's.

If you want to actually rock crawl, you're just going to want to go full suspension setup, which as you pointed out, is a lot more money (and what I did long term). Flex is just too poor on stock joints in general. But I'd argue that's the case anyway, irrespective of tire size.

 

[1996XJ]

Gladiator 4 life

 

[Bulldog]

Who gives a sh’t.

 

[The Duck of Earl]

Chevy Fanboi doesn't get Jeeps, Jeeps on 37s, off roading but posts on Jeep forum about how great Chevy's pickup is.

Or perhaps Jeep Fanboi / internet troll has blinders on and is unable to have intelligent discourse.

 

[Bjeepz]

Having had a 2020 ZR2 it destroys the Mojave in handling in stock form. I also had a Leer 180 cap that added some rear weight, I found this made the handling better. I have no cap on the Mojave. Sure you can fit bigger tires on a Mojave without any work. I was able to fit 255/80r17's on my ZR2 with about a 1.5 inch trim inside the fender.

I like my Mojave for the doors off and roof off part. The seats are better but maybe the new Chevy seats will be nice. I'm contemplating getting the last of the current ZR2's in a gasser this time since there will be no 6 foot box in the future. I miss having the bigger space for camping and anything else.

If you've never compared the two by driving them on and off road you're missing out on a pretty great truck. Sure we can all be Jeep pp but there are other great products out there.

 

[Rusty PW]

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[The Duck of Earl]

there are plenty of good trucks out there and there are plenty of forums where you can talk about them. Do you even own a JEEP?

Not sure your point or if this even really warrants a reply.

This thread is appropriately in the Gladiator Versus... section and is relevant to the numerous other discussions of what the next generation Gladiator might bring.

 

[FormerToyotaGuy]

I don't think it will really matter to Gladiator. The Jeep is a specialty truck, (convertible, take the doors off , straight axle ).
Now as a Chevy guy I am finally glad to see a small truck that looks good. I was totally disappointed in Colorado and even when Ford released Ranger. Both trucks looked horrible, rounded off, out dated or cheap interiors. May not make much difference to Jeep but it could put a dent in Toyota sales.

 

[Bjeepz]

The Toyota and Jeep fanboys will seem pretty hellbent on their agendas! The raging hate for other products is pretty sad. The only reason Jeeps and Toyotas will improve is healthy competition. Not sure all parties understand how competition improves quality across the board.

 

[NC_Overland]

A redesign of the Colorado means nothing to me personally. You can't really compare the two.

If GM doesn't step up the quality of the vehicles that it builds, it won't matter anyway. Cheaply built with dismal quality control. And this comes from a once hardcore Chevy guy (that happened to work for GM for thirty years). Sad to see the decline of a great product.

Lol. I had zero problems with my 2017 Canyon All Terrain from new till 60k when I traded it. My 2020 Gladiator has half the miles on it and has been in the shop countless times and still has several unresolved issues.

 

[NC_Overland]

I recently watched a live discussion among off-road YouTubers. The subject turned to the different vehicles people used. Eventually, someone said, "Why isn't there much of an aftermarket for the Chevy Colorado?". At this everyone else laughed. They mentioned the abysmal quality of 21st century Chevrolet and someone added, "And the Colorado does nothing particularly well."

Lol. My canyon (same thing) literally did everything better than my Gladiator. Towed better, better handling, bigger bed, higher payload, better economy, considerably better acceleration, etc etc.

I’m just dumb and like the gladiator better. Weird Jeep sickness.

I loved my Canyon.

 

[NC_Overland]

The length is actually about the same between midsize trucks (at least their short beds, all the others also have a long bed option). Its actually the shallowness of the bed under the tonneau compared to other trucks that I find to be the most limiting when i'm trying to go camping or haul stuff I dont want exposed.

The extra couple of inches of bed height and bed length really is noticeable sometimes. You wouldn’t think it would matter, but it does sometimes.

 

[NC_Overland]

I cross shopped the JT with the Colorado ZR2. I found the ZR2 Multimatic shocks to be supernatural, and the rest of the truck to be crap. The front seats were horrendous, my wife and I both wanted out after 10 minutes. Rear seats are very small, overall interior quality is crap, V6 is mediocre (just like the JT) except for the fact that I could get a manual in the JT. Add in the bonus of the JT being able to do Jeep stuff and it was a no-brainer. I drove the Mojave immediately after the ZR2 and it was all over.

The ZR2 are heavy. The Z71 and All Terrains are considerably quicker than any 3.6l JT. The 2017+ do 0-60 in 6.1 sec.

in normal driving they do feel about the same, but that 3.6l is a different animal over 4K rpm. It’s fun to flat foot and pulls hard to the 7200 RPM redline.

I liked the seats in my All Terrain a lot. My fiancée and I did countless road trips in it and it was always comfortable for both of us. The JT rear seat is better in the Gladiator and I do like the front seats in my Overland a little bit better. Mainly because they’re a little firmer m, but I had no complaints with my GMC.

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