The engineers at Steves Auto Clinic have long suspected that the 4.5 D-4D V8 turbodiesel engine that hides under the bulging bonnet of the Toyota Land Cruiser VX200 could offer so much more. It is after all a V8 fitted with two turbos, so gaining extra power should be no problem.
After tinkling with the VX200 engine engineers at Steves Auto Clinic managed to increase the power output from 173kW to around 200 kW and the torque increased from 615Nm to 900Nm. And they called the car ‘The Beast.’
What is more, this Unichip Plug and Play conversion offers five different engine maps or programmes that have all been tested and proven in South African conditions by the SAC test engineers.
The first map allows for a standard operation, which is exactly as the engine left the factory. Next up is a special map that changes the V8’s character to prioritise fuel economy, this is a very popular choice for city dwellers stuck in regular traffic.
Then the Off-Road and Towing selection, which completely changes the engines’ operation to befit low-down grunt and which makes the engine very responsive to even the slightest touch of the accelerator.
Map 4 and 5 will unleash “The Beast” from its cage. In Map 4 the motorist has access to that deep well of extra power, and will immediately feel the change in acceleration and top speed.
Dare to choose Map 5 and the motorist will suddenly understand why Stephen Fischer, SAC Group Founder, and SAC have been considered the performance specialists for more than 30 years. In Map 5 mode a driver will find himself or herself pushed back in the backrest as the big and bulky 200 Series suddenly forgets about its weight, ignores the laws of physics and bolts forward.
“We increase the power in several stages and we can offer the Land Cruiser VX200 Series owner a Unichip and dynamometer fitment, a new big bore exhaust and other specialist tweaks that gradually build up the power to its ultimate level,” said Fischer.
SAC work very closely with the team from Dastek Power and Unichip to develop, test and fit the world’s best performance enhancing chips. What distinguishes SAC from the competition is that they map the engine in three dimensions and consider engine speed and engine load alongside other parameters, such as fuel mixture, boost and ignition.
Their engineers are also not happy with merely testing a conversion once and then fitting it to any vehicle and hope that it works properly. They monitor and test new performance upgrades to breaking point and still insist that every vehicle that is fitted with the conversion be tested in full on their dynamometer to ensure that the chip considers the vehicle’s condition and age, the driver profile and the environment and altitude in which the vehicle will be used daily.