Colorado suspension

[Chipper8]

I have a 2019 Colorado with standard suspension, a steel bar on the front and canopy on the back. My question is: is the standard suspension more than enough for this? I also have my dual battery setup and fridge in the canopy full time. I tow a tradesman trailer everyday and do moderate 4wdriving every now and then. I was thinking of upgrading suspension to compensate for the weight of bar and canopy etc

 

[2luxes]

The canopy, fridge and battery in the back are just part of the load so the rear suspension will easily handle that.

Bull bars will alter the front suspension geometry. They all weigh at least around 40 to 50 kilos and to make matters worse, they are mounted on the end of a lever I.e the distance between the centre of the wheels and the bar. That further increases the load on the suspension.

I read a report somewhere a few years ago on a new Hilux that was about to be released. It said the genuine accessory Toyota bull bar comes with new front springs in the installation kit.

The "whichcar" web site had a story on bull bars and their effect on front suspensions back in about 2015.

If you go back to the days when factory fitted air conditioning was an optional extra, cars that came off the assembly line with air conditioning had different front springs from those without air.

I suggest you talk to a Holden dealer and see if a bull bar was available as an accessory and has your car got one.

With any suspension alteration, you will gain something and loose something. What you have lost could possibly bring you unstuck in a big way out on the highway so it is important you know what it is

 

[2luxes]

Just one more question Chipper, how much weight do you have on your tow ball?

 

[Chipper8]

Just one more question Chipper, how much weight do you have on your tow ball?

Thanks for the reply mate. My trailer is an aluminium box trailer, I don’t know the exact ball weight, but it would be less than 100kg I reckon.
It seems that in regard to suspension a lot of people just put a two inch lift in so it’s a ‘proper 4wd’, but I wonder how many actually need it

 

[2luxes]

My trailer is an aluminium box trailer, I don’t know the exact ball weight, but it would be less than 100kg I reckon.

100 kgs is not going to cause any problems providing you never load the tub to its maximum plus a bit more like many owners do. That is when the bent chassis problems can really upset your day.

One very important thing with towing is always read the towing instructions in the car's handbook and never go against them.

It seems that in regard to suspension a lot of people just put a two inch lift in so it’s a ‘proper 4wd’, but I wonder how many actually need it

I think a lot of it comes from saturation advertising in magazines and the DVDs that come with them. I suppose you can't blame them though. They must have sponsers to fund their magazines and they must keep their products selling if they want to keep them.


Then there is the 4WD expos. Just a few minutes in one of them is enough to convince anyone that every part of a new car is so inadequate for any road except your driveway.

Of course there are tracks that are so rough that you do need suspension alterations but they are few and far between. You can see about 95 % of the country without them.

If you find yourself in a situation where a modified suspension is necessary, then speak to a suspension company that really does understand suspension design and can explain what the alterations are going to do on sealed roads.

As an example, I was very interested in motor racing in my very much younger days and I bought many editions of Racing Car News magazines. In the for sale section for competition sedans and sports cars, the description for many cars often included the words " Heasman suspension".

Heasman is a Sydney suspension company that started in 1954 and are still in business and owned by the same family today. They can modify anything from a ute to a new Ferrari. That is the type of company I would go to.

 

[Gidgee]

Found this thread because I'm wondering whether to tweak my own suspension on a MY17 Colorado (same as the MY19 in mechanical respects), mostly my concern is corrugations and I am not yet sure if any suspension change can help with that without mucking up the handling on road.

I am not unhappy with the suspension, indeed I've found it superior other 4WD driven for work and that may be due to the extensive developmental testing in Australia that Holden did. I've made all the mods the vehicle in steps, bull bar, canopy, AT 30.5" tyres, and if anything I think the ride is improved and cannot see any degradation in the handling on bitumen or dirt at any stage.

I do have a slight concern about GVM, my calcs say I'm under but I do need to put it on a weighbridge. fully loaded at some point.

 

[Colly18]

My experience (MY2014 Colorado) is that if the standard suspension is working OK for you and you want to retain on road characteristics, then stick with standard springs. I found the standard front shock absorbers to be a weak point regards corrugations (they failed during a trip across the Gary Junction Highway-Pilbara-Gascoyne and conditions were not too bad). I've gone the 40mm lift route and slightly heavier duty springs because the ute is mainly my holiday vehicle and I like to head bush with quite heavy loads, but the ride about town unloaded is a little harsh. My suggestion for forward planning looking at corrugations is look for better shock absorbers.
Yep, GVM is an ongoing issue for many 4X4'ers doing remote trips carrying extra water and fuel. The Colorados are pretty good in that regard allowing a 1 ton (or there abouts) payload. I decided to go back to towing a camper trailer to help out in that regard (somewhat reluctantly).

 

[Gidgee]

Yeah it's a shame you can't have both but I value safety at 100km/h a lot more than comfort at lowish speeds. Having said that, since factory suspension must be all things to all users, there should be some tweaking possible. I did wonder if the simplest answer is bigger wheels (with all their negatives on fuel and handling) though I am a long way from needing new tyres.