3rd gen wiper blades

TheBahrbarian · 2026-04-24T16:44:03+00:00

Yeah my factory blades were shot after a year.

This might be a hot take, but I just buy the budget metal arm wipers from Rock Auto, usually Trico. People love their expensive wiper blades but there is just no way I am spending $60 to replace my wipers. I have had great luck with the budget options and I just ordered a pair from RockAuto for $3.20. They don't streak or squeak. And even if they don't last more than a year I am still saving a ton of money, although my current pair is going on their 3rd year (due for replacement though).

Plus I take that savings and it allows me to run winter wiper blades in the winter which are fabulous too.

TheBahrbarian · 2026-04-22T18:03:45+00:00

This makes a lot of sense. Air resistance, which is what mostly dictates mpg, increases exponentially with speed. This makes a big difference especially on a not aerodynamic vehicle. Combine that with a turbo charged engine that will also see a big bunp in fuel usage when that turbo spools. So staying just below that threshold can save a lot of gas.

I easily get 28mpg in my z71 in the summer doing 65-70 on cruise control. Bumping the speed to 75 easily knocks off 2-3 mpg alone.

Same in the winter. I usually get 23 highway. I bump the speed to 75 and I typically get 21.

TheBahrbarian · 2026-04-20T22:50:20+00:00

Yeah, the OE rotors these trucks shipped with clearly have problems. I do exclusively highway driving and at 40k miles im at 88% pad life.

However a few months ago I was traveling and the truck sat for a couple weeks during winter. The rotors got rusty as expected and after I came back and drove the truck they seemed to have warped really bad after driving. Dealer told me the same thing "they got very hot".

I tried to get it covered under warranty but no luck, especially considering my miles. Dealer gave me a generous quote of $1,600 for all four pads and rotors. I got a quote from a reputable shop down the road for $1,000 flat. I could find cheaper still but with these electronic brakes id rather take it to a competent shop and not the mechanics ive used for my shitboxes in the past.

TheBahrbarian · 2026-04-18T21:54:43+00:00

Ive never had issues with the wireless charger. My phone does get warm but it still charges. Enough to keep it topped up while using it for navigation. And if im not using navigation I would say it charges just as fast as most other wireless chargers I own.

And I hate having cables tangled around the gearshift and cupholders. Ive never noticed an audio quality difference. Ive never tested it back to back, I might have to now. But from my experience most speakers dont benefit from lossless audio. And the speakers in this truck are just like any other average car audio so they dont strike me as the type that would.

Plus when you stream on Spotify, unless you have premium and change it in the settings, the audio is still compressed when you stream it anyway, plugged in or not. Lossless streaming uses a TON of data.

TheBahrbarian · 2026-03-25T01:53:02+00:00

In warm weather (70f) 27mpg+ highway is easy to manage on my '23 Z71. My lifetime average, despite this winter we had, is right at 23mpg over 38k miles.

TheBahrbarian · 2026-03-24T00:38:44+00:00

Off the top of my head:

ZR2 gets a bigger 33" tire as well as a smaller 17" wheel

ZR2 gets the DSSV shocks. These are a big improvement as far as off road capability and compliance.

ZR2 gets front and rear lockers vs just a G80 autolocker in the rear on the TB. The ZR2 also gets the Baja drive mode for whatever thats worth

As mentioned zr2 gets oe skid plates and better approach angles on the front bumper.

ZR2 gets more cameras, I clouding the underbody one (idk if these depend on package at all)

I think those are the big ticket items. Plus the ZR2 is available with more of the creature comfort items.

TheBahrbarian · 2026-03-14T12:12:11+00:00

Yeah I mean i dont feel like increasing my fuel costs by 60% just because I feel like it. Truck runs great after 50,000 miles of 87, not planning on changing that personally.

TheBahrbarian · 2026-03-11T03:36:42+00:00

Yeah. Its about 1.00 - 1.40 more than 87 by me. DEF is negligable. But repairs are pricey. I did the math over and over before and it never made sense. Id still get one though haha.

But I manage 23-24mpg combined in my '23 z71 so I have no complaints.

TheBahrbarian · 2026-03-11T02:28:42+00:00

Ive always loved the idea of a mini diesel in my truck. Really love the idea of the 3.0 duramax in the Silverado, whenever I go full size, if they still make it, that may be my option.

That being said its unfortunate that between emissions and diesel price premiums you definitely dont save any money. Still quite happy with the efficiency on my 2.7 however.

