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[SMD]

Ok Chris, you convinced me. I drive like Ms Daisy' chauffeur      It'll be left as is (if I can find one). I'm seeing the Nocturno Blue one tomorrow  hopefully its a good one.

[TheBoy]

and go round bends like a Focus.  It's just not possible.

Thank the Lord for that!

But I agree with the rest - the Omega can be made to be quite capable for an exec saloon, but its not a sports car.

[elvin315]

FYI: The front & rear springs from the V2 Monaro (2001-2005) will fit the Omega B. They will lower the Mig 25.4 mm (1 inch) and are just a little stiffer than the stock MV6 springs. The Pontiac GTO is a Monaro in drag and I have a full set of those springs on my 2001 Catera Sport (MV6). She sits a little lower and rides with authority, like she means business. Along with Koni Sport dampers front & rear (rebound adjustable) and poly-bushes where available, my car rides firmly and corners flatter. Firm but not harsh. Not a sports car but now a real sport sedan.

NOTE: The Monaro's front brake calipers (dual piston) along with their hoses will also fit the Omega. Poly front bushes are available for the Omega from Powerflex. The Monaro's rear bushings will fit the Omega and are available in poly from Pedders. Monaro front struts will not fit the Mig. Cars with the self leveling rear shocks will need that feature disabled if you fit non-air performance shocks. The link below is to my Catera Suspension Upgrades article. The problems and upgrades I mention apply to both our cars. The vendors I list are mostly in the USA but I'm sure you can find equivalent suppliers.
http://cateraowners.forumotion.com/t108-catera-suspension-upgrades-overview

[Kevin Wood]

In the grand scheme of things though, Mr wife beater isn't far off relatively speaking.

Hmm. Not sure I agree.

No, the Omega isn't a sports car. Neither is anything much that is marketed as a sports car these days, as you certainly need to be in the hundreds of kilos, not the thousands, to be even in consideration there. So, anything BMW, even the 2 seaters, are out of the window, as is the aforementioned Focus <snigger> . It's a fairly select band of cars where you won't fit the proverbial golf clubs in the boot, etc. (Hint: if you're even considering driving it to a golf club, it's not a sports car). Anyway, I digress...

The Omega drives much less like a barge than many much lighter cars out there IMHO. The thing that's so woeful about most medium/large cars is the amount of wallow on bends as soon as you even start to drive enthusiastically IMHO. I.E. before you even get near the (perhaps modest) limits of adhesion you're wondering if you can spare a hand to hold on to the seat to keep yourself upright. I tried a succession of lighter (1400/1500kg) largish hatchback / saloon cars before the Omega and most suffered this.

The Omega (in MV6 form. Not worth discussing the Elite suspension, IMHO) does control body roll well right up to the limit of adhesion IMHO. This means you can at least use the grip available enthusiastically without feeling seasick, and just giving up. I certainly didn't find a comparable car that ticked that box when I was looking.

This is key to enjoying a car, IMHO. The absolute limits of adhesion are clearly much higher in a "sports car" but that doesn't matter a great deal. What makes an enjoyable car is that they handle well up to that point, i.e. provide plenty of feedback and not wallowing around.

If this doesn't sound like your experience of an Omega, then maybe you should consider sorting out the suspension after all, rather than dismissing it as a boat, because if my MV6 with 170K on the original suspension is anything to go by, something must be wrong.

[05omegav6]

Quite

To add, self leveling isn't itself an issue with the correct springs fitted... (ie not Elite ones)

[chrisgixer]

In the grand scheme of things though, Mr wife beater isn't far off relatively speaking.

Hmm. Not sure I agree.

No, the Omega isn't a sports car. Neither is anything much that is marketed as a sports car these days, as you certainly need to be in the hundreds of kilos, not the thousands, to be even in consideration there. So, anything BMW, even the 2 seaters, are out of the window, as is the aforementioned Focus <snigger> . It's a fairly select band of cars where you won't fit the proverbial golf clubs in the boot, etc. (Hint: if you're even considering driving it to a golf club, it's not a sports car). Anyway, I digress...

The Omega drives much less like a barge than many much lighter cars out there IMHO. The thing that's so woeful about most medium/large cars is the amount of wallow on bends as soon as you even start to drive enthusiastically IMHO. I.E. before you even get near the (perhaps modest) limits of adhesion you're wondering if you can spare a hand to hold on to the seat to keep yourself upright. I tried a succession of lighter (1400/1500kg) largish hatchback / saloon cars before the Omega and most suffered this.

The Omega (in MV6 form. Not worth discussing the Elite suspension, IMHO) does control body roll well right up to the limit of adhesion IMHO. This means you can at least use the grip available enthusiastically without feeling seasick, and just giving up. I certainly didn't find a comparable car that ticked that box when I was looking.

This is key to enjoying a car, IMHO. The absolute limits of adhesion are clearly much higher in a "sports car" but that doesn't matter a great deal. What makes an enjoyable car is that they handle well up to that point, i.e. provide plenty of feedback and not wallowing around.

If this doesn't sound like your experience of an Omega, then maybe you should consider sorting out the suspension after all, rather than dismissing it as a boat, because if my MV6 with 170K on the original suspension is anything to go by, something must be wrong.

^ mv6 owner. ^

The rest of us have to retro fit, which is much easier than fitting all those lovely Elite gizmos if you want the best of both worlds

[05omegav6]

To add to Elvins post re Monaro calipers...

The CV8/Pontiac GTO (5.7 Base model) calipers bolt straight on and give a useful upgrade as they are double piston rather than single and correspondingly have a greater pad area. The discs on this Monaro are the same size as Omega ones.
Ignore the rear discs though... for an upgrade, fit Omega vented rears imho.

The VXR versions sold here have bigger brakes from the factory... discs are thicker and 36mm greater in diameter. Calipers bolt straight on, but unless you go custom, the available discs require tweaking.

The official Monaro upgrades are AP racing items and cost £1900 for the complete kit... only the discs won't fit due to hub differences, so budget an extra £600+ to make them fit and work.

[chrisgixer]

Or fit 6pot brembos from q6 Tuareg Cayan with phaeton 360mm discs under your 18"rims and be done with it

Brackets and some hub machining aside, an easy fit.