AEV Branches Out With Parts for Chevrolet Colorado
By Aaron Bragman
For the first time in its 21-year history, off-road and overlanding outfitter American Expedition Vehicles has released aftermarket parts for a vehicle that's not made by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. The company showed off two items for the Chevrolet Colorado during the recent Overland Expo West in Flagstaff, Ariz., marking the start of what the company hopes will be a lucrative expansion into vehicles besides Jeeps and Rams. You might remember seeing the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 AEV concept pickup truck at the 2017 Specialty Equipment Market Association Show in Las Vegas, which offered many parts and technology for the mid-size pickup, so what we saw at the expo is likely just the beginning.
AEV showcased two pieces for the Colorado: a snorkel kit and the new Crestone DualSport wheels, both available for any model year of the current-generation Colorado, including the off-road-ready ZR2. The snorkel kit fits both the 3.6-liter V-6 gasoline and 2.8-liter turbo-diesel four-cylinder Duramax engines, and is designed to deliver clean, cool air to the engine instead of acting as an aid for water fording. While the snorkel does seal to the airbox, AEV representatives at the expo said that the snorkel's real purpose is to get the intake air above the roofline and out of dustier conditions closer to the body. The water-fording depth of the Colorado is not affected (so don't go too deep).
The Crestone DualSport wheel is a new design from AEV and can be configured in one of three ways: full beadlock, a rim protector ring for street or off-road use, or without a protector ring at all for a minimalist look. The wheel is a cast aluminum design with a recessed valve stem, is fully Department of Transportation compliant and allows for full function of the factory tire pressure monitoring system.
AEV displayed a Chevrolet Colorado at the Overland Expo and said that adding the snorkel and wheels to its product lineup was in direct response to the overwhelmingly positive feedback the company received from its ZR2 AEV concept. Of all the special parts developed for the Colorado concept, these two received the most interest, according to AEV. While not available for purchase through Chevrolet dealerships just yet, the snorkel and wheels can be bought from AEV directly or through its distributor outlets. The snorkel is available now, with the wheels slated to be available in July.
Will there be more parts for the Colorado from AEV? The company hopes so, but it will first assess consumer interest in these two items.
Cars.com photos by Aaron Bragman
Comments
Here's something to drool over......if only.
https://www.allpar.com/trucks/ram/interstate.html
At least with the AEV Ram 2500 package, there were/are plenty
of hardware bolt-ons. We're looking at a snorkel intake here.
It's a joke. I suppose AEV is dipping their toe in the water for
public reaction. If this is to entice me to buy a Colorado, they
should make the option sheet a lot longer.
AEV knows where the future is. GM
On the concept ZR2 they had a killer front bumper...hint hint
The concept had 35 inch tires but it was not street worthy, tires rubbed if turning just a little, but it looked cool.
BDS has a lift for the ZR2 that you can fit 35's and keep the stock/great suspension in tact
papa, if this is the future, then yes they should stick with GM as this just made an ugly truck even uglier.....
A snorkel and different rims. We are not worthy! Seriously this doesn't need an unveiling. GM saw Toyota with the snorkel and said we need to copy that. But instead of doing it in house they had AEV do it. Typical GM.
Snorkels are very common in Australia, so much so they are not newsworthy items
GM Performance has a long travel suspension upgrade for the Colarado ZR2.
AEV knows where the future is. GM
Posted by: papajim | May 23, 2018 9:37:23 AM
The AEV Market already belongs to Jeep, nice try though.
AEV knows where the future is. GM
Posted by: papajim | May 23, 2018 9:37:23 AM
The AEV Market already belongs to Jeep, nice try though.
AEV knows where the future is. GM
Posted by: papajim | May 23, 2018 9:37:23 AM
———————
PapJoke makes a joke. Oh wait, you’re actually serious. Now that is a joke.
@Dave
35s on the Colorado IFS? We’ll see what GM says about that.
I run 35s on my stock, factory off-road package truck. Zero issues and I offroad in serious terrain at least one weekend every month.
The 2000 GMT400 K2500 I traded for it would bend tierods, puke half-shafts, all with a 454, 4L80E, 4.10s, and LT285/75R16s. GM warranty denied a front diff section that failed (pinion gear lash issue with ring gear) and grenaded itself and the housing. GM said it was because I had “oversized tires”. Even though the H2 ran 315/70R17s with the same IFS setup and a 6.0.
GM beefed the IFS in the GMT900 3/4 and 1 tons, but it still suffers from the same problems and GM will not honor their warranty with oversized tires.
Cool add ons are great for catalogs and dealer floors, but the Tacoma has a well deserved reputation. It will take more than a snorkel kit to change that.
35s on the Colorado IFS? We’ll see what GM says about that.
Posted by: James | May 23, 2018 9:05:04 PM
GM sponsors the Hall Racing ZR2, which races in the Best In The Desert's 7300 class. The 7300 class is the full-stock mini truck class. That means the suspension cannot be modified in any way other than retuning the shocks to compensate for the weight of the truck with the extra safety equipment. That truck has been racing for over a year now. It rides on 34-inch LT305/70R17's with a completely stock rear axle and stock front diff, CV axles, tie rods, control arms, and more.
You praise the Tacoma for it's offroading reputation... Where is the 2017 Tacoma TRD Pro that Toyota paid Camburg to build and race in the Best In The Desert series? It ran in the Mint 400 last year, just long enough for Toyota to generate some PR pictures, articles, and a few sponsored youtube vids to promote the 2017 TRD Pro. Next thing we know, the truck fell off the face of the earth as soon as the Hall Racing ZR2 showed up in the same 7300 class. Haven't seen or heard any news about the TRD Pro running in any other BITD races, haven't seen it in any 7300 race results since then. I was looking forward to watching it race against the Hall Racing ZR2, but Chad Hall has been all alone so far....
