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The journey of ZEUS, my 2023 Harvest Bronze Metallic ZR2

33K views 97 replies 30 participants last post by  Osmardude  
#1 ·
So, I wasn't planning on doing one of these "build" threads, but figured it makes more sense to make a thread where I can post little things I do, or add to my truck that wouldn't be interesting in it's own post.

I live in San Diego, so I'll mainly be using this truck for our local mountains and desert ( wheeling, shooting, camping ), and transporting my 14' fishing kayak to the bays and local lakes.

I ordered the truck back in April and didn't receive it until September.

Since i've already owned it for 4 months, i'll dig through pics and try and keep the update in order, until I get caught up to how the truck is presently.

The journey began when I traded the dealership this piece of paper...

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For this 2023 Harvest Bronze ZR2...

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The pictures above were the day I brought it home.

Until next time...
 
#3 ·
So, I wasn't planning on doing one of these "build" threads, but figured it makes more sense to make a thread where I can post little things I do, or add to my truck that wouldn't be interesting in it's own post.

I live in San Diego, so I'll mainly be using this truck for our local mountains and desert ( wheeling, shooting, camping ), and transporting my 14' fishing kayak to the bays and local lakes.

I ordered the truck back in April and didn't receive it until September.

Since i've already owned it for 4 months, i'll dig through pics and try and keep the update in order, until I get caught up to how the truck is presently.

The journey began when I traded the dealership this piece of paper...

View attachment 461995

For this 2023 Harvest Bronze ZR2...

View attachment 461996
View attachment 461997
View attachment 461999

The pictures above were the day I brought it home.

Until next time...
Awesome truck!
One of the best [imo] and least seen colors about...
 
#6 ·
Good looking truck. Courtesy Chevrolet called me out of the blue last weekend and tried to get me to upgrade. Same color as yours. I thought about it... But in the end decided to keep mine.

I'll keep and eye out for you in Anza :cool:
View attachment 462000
Awesome truck and pic!

I'll definitely be back out soon, this rain is going to make a mess of the washes.

Will keep an eye out for your truck as well (y)
 
#5 ·
Beautiful Truck
Will Enjoy watching the progression of Upgrades/Modifications
 
owns 2017 Chevrolet Colorado Z71
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#7 ·
Next up was:

  • Tinting the windows (50% windshield, 20% all others)
  • De-badged the "Colorado" lettering on the doors.
  • Blacked out the "ZR2" and "Colorado" lettering on tailgate
  • Added the American Flags on the front fenders



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More to come...
 
#8 ·
Just a curiosity, did you add another 20% on top of the rear privacy glass or that you did 50 windshield and 20 up front... or yours didn't have the rear factory privacy glass?
 
owns 2019 Chevrolet Colorado Z71
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#9 ·
I had them do 50% windshield, 20% front driver & passenger, and an additional 20% over the factory tint on the rear doors and back window/slider. It darkened the stock tint up perfect for my taste.

They are just a tad darker than the two front doors, when looking from the side.

Here's an example from the side:

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#10 ·
I had them do 50% windshield, 20% front driver & passenger, and an additional 20% over the factory tint on the rear doors and back window/slider. It darkened the stock tint up perfect for my taste.

They are just a tad darker than the two front doors, when looking from the side.

Here's an example from the side:

View attachment 462019
20% is perfect imo. That's what I had done on mine as well, and it looks absolutely amazing. I cannot get over that color. Making me wish I would've held off on my 22 lol.
 
#12 ·
Got this one out of order, but added:

  • Smoked LED cargo light
  • Stubby Jr antenna
  • Lasfit LED dome, map, reverse, and license plate lights

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#13 ·
I couldn't get used to the factory rake on this truck, so as soon as CCE came out with their 2" lift option, I got one. Hoping to level the truck to where I wanted.

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The stance came out exactly like I was hoping. Took it for a spin to make sure everything was good, and to settle the springs a bit.

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Much better...
 
#16 ·
No deep meaning on the name.

When I first got it, I typed in "Ron" on the infotainment center. My daughter got in and asked if I needed it to remember my name.lol She said I should name the truck, not put my name. So I typed in "ZEUS", the coolest name that starts with a "Z", that I could think of.

Lol, I've never called the truck Zeus, but put it in this thread title to make it easier to find down the road.
 
#17 ·
Well the Upgrades/Modifications are coming along nicely
 
owns 2017 Chevrolet Colorado Z71
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#18 ·
After the lift, I was hearing a "clunk" when I'd hit a pothole on the driver's side. Took the whole front end apart again and made sure everything was still torqued to spec. Everything checked out, so figured I'd see if an alignment would fix. Had an appointment 2 days away.

Mentioned it to the alignment shop and after they were done, never heard it again. We believe it was the sway bar link, that was bound up.

Stopped by the cemetery to visit my parents, on the way home. Walking back to my truck, couldn't pass up a couple pics.

