If you’ve picked up a used Colorado and missed the factory extras, there’s still a ton of aftermarket gear to dress the car for any occasion. The ute has decent towing capacity to get trailers, caravans and boats where they’re needed, a standard-sized tub for hauling duties or additions like toolboxes or canopies, and solid mechanicals for off-roading. Most owners also opt for bespoke Holden Colorado bull bars in steel or aluminium to keep the paintwork and engine intact when driving in the bush, and as a foundation for off-roading necessities like winches and light bars. 

Why Have a Bull Bar on Your Colorado? 

Bull bars replace the front stock bumper. Besides giving the Colorado a purposeful and aggressive look, this addition also plays a key role: 

• Front-end protection – Bull bars protect critical engine and vehicle parts (radiators, cooling fans, steering linkages, suspension components etc.) from direct animal strikes, thus the name. They’re useful in the bush, on unpaved roads and at the worksite. The parts also shield the lights, bonnet and windshield from road debris, spraying gravel, brush and other obstacles, ensuring you get to your destination unscathed. 
• Mounting point for accessories – Ensure any extras like CB antennas, LED driving lights, or light bars are secured to the vehicle, regardless of how or where you drive. 
• Winch accessibility – Winches are indispensable recovery gear when off the tarmac. While you don’t necessarily need a bull bar to install a winch, the protective parts make the process much easier. Look for winch-compatible  bull bars with integrated winch cradles if you do regular rounds off-road. 
• Improved approach angles – With bumpers off, bull bars make technical terrain easier. They provide improved angles when negotiating uneven ground, and take the damage instead of the ute. 
• Increased resale values – Buyers are more keen on utes and Colorados, already decently kitted. Bull bars in good condition get you more cash towards your next purchase. 

Common Bull Bar Designs

Aussies have preferred traditional triple hoops due to the increased protection, especially in kangaroo strikes. These designs shield a larger part of the Colorado’s front. Triple hoops generally sit wider and taller, and are particularly effective in strikes from the left or right sides. While offering the best protection and more space for additions, they’re the heaviest type and may require suspension tweaks to keep handling decent. 

Single hoops consist of a single bar curving just in front of the radiator. They’re cheaper and lighter, but miss out on side protection. Newer hoopless bars are a hybrid design, similar in appearance to single hoops but with the level of protection and customisation offered by triple hoops. 

Materials 

How effective bull bars are in protecting your Colorado is largely down to the materials they’re made of. These also determine looks and longevity. Choose electropainted and powder-treated steel Holden Colorado bull bars for maximum strength, the best protection against last animals, and relatively low-maintenance needs. 

Electroplating is necessary for increased corrosion protection, while coatings limit scratch marks and surface damage. However, a downside of steel bars, particularly triple hoops, is their high weight, sometimes requiring firming up the front with stiffer springs. 

Aluminium bars are up to half the weight, don’t rust in any weather, and offer good strength. They’re harder to maintain, needing periodic polishing, and are usually more expensive than steel bars in the same size and design. Plastic bars are cheaper and more flexible options for lighter trail use, are exceptionally good against gravel and spraying debris, but won’t last or protect your Colorado in kangaroo strikes. 

Buying Considerations 

When shopping for Holden Colorado bull bars, consider a few key buying factors: 

• Compatibility – Both OE and aftermarket bull bars are vehicle-specific. This also means size and design differences between Colorado RC and RG models. 
• ADR compliance – Observe state and federal regulations on front-end additions, especially size and positioning. 
• Airbag, tech and safety compatibility – Bull bars must not impede airbag activation in the event of accidents and collisions, or the work of standard safety tech like cameras and radars. 
• Weight and materials – How does the added weight affect handling, and are modifications (and additional costs) necessary? 

Matching Accessories 

Bull bars can be sold on their own, but there’s more value when going with packaged deals. Winch-compatible bars aren’t that more expensive than regular types, but offer more versatility. Matching electric winches, usually with high-strength synthetic rope and pulling capacity twice that of a fully loaded Colorado are lifesavers in solo off-roading, and help get out mates’ utes stuck in ruts, brush, deeper mud and loose sand. For safer recoveries, also look for rated recovery bars that bolt onto the bull bars and act as an attachment point for hooks and rope. 

For all-around protection, consider side brush bars that attach to hoops and protect the wheels, wheel flares and tires from side impact. And boost visibility on rural and unpaved roads with the right combination of driving lights and LED light bars in high brightness levels, and builds able to withstand typical bush conditions. 

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That’s also why it’s no surprise that some of the toughest, and most performance-oriented aftermarket exhaust systems for the Hilux are manufactured in Australia. Aussie engineers are under no illusions about how to draw out the best qualities from an exhaust system. They know it takes more than just shiny pipes to withstand Australia’s extreme climate, and what they’ve come up with for the Hilux are a series of exhaust solutions that convincingly live up to the Hilux’s unbreakable reputation.

