Equipment Tests > Safari Turbochargers

Any modification that delivers more power will always use more fuel and even in naturally aspirated form the Toyota 4.5-litre petrol engine is a thirsty beast. Certainly if you were to drive your Safari turbocharged 'Cruiser the same way as you did before it was modified you would use a lot more fuel at first but that wouldn't be a problem for long because such heavy use of the throttle would have you constantly exceeding the speed limit inevitably resulting in a loss of licence and zero fuel use. But the power of the turbocharged engine means that the driver only uses a fraction of the throttle opening under normal conditions and is using a higher gear to do the same workload. This can lead to equal to or better than standard fuel usage figures. We were only able to record rough fuel usage figures on this quick test but were very surprised at what could be achieved with liberal application of the gas pedal on highway conditions. Sub 13-litres per 100km is possible at cruising pace on the open road. This would equally be true when towing or in heavy off-road conditions.

The ability to reduce fuel use comes with the way the Safari kit allows the engine tuner to optimise the engine's fuel delivery to best suit the conditions it is being used under. This is done by using a Unichip control unit in-line with the engine's management control computer. The Unichip allows the tuner to adjust the fuel and ignition curves to deliver the best air-fuel ratio for optimum power and economy. If the performance of the Safari turbo conversion was impressive so to was the fit-up. After a day driving in the hills it was back to Safari's factory at Bayswater for a look at the facilities and under the hood of the 'Cruiser. The fit and finish of the conversion is up to OEM standards. All hoses, lines and wiring are neatly fitted using quality fasteners. Years of use in the harsh environments of not only Australian conditions but also the Arabian sand dunes has allowed Safari to refine its kits for ultimate reliability as well as performance. The kit for the LandCruiser contains more than 250 components to give the fitter all that is needed right down to the last nut, bolt and washer. That said, installation of a Safari turbo kit is not for the home mechanic. In fact Safari recommends the kit only be installed by one of its recommended workshops where it can be fitted to the same exacting standards as it is manufactured and correctly tuned on a chassis dynamometer. For this purpose Safari has a list of recommended workshops located in most major cities.

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Just as much as the Safari turbocharged LandCruiser impressed on paper it impressed heavily on the road. Not only is the extra grunt a lot of fun but it makes for a vehicle that is much easier, relaxing and safer to drive. The Safari 4x4 turbocharger kit might be a bit more expensive than some of the others on the market but it does deliver a product that is far superior than original in every way and improves the performance of the LandCruiser in more than just outright grunt.

 

 

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