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The following week was Christmas, so decided to take the wife and kids out to the desert to do some target practice. I also wanted to see how the truck did with the CCE lift. We had a couple rain days, but we were able to get out for a few hours on Christmas Eve morning. Truck did awesome, but the mud was a pita while shooting.
These pics were posted before, but putting in this thread as well.

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#20 ·
Next up was fixing something that had been bugging me, since day one, but especially after lifting the front 2", as can be seen here. The wheels factory offset keeps them too tucked in, for my taste. Obviously, as you lift up, the front wheels get sucked in, even further. This pic was taken 10 miles after installing the lift, so it did settle in a bit more after running it in the desert a bit. But the front track width was still close to .75" narrower than rear. Not a look I was going for.

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I could've fixed this with a different rim and an offset of -12, but I love the factory wheels and haven't seen any that look better on these trucks. I'm also burnt out on black wheels, so that left wheel spacers. Everybody has different opinions on them, I've ran them on my Jeep, Samurai, and even my golf carts. Never had an issue.

So I called BORA and ordered up 1.5" for the rears, and 1.75" for the fronts to even track. Took a couple weeks to get them, but once I got them installed, the were exactly what was needed.

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Yes, after my next trip, I pulled each wheel and re-torqued the spacer lug nuts. While the wheels were off, I pressure washed all the desert sand/mud off.

The following day I talked my buddy into a mellow drive up Otay Mountain Road. He was having back surgery three days later, so just stayed on the main road. He has an old 1st gen Colorado that doesn't get driven much anymore, so got the juices flowing in it.

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After a smooth, but narrow, steep climb of the mountain, theres a turnout with some nice views.
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You get good views of the Pacific Ocean, Downtown San Diego, San Diego Bay and Lower Otay Lake. The drive takes you from about 400' to 3400' elevation.
On the left is Mexico. Hard to see in the pic, but you can barely make out the Wall, Coronado Islands.
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Right after leaving this spot, my trucks rear end was making a loud grinding noise. Because the trail gets so narrow and steep, there's nowhere to pull over until the top. So, turned up the radio and gritted my teeth for about the next 1/4 mile to the top. As i'm driving, I'm remembering seeing a thread on this damn forum about howling rear end.

Got to the top and pulled the rear wheel. Spun the rotor and realized there must be a small rock/gravel stuck between the rotor and shield. Sure enough, after pulling the shield a small rock fell out. Was stoked!

Checked to backside of the rotor, threw everything back together and continued on.

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Got up to the radio tower. Some nice views of the San Ysidro mountains.

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#23 ·
Next up:

  • Baja Designs Squadron Sport Lights (Amber - Driving/Combo)
  • Techpicco Ditch Light Brackets

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Ordered some goodies for the Interior

  • Badland Industries Dash Grid
  • Badland Industries Dash Vent Ball Mount
  • Bulletpoint Metal 4-hole AMPS Base Mounts
  • Bulletpoint Cell phone holder
  • Bulletpoint Gopro mount

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Received the switch panel mount, so next was

  • Auxbeam 6 gang RGB Switch Panel
  • KFLOTACOMA switch panel mount for 6 gang w/ Bluetooth

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#27 ·
Needed something for storage, got sick of crap on the back seat.

Got a Pelican BX135 and it fits perfect between the fender wells, with enough room to anchor it to the lower tie down. I wanted something that could be easily removed when I need to put the kayak in, or need the bed space.

Need to figure out a secure mounting solution, so I don't have to leave it in the garage every time I need to park the truck somewhere. For the time being, just plan on using a couple stainless turnbuckles. If anyone has any good ideas, to securely mount to the tie down, let me know.

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#29 ·
Lol, unfortunately 57k is the new 32k.

Vehicles, especially trucks, have gotten ridiculously overpriced, and doubt they'll be coming down anytime soon.

Enjoy your ZR1, wanted one in the gray metallic years ago. After sitting in one, it wasn't for me, but awesome cars.
 
#31 ·
50% tint on the front window! How do you find night time driving?

I had 70% on my Tacoma. It was really nice during the day, but I found it quite dark at night. Especially outside of the city where there isn't much lighting.

Was the tint installed with the windshield installed? The tint shops in my city both warned me about water getting in the dash. Both places I called recommended having the tint installed before installing the new windshield. That was the route I went. It got smashed by a rock, so now I'm back to no tint on the windshield. It is much nicer at night time.
 
#33 ·
No issues with the 50% at night. Never heard of any place tinting windshields off the vehicle.

Not sure what you're referring to about the water in dash. If they're talking about the spray during install, most installers just use rags on the dash.
 
#35 ·
The purpose is to keep your phone somewhere thats easy access while driving.

When i'm using something like OnX, it kills my phone battery fast. The phone charge pad in these trucks is in a shitty location and a PITA to get to the phone. So, I keep it plugged in and mounted to where I can operate without taking my eyes off the trail. I can also use the phone for navigation and keep the infotainment screen free for other tasks.
 
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