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Shocks Old Man Emu

12K views 32 replies 11 participants last post by  spoonman 
#1 ·
2016 Diesel... changed tires to 245 75 17 E rated ...no problem (speedo off by 2 mph). Want to change rear shocks to OME nitro. At this time I am seeing only Isuzu Dmax and Holden Diesel (Asia and Australia ) versions of Colorado. Question: Are these parts interchangeable ?
 
#2 · (Edited)
Welcome to Coloradofans.

Check on the ARBUSA site, didn't find the Colorado listed but you can find a dealer or email.

I have OME nitro on my Global Colorado and they are great.

FYI, Australia is the only place you can get a Holden, the rest of the world outside of north America has the Global GM Chevrolet Colorado.
 
#3 ·
Ome shocks on my Jeep are fantastic. I switched from stock to a 3" lift with 3" taller tires when I put the ome's on and the ride and handling are better than before. Less body roll and better stability.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
 
#5 ·
Hey Folks!
I bought a 2015 Colorado fully loaded Z71 last year. I drove it for a few months to get a feel for what needs improving. Since then I have had the Dealership install all my modifications. I now have a 5.5" B.D.S. suspension lift, with the full coil-overs and adjustable exterior resevoir, A backRack / 'GullWing' tool-box combination, TWO 30" dual row LED light bars on the BackRack (one facing forward, one facing rearward) with the switches neatly installed in the overhead center console, A "Fab-Fours" Extreme offroad hidden winch bumper with a 10,000 lb. WARN Zeon 'S' Remote control winch, and a '2-way-air' airing up/down manifold single valve system from 'Wild Boar Offroad' set up in my toolbox, ALL installed and warrantied at the dealership!! MY Colorado is ONE OF A KIND now!!!! I would LOVE to put up a pic or three!!!!
 
#6 ·
I agree with Mass-Hole they are great shocks for sure, I'll be keeping an eye on this thread. I had OME on my 2002 Tacoma then I added them to my FJ within a week after purchase basically because I loved the way they rode and lack of body roll, plus they added a nice lift to boot. ;0)
 
#8 · (Edited)
I was in a very similar situation back in 2007, when I bought a new Nissan Frontier, virtually the same as the ROW Nissan Navara. I'm a long time off-roader, and wanted to start building up my Frontier. I found that very little was available back then (kind of like the current situation with our Twins), but searching the internet, found that ARB had an extensive array of suspension (OME) and protection components for the Navara. I had a long term relationship with ARB, just up the road about 150 miles in Renton, WA, so gave my friend up there a call to ask if they'd be bringing any of it in for our US Frontiers.

Turns out I made my call at just the right time. They were looking for a Frontier, so my truck became a test bed for virtually everything ARB made for the Navara. The process took almost two years, as they started with the OME suspension, then moved to the front and rear bumpers, and eventually the entire line. I am not going to be off-roading my Canyon All Terrain to the degree I used the Nissan, so in spite of some interest in giving it a try, have decided to leave the GMC pretty mild.

If any of you guys are anywhere near Renton, send me a PM, and I'll share my contact info at ARB. You never know, they may be thinking of going after the Twins market. It was well worth the effort back then, and any time they needed my truck for an extended period of time, would furnish me a loaner, so I was never without transportation. Most products were done with 2 to 3 trips to Renton before the final version was ready to install on my truck. Some were virtually an exact match right off the shelf, but some took minor re-engineering. In those cases, I would go up to Renton for the day, while an engineer flown over from Australia would work on the project, then take those digitized drawings, measurements and notes back to Australia where they would build prototypes for later fitment in Renton. It was fun being part of the process, and would try again if I thought my use of the truck would justify it.

Here's a shot of the Nissan with the OME suspension, front and rear bumpers, and skid plate set mostly visible. This was taken during a Warn photo shoot back when they were getting ready to launch the new Zeon series of winches, but early one day before the winch was mounted on my truck. During that 4 day photo shoot in several eastern Oregon locations, Warn only had one prototype winch, and several technicians were constantly moving that solitary winch between about six different vehicles, and it had to work with every move so it functioned in all of the stills and videos.

