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PostPosted: June 18, 2016, 7:59 am 
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Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia
I find the seats to be quite comfortable (for and aft and vertical adjustment on the bottom, and rake and lumbar support on the back), but because I wanted heated seats I had to go to the spiffy ones, so I can't speak for the base seats. Haven't sat in the back. I got a crew cab because that is the only body style they offered with the Diesel.

Interior storage has got skimpier with time: the 2016 Colorado isn't as good as the 2001 Dakota was, and the Dakota was worse than my 1989 Isuzu pickup.

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Isuzu Pickup/SR20DE, +401 COLD frame
Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11601


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PostPosted: June 21, 2016, 6:17 pm 
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Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Grrrrrr .......

I wanted to fill some potholes today and did a run to a local quarry for some 'class A': unwashed granite aggregate ranging from crusher dust to about 3/4 inch. Class A packs down really well. I thought I'd deal with the tailgate/bumper gap issue (see previous post) by stuffing a Styrofoam 'noodle' (actually, water-pipe insulation) between the tailgate and the bed, but the experiment made matters worse. But I popped one side of the tailgate off to clear the gravel jamb (by mistake actually), although I couldn't remove the tailgate completely because of the wire for the back-up camera. There are just too many 'boys toy's things on trucks these days. If you look at the showroom brochures it should be no surprise; there are all sorts of pictures of people playing with bikes or ATVs, but not one on a jobsite.

I think I may investigate how the bumper is attached: with luck I may be able to add spacers to move it away from the bodywork to allow gravel to clear (as long as it doesn't screw up the trailer hitch).

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Isuzu Pickup/SR20DE, +401 COLD frame
Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11601


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PostPosted: July 26, 2016, 7:44 am 
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Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia
OK, I am now 4400 km (2750 miles) into the truck and overall I am happy. 8.5 l/100 km fuel consumption overall, with best tank of 7.8 l/100km (28.9 USMPG) and worst of 9 l/100 km (25.2 USMPG when towing, including lots of idling). Better yet, Nova Scotia is one of the few jurisdictions in North America where Diesel is cheaper than gas, typically by 5 percent. Great torque - overtakes on two-lane roads like a rocket compared to our other/previous vehicles and isn't bothered by a half-yard of gravel or a trailer, albiet nowhere near max tow weight. The only bugbear remains the tight-fitting bumper which makes me blow smoke out my ears when clearing the bed-tailgate gap of gravel. I am still scheming about a solution there. So, I would recommend this vehicle, but not to a landscaper. :BH:

Maybe the WT trim line doesn't have such a fancy (stupid) bumper.

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Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11601


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PostPosted: October 3, 2016, 5:44 pm 
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Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Winter is coming, so time for snow tires (OK, this isn't of interest to a lot of you out there). I always buy a set of steelies for winter rims, rather than pay for tire changes twice a year. But guess what: the 2015 and later Colorados don't use the standard GM 6-stud mount. No sir, it's 6 x 120mm! The dealer wanted over 300 bucks a pop for steelies but I found some through my local parts shop at a more reasonable, but still expensive, $104 (approx. $80US) each. For the Canucks out there, CTC doesn't even list a rim for the 15/16 Colorado. Oddly, the rims came in boxes with a Chrysler-Jeep dealer label on them - is 6 x 120mm a Jeep size I wonder?

PS: After 9000km I am still running 8.4l/100 km overall (about 27 US MPG). It will be interesting to see what winter brings.


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Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11601


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PostPosted: October 4, 2016, 5:38 pm 
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Yes, interesting about the size. Maybe it's a new "standard" of some kind. Although I could only guess about who might set it (SAE, ISO, ??).

Too bad you couldn't go to a wreaking yard to get the steel wheels. That might have saved some money.

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

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PostPosted: October 4, 2016, 10:00 pm 
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Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia
According to the wheel supplier only 15/16 Colorados/Canyons and Caddie Escalades (there was another GM product I think) use the 6x120 PCD, so too early to hope for the wrecking yard. There are a bunch of 18 inch alloy Colorado/Canyon 'take-offs' on ebay, but typically at $495US a set ($650CAD plus shipping etc), so no cheaper.

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Isuzu Pickup/SR20DE, +401 COLD frame
Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11601


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PostPosted: January 31, 2017, 10:25 am 
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A bit of an update on the Colorado ....

In early November I put snow tires on the truck and fitted it with Thule Roof Racks and a deflector, and have put 13300kms (8400 miles) on it since then, with 80 percent of the being two trips with my iceboat on top. I just got back from a 6700km (4200mi) round trip to Wisconsin for two DN regattas, mostly cruising at around 115 klicks (72 mph). Overall fuel consumption for this trip was 10.2 l/100 km (approx. 27.6 MPG Imp or 22 MPG US). You can see from the photos how the iceboat must hurt the aero, and equally, how important the air-dam must me. Can't say you'd want to go anywhere off-road with out removing the air dam (the manual says you must do so), but I'm an on-road guy in any event.

After a series of 12 to 14 hour driving days, I'd say the seats could do with improved thigh support, but otherwise an excellent cruiser.


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Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11601


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PostPosted: April 11, 2017, 9:52 pm 
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I took the snow tires off today. Would have happily taken it to a garage since changing tires on the pickup is not as quick as on my wife's Subaru, but I wanted to see how the OEM jack worked, in case I had to do it on the road one day. The jack is a 'cute' little thing. Cute is the right word: until I put it on a 2 inch thick wooden block I couldn't get the front tire off the ground. :BH: Oh, it does come with wheel chocks, but I'd trade those for a taller jack.

I posted to the Colorado/Canyon forum and I am evidently not the first to make this discovery. I guess it's one way to avoid lawsuits resulting from jack failure ....

(Put just over 18,000 km on the snow tires this winter, all of those miles with roof racks and about 15,000 of them with my iceboat on top for an overall avg fuel consumption of 10.5l/100km, about 21.5 USMPG)


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Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11601


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PostPosted: April 11, 2017, 11:05 pm 
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It would be interesting to see what would happen with fuel consumption if you took the ice boat and mast off of the roof rack and let them hang out the end of the box or off of the end of the tonneau cover (if it would support them).

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PostPosted: April 12, 2017, 6:52 am 
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I have a couple of iceboating friends who use hitch-based load extenders and carry their iceboats in the bed, but the hull is 12 ft long, and the mast is 16ft. For other than local use, I think a 6 to 10 ft rear load projection is an invitation to accidents, ignoring any parking inconvenience. The best fuel economy approach is a enclosed trailer that tucks into the envelope of the tow vehicle. Another friend tows such a trailer behind his diesel golf and sees negligible fuel consumption loss. On balance I am prepared to pay for extra fuel instead of buying or building, licensing and inspecting a trailer - in Nova Scotia trailers are licensed annually and have to be safety inspected every other year.

(Edit - and I must not forget that some of that fuel consumption increase will be due to my snow tires. If you believe the Canadian Tire web site, my Kumhos are rated 92% relative to Michelins. They don't offer cross ratings between summer and winter tires, but let's say that the Kumhos are good for .5 to 1 l/100km loss relative to summer tires. I didn't have the opportunity to run any good comparisons in various configurations - I never ran a full tank of fuel in a snow tires/no roof rack configuration, for example)

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Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11601


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