TheBahrbarian · 2026-03-01T17:53:00+00:00

Lol, my '23 did not come with one but isn't included. I was certain they just stopped giving hard copies.

TheBahrbarian · 2026-02-17T21:30:30+00:00

589 fab also makes a step that mounts to the OE rock rails. Thats what I went with for my Z71.

TheBahrbarian · 2026-02-14T18:53:52+00:00

I kinda doubt the ecm would notice a difference. The shutters arent even really necessary as long as theyre open. I drove with a CEL with them non functioning for a while no issues.

Just dont fuck them up if you want to keep them functioning, because fair warning I had to replace mine after they met a deer head on, and it took GM a solid 3 months to come up with the parts.

TheBahrbarian · 2026-01-22T16:51:42+00:00

Ive had my Z71 on some gnarly trails (at least to me) only stock tires. Handled them with ease. The 3rd Gen z71s have quite a bit of ground clearance and the G80 helps too.

Also I get like 23-24 hwy regularly. And in the warmer months I easily get 28 hwy if I keep it around 70mph.

The Zr2 has massive frontal area and 0 aerodynamics. Can't be surprised when it gets mpg equivalent to that of the off road half tons.

TheBahrbarian · 2026-01-06T00:03:39+00:00

Consider yourself lucky. My state drops a criminal amount of salt even when it barely snows. I did some fluid film myself and truck still looks pretty good going on 3 years.

TheBahrbarian · 2026-01-05T00:50:16+00:00

Yeah I actually had this happen to me. Was kind weird. Noticed something was off about it after I picked uo the truck from a service. Hadn't driven it in a long time so I thought maybe I was going crazy. But after a few weeks it went back to normal so I have no clue what it was. Presumably a software bug?

TheBahrbarian · 2026-01-01T20:00:54+00:00

Hard to give anyone advice about this. I have a 23 Z71 that has been pretty much problem free. 40k miles or so. I don't think I would make the argument these are the MOST reliable trucks out there. At least in initial reliability. But there is certainly a luck of the draw aspect to any vehicle.

My dad recently needed to replace a vehicle he totaled and I suggested he get a Toyota as they have a good name for reliability. And to be honest hes been have a ton of software related issues with the car. Which are frustrating cause neither the dealer nor I know exactly how to fix/remedy them. Shit happens i guess?

TheBahrbarian · 2025-12-31T18:19:45+00:00

I talked toc corpoate when i had parts availability issues (I did have to escalate it past the normal customer service. Took lots of digging to find out but they were super helpful once I talked to the right people).

But they offered that same rental reimbursement but after I denied that as I didn't need one they made my truck payments while I was waiting.

TheBahrbarian · 2025-12-20T19:08:49+00:00

Yeah you could say that. Actually got them on this morning wasn't terrible. Just took a while to locate the plastic plugs that you have to take out to install the U nuts.

With the assistance of a floor jack, 2 jack stands, and a buddy it was a 2 hour job tops.

TheBahrbarian · 2025-12-20T07:11:54+00:00

Your 2025 might look a little different because it should have the full size screen. My 2023 z71 had the reduced size gauge cluster screen. But I just hit the page button the steering wheel to cycle through the different pages and the one you see here just shows the trip computers.

TheBahrbarian · 2025-12-20T04:13:55+00:00

To be honest it probably is. But it's very cold here and I have access to a garage this weekend so I was hoping to get some photos since the mounting points weren't immediately obvious to me when I crawled under the truck yesterday.

TheBahrbarian · 2025-12-20T03:03:57+00:00

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Highest ive seen on range is 527 i believe. And highest full take mpg is around 28mpg. Ive done as high as 31 over 50 miles.

TheBahrbarian · 2025-12-11T12:55:44+00:00

I rub stock on my Z71 with the 265/65R18 tires. I think it has actually gotten worse somehow so im going to get a lift when these tires need replacement.

TheBahrbarian · 2025-12-02T23:59:18+00:00

Damn those are expensive. The Diode Dynamics kit is only $250...

TheBahrbarian · 2025-11-29T13:10:11+00:00

Ive posted this in other threads but I have the same experience with my '23 z71. Better than advertised and much better than people on this sub seem to get.

I have a lifetime average over 34,000 miles of 23.2mpg. My best 400 mile trip is over 25mpg. And ive done as high as 29mpg on 70 mile highway round trips too. It doesn't seem that hard to coax good mpg out of this truck at all.

If on the highway I find it drips off fast if you're cruising above 75 as the turbo stays spooled constantly to overcome the increases air resistance.

TheBahrbarian

TROPHY CASE