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Equipment Tests > Safari Turbochargers
Safari Turbochargers
Words by Mathieu Raudonikis
After reading the claims made by engine enhancement workshops in our 'Power Play' feature last issue the staff at Overlander were very keen to get behind the wheel of some of the modified 4WD vehicles featured. That opportunity soon came with an invite from Safari 4x4 Engineering's Peter Luxon to come down and drive the turbocharged 100 Series LandCruiser 4.5 litre that was in the feature.
In the feature article Safari claimed improvements in both power and torque of around 40 percent with useable torque from low down in the engine's rev range - just the sort of tractable power you want in a 4WD wagon. The dyno chart supplied by Safari showed vastly different power and torque curves between the standard and turbocharged engines with 192kW recorded at the tyres of the modified vehicle compared to 118kW in standard trim. The torque curve of the turbocharged vehicle not only started higher than standard but climbed rapidly and plateaued between 2500 and 4000rpm. It was going to be interesting to see just how these specifications transformed to the road going vehicle.
It didn't take long to appreciate the improvements of the enhanced LandCruiser. Shortly after being picked up at Melbourne Airport in what appeared to be a stock appearing 4.5-litre petrol powered manual LandCruiser GXL we were casually chatting while motoring down the Tullamarine Freeway when Peter realised he was in the wrong lane to take the next exit as we needed to do. No problem for the blown 'Cruiser. Peter left the gearbox in top gear and simply pressed his right foot to the floor and the vehicle quickly accelerated from the 100kph freeway speed to 130kph without a gear change to speak of and powered back in to the left lane to easily make the freeway off-ramp. It's this sort of instant response that makes the more powerful 'Cruiser a safer vehicle than standard as it allows quicker and easier overtaking resulting in less time spent on the wrong side of the road. Felt from the passenger's seat the acceleration was instant. To get a similar rush of acceleration in a normally aspirated vehicle would have required shifting back to third gear and revving the clappers out of the engine. To do it so smoothly and effortlessly in top cog was impressive to say the least and only heightened the anticipation of a drive.
That opportunity came soon enough when Peter handed over the keys before we headed off into the hills north-east of Melbourne. The first thing that becomes apparent when driving the Safari turbocharged LandCruiser is how low in the rev-range the extra power is felt. From as low as 1200rpm in any gear the added torque is evident. This allows the driver to drive along in a higher gear than would normally be necessary thus not needing to rev the engine as hard as usual and reducing fuel use. The torque delivery is so tractable that when driving through a 50kph country town you are able to leave the vehicle in top gear and idle through and then pull away on the other side of town without needing to shift back any ratios. On the tight switchbacks of the Black and Reefton Spurs the 'Cruiser could be driven like an automatic with the five-speed gearbox left in fourth gear and the ample torque pulling the heavy vehicle through the twists and bends. The added power not only makes the petrol-powered 'Cruiser a safer vehicle, but also an easier and more relaxing vehicle to drive with less use of the gear shift required.
You can also add exciting to safer, easier and more relaxing. As you would expect the additional power from the turbocharged mill is a hoon's delight. No longer is your 4WD the slowest vehicle away from the lights as V8 powered sedans and some sports cars are easy prey for the blown Toyota. Delivering 192kW to all four wheels puts you ahead of the latest V8 Commodores in acceleration despite the weight penalty and if the road is wet or slippery you'll always be in front. Likewise, the extra power and torque are a huge benefit off-road. The torque coming in at lower revs means less wheelspin on loose surfaces and more useable power where you need it most.
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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.
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.
After reading the claims made by engine enhancement workshops in our 'Power Play' feature last issue the staff at Overlander were very keen to get behind the wheel of some of the modified 4WD vehicles featured. That opportunity soon came with an invite from Safari 4x4 Engineering's Peter Luxon to come down and drive the turbocharged 100 Series LandCruiser 4.5 litre that was in the feature.
In the feature article Safari claimed improvements in both power and torque of around 40 percent with useable torque from low down in the engine's rev range - just the sort of tractable power you want in a 4WD wagon. The dyno chart supplied by Safari showed vastly different power and torque curves between the standard and turbocharged engines with 192kW recorded at the tyres of the modified vehicle compared to 118kW in standard trim. The torque curve of the turbocharged vehicle not only started higher than standard but climbed rapidly and plateaued between 2500 and 4000rpm. It was going to be interesting to see just how these specifications transformed to the road going vehicle.
It didn't take long to appreciate the improvements of the enhanced LandCruiser. Shortly after being picked up at Melbourne Airport in what appeared to be a stock appearing 4.5-litre petrol powered manual LandCruiser GXL we were casually chatting while motoring down the Tullamarine Freeway when Peter realised he was in the wrong lane to take the next exit as we needed to do. No problem for the blown 'Cruiser. Peter left the gearbox in top gear and simply pressed his right foot to the floor and the vehicle quickly accelerated from the 100kph freeway speed to 130kph without a gear change to speak of and powered back in to the left lane to easily make the freeway off-ramp. It's this sort of instant response that makes the more powerful 'Cruiser a safer vehicle than standard as it allows quicker and easier overtaking resulting in less time spent on the wrong side of the road. Felt from the passenger's seat the acceleration was instant. To get a similar rush of acceleration in a normally aspirated vehicle would have required shifting back to third gear and revving the clappers out of the engine. To do it so smoothly and effortlessly in top cog was impressive to say the least and only heightened the anticipation of a drive.
That opportunity came soon enough when Peter handed over the keys before we headed off into the hills north-east of Melbourne. The first thing that becomes apparent when driving the Safari turbocharged LandCruiser is how low in the rev-range the extra power is felt. From as low as 1200rpm in any gear the added torque is evident. This allows the driver to drive along in a higher gear than would normally be necessary thus not needing to rev the engine as hard as usual and reducing fuel use. The torque delivery is so tractable that when driving through a 50kph country town you are able to leave the vehicle in top gear and idle through and then pull away on the other side of town without needing to shift back any ratios. On the tight switchbacks of the Black and Reefton Spurs the 'Cruiser could be driven like an automatic with the five-speed gearbox left in fourth gear and the ample torque pulling the heavy vehicle through the twists and bends. The added power not only makes the petrol-powered 'Cruiser a safer vehicle, but also an easier and more relaxing vehicle to drive with less use of the gear shift required.
You can also add exciting to safer, easier and more relaxing. As you would expect the additional power from the turbocharged mill is a hoon's delight. No longer is your 4WD the slowest vehicle away from the lights as V8 powered sedans and some sports cars are easy prey for the blown Toyota. Delivering 192kW to all four wheels puts you ahead of the latest V8 Commodores in acceleration despite the weight penalty and if the road is wet or slippery you'll always be in front. Likewise, the extra power and torque are a huge benefit off-road. The torque coming in at lower revs means less wheelspin on loose surfaces and more useable power where you need it most.
read on below advertisement
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.
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.