--------------------------------
GM beefed the IFS in the GMT900 3/4 and 1 tons, but it still suffers from the same problems and GM will not honor their warranty with oversized tires.
Posted by: James | May 23, 2018 9:05:04 PM
NOBODY will honor the warranty if you break something with oversized tires. The GMT900 and newer trucks have nowhere near as many issues as the previous platforms. The only guys that have major issues on the GMT900 or newer trucks are the ones that buy garbage lifts or just crank the torsion bars up. The steering issue in particular is easily avoided with a real lift that either keeps the tie rods at the factory angles or reinforces the steering system while also upgrading the tie rods. The GM pulling trucks that bend tie rods almost always have horrible steering angles because they cranked the torsion bars up and left all the parts stock. And it's not as if Ford or Ram 3/4-tons don't have issues when you start jacking the suspension up. Between death wobble, track bar issues, alignment issues, and ball joint/u-joint wear, Ford and Ram's SFA setups aren't some kind of off-road powerhouse. Not with the wimpy track bar Ford uses these days. I guess it was one of the parts they "lightweighted" when they decided to compete with GM for a better riding HD truck.
And the Raptor might run 35's but the 4WD system is embarrasingly weak. Plastic IWE hub locks that use plastic gears to transfer the power to the wheels. They get ripped up by the Torsen front diff constantly. The ball joints are way too small and get chewed up fast if you REALLY off-road your Raptor. The control arms are awesome but the bushings that Ford uses get chewed up way too fast.
--------------------------------
Cool add ons are great for catalogs and dealer floors, but the Tacoma has a well deserved reputation. It will take more than a snorkel kit to change that.
Posted by: James | May 23, 2018 9:05:04 PM
You have got to be kidding me. Until Toyota gets serious about selling a Tacoma with a beefed up IFS and better axles, that reputation is nothing but a myth. The rear high-pinion reverse cut axle Toyota uses on the Tacoma, combined with a numerically high ring & pinion setup with skinny teeth, is NOTORIOUS for shearing them off. There's a guy on Youtube with a 3rd gen Tacoma with 35's that has busted the rear diff twice and ripped up the front CV's multiple times. There's nothing left stock front or rear at this point.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lmqGD76pcc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_m0HfKltzQ
Not to mention the Tacoma's IFS is a real laugher. Can't lift the front without inducing front diff vibration issues due to the slop in the front output shaft needle bearings. The lower control arms are notoriously weak and it's extremely common for real offroaders to weld gusset plates to the LCA's to "beef" them up. The ball joint mount on the LCA is very low and frequently takes hard rock hits. The upper control arms are extemely frail in construction. The aluminum transfer case hangs 1.5-2" below the frame rails and Toyota uses a thin sheetmetal "guard" to protect it.
The mystique of the Tacoma being some kind of hardcore indestructible offroad truck (stock) is 100% crap.
@brick
OFFroad racing—cool, its awesome and...
So GM says their 725 IFS will handle 35s?
-
Oh wait you said no one will honor the warranty with oversized tires.
-
So which is it? Tough enough for an off-road race, but not warranty worthy?
-
See, most of us don’t RACE trucks, we drive to destinations and drive off-road trails, the drive home. Sure, most SUVs can handle graded forest roads, but what about more serious trails?
What about the 2 ZR2s in colorado last year with some fancy Michigan manufacture’s plates and tons of sensors. Did they run Pughkeepsie or Imogene? Nah, turned around before it got tough. A guy from Utah was at the top of Imogene in a v3500 crew-cab, SRW. ZR2 turned around. Plenty of Tacos, Rubicons, even lifted older trucks.
My point is you talk racing, I’m talking what real people do with these trucks all the time. All over the west.
-
The Raptor is a joke, as was the H2, but both had 315/70R17 which are 35x12.5 equivalents stock.
Neither were particularly unbeatable, the H2 had a notable penchant for chewing up tie rods in 4LO in rocks.
-
The beefed 925AAM IFS still has weak tie rod, and case deflection issues between the ring and pinion gears. The Dodge cast iron 925AAM SFA DOES NOT suffer this issue.
-
You can post YouTube videos, post races, or you can sit down and have coffee with Thad Stunp, discuss the near 100% failure of the G80 off road, the severe bump-steer issues with GM IFS, as well as the known case failures.
Oh yeah, the torsion bar adjustment thing...you know GM has made a big deal about the adjustability of the torsion bars since the GMT900 redesign.
Death wobble? I’ve been running trucks in hardcore situations and trials for 30 years and have never had a SFA death wobble. But I have had bent tie rods on the GM IFS more than once, I’ve had the IFS bump-steer and camber-toe change issue too.
I’m not saying that GM is garbage, but in stock vehciles the linear-rate torsion bar IFS is at best an Engineering compromise and at worse a failed 32+ year experiment.
@James
Complaint? Off road wear & tear
Prescription? Get an old Jeep and beef up the chassis, make a few cosmetic repairs, fix old seats, etc. For fun, add a small-block Chevy V8 and a heavy duty clutch.
A fraction of the price of pretend off-road pickups and loads of fun (just not a daily driver).
Snorkels are very common in Australia, so much so they are not newsworthy items
Posted by: Robert Ryan | May 23, 2018 3:13:36 PM
That and gutless Diesels and NO V8's lol
Love my AEV Ram Power Wagon. Absolute beast.
Need to offer the Hemi 6.4L then your talking.
Remember Ford Chevy Etc.... Dodge and jeep were the first 4x4's
makes since to build a small empire on it's back.
A.E.V. is a group of ex Chrysler engineers. So it makes since they use Jeep and Ram. Plus they need a vehicle thats reliable.
The comments to this entry are closed.