Wheels and tires you NEED for your 3rd Gen Colorado or Canyon

Some are calling it the ‘baby Silverado’, but in our eyes, the new Colorado and its GMC equivalent, the Canyon, are pretty cool in their own right - that’s why we’re making a fitment guide dedicated to the 3rd Gen.

The difficulty with this is that GM changed these trucks up a lot depending on the trim… things like lift and width… things that affect wheel fitment. We’re going to cover a bit of everything in this guide: ‘What wheels fit your Trail Boss?’, ‘What’s the largest tire that will go on a stock LT?’, and many similar questions will be answered.

Before we get into the details, here are the basics:

Quick links

• Basic fitment info
• Differences in trim
• WT, LT, and Z71 fitment
• ZR2, AT4X, and Denali fitment
• Trail Boss, AT4, and Elevation fitment

Basic fitment info

• Lug pattern: 6x139.7
• Lug thread: m14x1.5
• Center bore: 78.1mm
• Lug torque: 140 ft/lbs

All of the above specs are exactly the same on the Silverado 1500. While this doesn’t help the case for this being a mini Silverado, it does mean that you’ll have an easier time finding wheels that fit.

We have thousands of options that will work for both of these trucks. If you already know your specs but aren’t sure what model to pick, we surely have something for you.

All 6x139.7 wheels

Differences by trim

One of the things that makes this chassis particularly difficult to make a fitment guide about is the differences in trim levels. First, GM/Chevy offers four different levels of factory lift. Then there’s slightly different body work, some get wider fenders. To top it off, models like the Trail Boss and most Canyons have a 3” wider track width - effectively a swift kick below the belt from GM to anyone attempting to make a fitment guide.

Nevertheless, we’re covering all trims in one fitment guide, so buckle up. Here’s a breakdown:

Trim comparison
‎	Height	Width
WT/LT	Base height	Base width
Z71	1” of lift	Base width
ZR2/AT4X	3” of lift	Base width
TB/AT4	2” of lift	3” extra width

Note that if you have a WT, LT, or Z71 and are considering lifting it, you can check out trucks with the factory 3” lift.

Deleting mudflaps

Because these trucks are so new, not many people are comfortable cutting them up for the sake of running 35’s, at least not yet. One way to get extra clearance that’s fully reversible is removing the mud flaps. A lot of the trucks we’re going to look at have the flaps deleted.

If you have a Z71, WT, or LT, you’ve probably noticed you have these goofy rear (front?) mudflaps in addition to the standard rear flap. The issue is that, unlike normal flaps that fasten to the inside of the fenders, these leave massive mounting holes in the side of your truck when deleted.

As of now, the only solution to not having these holes is DIYing your own block off plate, or just leave it until someone makes an off-the-shelf product that does the same job (why has no one made this yet??)

Examples of Colorado and Canyon fitment

LT, WT, and Z71 Colorado fitment

For simplicity sake, we’re going to lump the Z71 in with the WT/LT as these trucks all have the same bodywork. The only tangible difference is the Z71’s slight factory lift (1”).

Fitment Facts
‎	Front	Rear
Wheels	Stock LT 17’s	Stock LT 17’s
Tires	BF Goodrich K02 255/75R17	BF Goodrich K02 255/75R17
Notes	Factory wheels w/ BFG K02 tires. Splash guards deleted. No rubbing.

If you have a WT or LT Colorado, the burning question is ‘What’s the largest tire you can throw on with stock suspension’? 255/75R17, or about 32”, is our recommendation. These are thin but not exactly pizza cutters. Some claim a wider 275/70R17 can work, while others say they’ll slightly rub at full lock. Really, if you wanna go much larger than stock you’ll need to consider leveling or lift.

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Fitment Facts
‎	Front	Rear
Wheels	Method 701 17x9 -12	Method 701 17x9 -12
Tires	Stock 255/65R17	Stock 255/65R17
Notes	Stock tires, aftermarket wheels. No rubbing.

Want to keep your stock tires and only upgrade the wheels? That’s what this 2023 WT is running. This truck is a 2WD model. Luckily, 4WD and 2WD trucks share the same ride height, so, we at least get a bit of reprieve from GM in this department.

Lower offset wheels are going to have a higher chance of rubbing at full lock. Because of this the largest tire possible will be closer to a 31” than a 32”. Or, keep the tire size fully stock at 30”, like this Colorado owner did.

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Fitment Facts
‎	Front	Rear
Wheels	Method 701 17x9 -12	Method 701 17x9 -12
Tires	Nitto Ridge Grappler 265/70R17	Nitto Ridge Grappler 265/70R17
Notes	Z71 (factory 1" lift). No rubbing. Mudflaps deled.

Combining aftermarket wheels and tires is the best of both worlds. This Z71 has the same Method wheels as the last, but combines them with 265/70R17 Nitto tires. You can get away with larger tires on higher offset wheels - these negative offset Method’s required tires under 32”.

This setup works perfectly with stock suspension and doesn’t require any modding. Note that the Z71 has a 1” factory lift over the base and LT models, but this would probably work fine on lower trims as well.

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Fitment Facts
‎	Front	Rear
Wheels	Fuel Heater 20x9 +1	Fuel Heater 20x9 +1
Tires	Falken Wildpeak 275/60R20	Falken Wildpeak 285/65R20
Notes	Z71 with 1” leveling kit. 33" tires.