 
#9 · (Edited)
#11 ·
Home a couple days early from a trip with the pop up camper on the back.... It would seem I don't know squat about suspension. The Colorado suspension (stock not heavy duty) is worthless. Not only did it bounce like a beachball but it would bottom out on potholes of just a couple inches. Otherwise the truck did fine. I should have bought heavy duty. That said ...my 2001 Tacoma stock shocks never bottomed out or bounced at all.
It is like night and day. I certainly hope this is fixable. If there is anyone who has info on Bilstein or OME shocks. I need heavy duty. AND do I need to change the leaf springs? Egads.
 

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#12 ·
I've got virtually the same truck as you, a Canyon, long bed, DMax All Terrain, and recently completed our first extended tow of our 19' travel trailer. I posted in this thread about our previous Nissan Frontier, which needed more power, but handled extremely well when towing, and had the OME suspension changes. And in another thread, I recently posted about our 1500+ mile tow in the Canyon, commenting about the need to beef up the suspension for towing. Just last week, I installed Auto Spring's add-a-leaf to the back, and Eibach Pro Truck shocks at all four corners, with the front being ride height adjustable so I could level it after the added lift at the rear. The add-a-leafs, which I asked be made with the lowest lift possible, added just under 1.5" to the rear, so set my ride height adjustable Eibach front shocks to the 1.4" lift setting. I haven't had a chance to tow yet, and won't be until the weekend of July 8, so can't offer any feedback yet, but have high hopes it will reduce the floating feel I would get with the Canyon at times on our recent long tow.

I'll add some comments after that trip, which will include two directions of a winding mountain pass, fast curvy two lane, and maybe 10 miles of freeway. That combination of highway conditions will tell me a lot about how much the new suspension modifications improved the experience.
 
#13 ·
My question is on hauling weight... if I put an extra leaf in the back...I like your idea of the lowest possible lift... shocks in the front and back that could level it out would be great. I am not worried about the 'look' as much as the ride... I need heavy duty to have 1400lb in the back on a daily basis. I hear Bilsteins, OME, Eiback..... I am out of my comfort zone knowing which is best for dealing with load. As my springs are standard load ... Do I need to replace the whole thing? Thanks
 
#14 · (Edited)
The add-a-leaf is just another leaf that is inserted between the stock leaf pack and overload spring. I installed mine myself, along with the new Eiback Pro Truck shocks, and it did take longer than expected. The problem with our diesels is the DEF tank, which is just barely in the way of being able to pull out the upper shock mount bolt. The DEF tank has to be lowered about an inch to get that long bolt out of the mount, and I ended up pulling a lot of nuts and bolts before I could manage to drop it that inch. I removed some that were not necessary, but didn't learn that until I finally found the right ones.

Auto Spring makes these springs up in only a day or two, and can give you the lift you desire. You're adding metal in there, so it seems the minimum they can do is about 1.5". The stock leaf pack has to be pulled out so the add-a-leaf can be inserted between, and other than a good set of wrenches, the only tool needed is a pair of large clamps to pull the leaf pack back together so it can be wrestled back in place onto the rear axle. Auto Spring provides a good instruction sheet, and other than the DEF tank, it wouldn't be a bad job. Something I didn't pick up on right away was the upper shock bolt removal procedure. I was struggling to get a wrench on the nut, and soon realized the nuts are welded in place, so it turns out that the upper bolt is actually very easy to loosen I could do the job an hour faster, now that I did it once.

Give Auto Spring a call, they were very helpful when I was researching what to do to my truck. Auto Spring Corporation, Idaho's Largest Inventory of Auto and Truck Springs. The shocks can be viewed at http://http://eibach.com/america/en/eibach-news/pro-truck-shocks and the shocks for the twins are the same whether it's the V6 gas or diesel. The front shocks have four spring seat locations, which give you the option of stock ride height, .7" lift, 1.4" lift, and 2" lift (all approximate). The spring seats on your stock front shocks are removable, and transfer to the Eibach.

Here is a photo showing the approx 1.5" of lift with the add-a-leaf and front shocks set to 1.4". I wanted to stay as close to stock as possible, and it seems that the roughly 1.5" lift is unavoidable to achieve the improved handling and load capability.