Trust Aftermarket Hilux Exhaust Systems for Undisputed Reliability

Let’s be honest: while it’s tempting to think of aftermarket exhaust systems strictly in terms of output when you’re talking about an upgrade for the world’s toughest 4WD, you also have every reason to expect it to be the hardest-wearing system in the world. This is where premium aftermarket Toyota Hilux exhaust systems distinguish themselves from all others.

High-quality, Australian-made systems don’t just flow better: they do it with the hardened reliability that Hilux owners demand from their vehicles. You only have to look at the range of Hilux models that exhaust systems are available for to understand just how committed the Aussie aftermarket is to live up to these heavy-duty Toyotas’ standard for durability.

You can buy durable aluminised, or stainless steel Hilux exhaust systems for each of the following models:

• 1997 – 2005 LN147, LN167, and LN179 3.0L diesels;
• 1999 – 2005 KZN165 / 1KZ-TE 3.0L turbo diesels;
• 2005 – 2015 KUN26R and KUN16R 3.0L turbo-diesels;
• 2005 – 2017 GGN150 V6 4.0L petrols; and,
• 2015 – present GUN126R N80 2.8L turbo diesels.

Top quality, ADR (Australian Design Rule) compliant Hilux performance exhaust systems are manufactured in 2.5“ and 3.0“ diameters, and are available in both full, and cat-back configurations. And while the best of these aftermarket Hilux exhaust system upgrades can increase your engine’s output by as much as 10%, it’s their ability to withstand Oz’s environmental extremes that makes them the perfect complement to the Hilux’s undisputed stellar reputation for reliability.

Superior Exhaust Engineering For Hilux Performance and Reliability

In spite of their straightforward construction, exhaust system designers are all too aware that in order to maximize an engine’s output, it also has to be more effective at expelling spent gases. It’s a process that’s quickly complicated, however, by awkward exhaust tube radiuses, turbulence inside the tubes, and even the tendency for hot, less dense air to want to linger inside the system. And it’s no coincidence that these complications will weigh just as heavily on the system’s reliability as they do on engine performance.

Performance, reliability, and durability all come down to how efficiently a system is able to remove spent exhaust gases. That’s why Aussie-engineered Toyota Hilux exhaust systems naturally eclipse the performance of less capable aftermarket systems when it comes to:

• Scavenging as much hot spent exhaust gas away from the engine and through the system as possible;
• Creating as much flow velocity to evacuate spent gases through the system as quickly as possible; and,
• Eliminating the root causes of backpressure that restrict exhaust gas movement.

Make no mistake: when it comes to tubing configurations that are designed for the lowest possible restrictions under the harshest possible conditions, Australian-made, fully mandrel bent, and TIG-welded Hilux exhausts are as unbeatable as the rest of your vehicle is unbreakable. And with their optimized flow characteristics, including high-flow mufflers, these Toyota Hilux exhausts deliver an array of benefits that are perfectly aligned with the Hilux’s rock-solid repertoire of performance when it comes to:

• Snappier throttle response and acceleration;
• An increase in high RPM horsepower; and,
• A reduction in fuel consumption due to less back pressure.

Although some commercially available aftermarket Hilux exhaust setups are intended strictly for off-road use, they’re all crafted with materials and coatings that are designed to take on the roughest environmental conditions that Australia has to offer.

Materials That Are Consistent

No matter where you look on a Hilux, it’s obvious that materials deserve a lot of credit for their resilience. With its near bullet-proof powertrain, and a steel chassis that’s constructed to endure the most crushing impacts, there’s little question about the Hilux’s unyielding durability. It’s also the same rugged reliability that aftermarket exhaust manufacturers in Australia build into their Toyota Hilux exhaust upgrade packages.

Heavy-duty aluminised and stainless steel stock are the hands-down preference for sturdy, affordable Hilux tubing; and together with their thermal coatings and excellent heat transfer properties, both metals also offer a core of critically rugged benefits that include:

• Low weight and superior tensile strength;
• High resistance to heat cycling and excessive vibration; and,
• Exceptional resistance to rust and caustic exhaust gas corrosion.

And if you do damage an aluminised or stainless steel exhaust, they’re easily repaired with simple welding. It’s a reminder that no matter what your vehicle is subjected to, you can be confident that your aftermarket Hilux exhaust upgrade is just as unbreakable as the rest of it.

The Final Word

At the end of the day, when it’s time to upgrade your Hilux’s exhaust, a standard aftermarket system just won’t do. You want a system that’s as rugged as your vehicle, and that’s precisely what you get with a genuine Aussie-engineered solution.

You can trust a premium, Australian-made Toyota Hilux exhaust system to give you the performance you want with the durability you expect. They’re the systems you can trust to uphold your Hilux’s unbreakable legacy.

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