Here’s another Z71, but this time with a 1” leveling kit from Rough Country. For the WT/LT you’d need a 2/1 leveling kit to replicate what’s pictured here. With this installed, this truck is able to run 275/60R20, which comes out to exactly 33” - a factory size on models with more lift.

This is our first look at 20” wheels. Most opt for 17’s, but 20’s are a factory option on higher trims. The wheels have basically zero offset; this gives less poke which might be the look you’re after.

Beyond this, we’ll need to think about lift kits. So, we might as well look at the ZR2, AT4X, and Denali trim levels as these come equipped with a factory 3” lift. If you plan to lift your base model truck, the next section applies to you.

ZR2, AT4X, and Denali fitment

These are the high boys. Naturally, they’ll be able to fit larger tires than the others we’ve seen so far.

Fitment Facts
‎	Front	Rear
Wheels	Black Rhino Shogun 17x8.5 -10	Black Rhino Shogun 17x8.5 -10
Tires	*stock 265/70R17	*stock 265/70R17
Notes	ZR2 - Stock tires and suspension. Factory tire size.

These are the high-performance off-road trims. They already come with decently sized tires, about 32”, so simply changing out the stock wheels for aftermarket ones is a popular move. This ZR2 is running Black Rhino Shogun rims.

Just like the lower trim models, negative offset wheels will give a bit of poke. Arguably, this looks better combined with the lift.

Stock tires, stock suspension, and of course… no modding needed - even the factory mud flaps were kept.

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Fitment Facts
‎	Front	Rear
Wheels	KMC Riot 17x8.5 +0	KMC Riot 17x8.5 +0
Tires	Nitto Ridge Grappler 305/70R17	Nitto Ridge Grappler 305/70R17
Notes	Stock suspension. Tight fit, might cause some rubbing without trimming.

Now, if you wanted aggressive fitment AND big tires, you could copy the setup of this 24’ AT4X. This truck is able to fit 305/70R17 tires with factory suspension, although it's a tight fit. These are basically 34” tires.

It’s so tight that tires that run large might require slight trimming or a leveling kit. This does, however, confirm that Nitto Ridge Grapplers do fit.

Trail Boss, AT4, and Elevation fitment

Not only is the lift different on these rigs, but these are the wide boys, featuring completely different track width and bodywork compared to the rest. If you own one of the other trims, this is where the information is no longer applicable to you.

Fitment Facts
‎	Front	Rear
Wheels	Icon Rebound 20x9 +0	Icon Rebound 20x9 +0
Tires	Falken Wildpeak AT3W 275/60R20	Falken Wildpeak AT3W 275/60R20
Notes	Trail Boss. Factory tire size

Trail Boss Colorados might be the best bang-4-buck trim, it’s not surprising that so many people pick this one - they come on 33” tires after all. First, we’ll show you what these trucks look like on stock tires and stock suspension, but with the addition of aftermarket wheels.

This 2023 TB is sitting on Icon wheels with 0 offset. These give over an 1” more poke than the factory wheels (+28 offset) and suit the fender a whole lot better. This is perfect if you’re content with the factory 33x20” tires.

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Fitment Facts
‎	Front	Rear
Wheels	Method Racing Compression 20x10 -18	Method Racing Compression 20x10 -18
Tires	Nitto Recon A/T 275/60R20	Nitto Recon A/T 275/60R20
Notes	Icon Stage 2 lift kit.

The AT4 is essentially a Trail Boss in a necktie. These rigs share the same suspension (along with the Canyon Elevation). The AT4 we see pictured is running a Icon Stage 2 lift kit which includes upper control arms and coilovers. This truck is running about 2” of lift.

The tires are exactly the same factory size of 33”, while more aggressive wheels will give an extra inch or so of poke. The poke pairs perfectly with the lift in this instance.

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Fitment Facts
‎	Front	Rear
Wheels	KMC Summit 17x8.5 +0	KMC Summit 17x8.5 +0
Tires	Nitto Ridge Grappler 285/75R17	Nitto Ridge Grappler 285/75R17
Notes	Trail Boss with 17" wheels. No spacers or additional mods. Zero rubbing.

Then again, you could ditch the OEM 20’s and go for an 18 or 17-diameter. The owner of this Trail Boss went for 17” KMC Summit wheels. These are wrapped in Nitto Ridge Grappler tires that come out close to 34” - a healthy upgrade considering this truck is still at stock height. This setup simply works, no need for additional mods.

Brake clearance might be a concern considering this truck comes with 20’s, but the owner reports there’s plenty of room on these particular wheels - no spacers needed.

Wrap up

Chevy/GM didn’t make this an easy platform for us to put together a fitment guide. There are factory lifts of all different heights, various track widths, and even different bodywork. Still, we showed you a bit of everything regardless of what flavor of Colorado or Canyon you own.

Another consideration is how new this platform is. Finding examples ain’t easy when you’re dealing with trucks that are only a year or two old. We’ll be looking to feature new 3rd Gens in this guide as owners continue to mod them. If you have a Colorado or Canyon with a badass wheel and tire setup, be sure to add it to our Fitment Gallery - chances are we’ll add it to this guide!