 
#15 ·
Hey Dave Rado... thanks for the reply... Global Colorade? Is this the same as the USA version... and if so will the OME fit the 2016? ARB when I called say they have no specs for it. It is a tad confusing as to what to do next.
 
#18 · (Edited)



The Australian Holden Colorado and the Global Colorado use all the same parts, just different badges on the Holden. Read articles that the Holden version won't be built in Australia anymore, they will get them from the Thailand Global Colorado manufacturer.

As far as these being the same specs as the US version, I don't know for sure. From several sites including posts here there are a few differences, the US version is slightly longer (~4"), emission components ie DEF system, a few misc items in the interior, my 4WD shift nob is on the center console. The wheel bolt pattern on our Colorado and Canyon is the international standard, any 6 bolt wheel will fit any equivalent vehicle, Chevy, Ford, Toyota, Nissan, Isuzu, etc. The GM diesel engines worldwide come from Thailand.

I'm surprised that ARB doesn't have shock specs on the US version, the guy you talked to probably didn't know and didn't bother to check. An email might get a better answer.

My OME Shock/coils were rated at 1.25" and raised the front 1 7/8" actual.

As edsd90 said, most other manufacturers have interchangeable parts for US/Global versions.

You'll have to get someone to verify.
I don't have any info on the US version shocks, sorry can't help you with if they are compatible.
Will post if I come across anything.

EDIT:
Might get some info on page 5 and 34.
Ask the guy you called previously if these p/n are for the US version.

http://www.arbusa.com/Uploads/PDF/onlineManualsGuides/OME_Guide_current.pdf

This site, look under 2015 Chevy Colorado...
Transamerican Wholesale
 
#16 ·
It's very hard to say that the global Colorado is identical to ours. In the case of my Nissan, the OME was a direct bolt on, identical to Navaras built on 3 or 4 continents. With OME, you would need everything for it to be compatible, including new OME springs and Nitrocharger Sport shocks up front, new HD leaf packs and matching shocks for the rear. OME typically builds a 2" lift into their components (unsure what they do for the Colorado), so the shock length and spring lift needs to be compatible. Other extended length shocks would also work, but you'd need to do your homework on that. You could order it all up, but ARB wouldn't likely guarantee fitment.

It would sure be nice if someone here in the NW could work out an arrangement with ARB to insure compatibility, then be able to offer these components directly out of their US warehouse.
 
#20 ·
You're welcome.

Let us know if you get anywhere....
 
#23 ·
How did you remove the stock spring seats? @edsd90
I had my local shop do my front struts and align, so didn't personally see it happen. The Eibach shocks come with a snap ring which is inserted into the groove for the lift you want, then a spring seat shim slides over the snap ring. This shim supports the original spring seat off the old strut, which they tell me slides right off. I have my old struts, and there is a similar shaped shim welded to the strut that supports the loose seat.

To do the front struts, you need spring compressors, which I didn't have. An alignment is also required after lifting the front.
 
#26 ·
Only the springs will have a weight rating, and OME is probably one of the best for listing those for all the options in their catalog. You can mix spring and shock brands, but will want to use a higher performance shock/strut to gain better handling along with the spring's higher weight rating, if you don't use compatible products like OME's springs and Nitrocharger shocks.

A lift is inevitable when you install higher weight rated springs, so the shocks/struts should be longer so they operate in the proper range and don't limit your wheel travel.
 
#27 ·
That helps. I wasn't thinking in the right order. I will need then to get the shocks after or at are same time as the springs (I assume we are speaking of rear leaf pack?).Some brands come with coil over springs on the front shocks as standard (replacing what's there). You might tell I am very new to this. I want to do this right once.
 
#29 ·
For What it is worth... I heard from an owner of an off road shop that he heard from ARB that the Colorado can take the OME shock .... this is the quoted email... "ARB just told me the 60116 would be the rear shocks.".... if that is true life will get better.
 
#32 ·
Update # 2 ARB just contacted me and retracted that part number 60116.... 2 people 2 answers, so now they are saying they haven't as of yet spec'd the USA 2016 Diesel Colorado yet. I sure wish they would. I have to replace the leaf pack in the back which has proved useless with a heavy load and shocks to fit.
 
#33 ·
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