Unichipping the Cruiser
Submitted: Thursday, Dec 15, 2005 at 20:46
ThreadID:
28901
Views:
2718
Replies:
3
FollowUps:
7
This Thread has been Archived
viz
Some time ago someone requested that I post the results of Unichip-ing my LC100 4.5 Petrol. I also had a sports exhaust added by my favourite exhaust man.
Results exeeded my expectations. I got a 21 kw (28 hp) increase at the wheels; this equates (assuming that the motor was producing published hp) to an increase from 165 kw (221 hp) at the flywheel to 202 kw (270 hp). Now that is a serious increase - a bit over 18%.
But that is not all - the big problem with the motor prior to the unichip was that it would run into a wall after about 4300 rpm. She now pulls hard from idle all the way to 5000, with a definite "cam" at 3000 rpm. It also is much more responsive from idle.
Economy. The air:fuel ratio (AFR) was below 12:1, now is about 13:1. I have been told that the Cruiser tends to be overfueled so as to avoid detonation when towing etc (factory set), and timing also set conservative. I have had the Unichip set to Unleaded petrol and will switch to Premium or higher when towing - this should deal with detonation issues, if it is at all going to be a problem (I doubt it - the Unichip has a lot more settings/parameters than the factory computer).
Back to economy (I get side tracked easily! ;) - I am told 10-12% better fuel economy, but I have not tested this yet. i will let youse all know when I get an accurate figure - however I expect that based on above figures that 15% is not out of bounds... Prior it was doing 6.25 km/l on a run to
Melbourne and back. I will be doing that again at Xmas time - let you know after.
Charleston Exhaust (Blacktown) installed the exhaust - replacing all behind the manifold ( I kept the factory manifold - the car has a twin tube set-up that is actually reasonalby efficient - it just loses it after that)
Graeme Cooper Automotive (St Peters) did the Unichip. They're
Ranger Rover people but occasionally let in a feral. Used to use them to service my Rangie (a 350 HP beastie)
/viz
PS. Next the air
suspension - got the Endless Air 8 cfm compressor installed and running with a 7.5 litre receiver on a chassis rail. Bloody good bit of kit (a converted air con compressor) - pumps a tyre up quick smart...
Reply By: viz - Thursday, Dec 15, 2005 at 20:49
Thursday, Dec 15, 2005 at 20:49
Ooops - got an error here.
Economy - was getting 16 litres/100 km - not 6.25. Sorry!!! :)
/viz
AnswerID:
144081
Follow Up By: Big Kidz (Andrew & Jen) - Friday, Dec 16, 2005 at 06:51
Friday, Dec 16, 2005 at 06:51
Though 16 litres/100km is exactly 6.25km per litre so you were right both times!
FollowupID:
397572
Follow Up By: viz - Friday, Dec 16, 2005 at 12:40
Friday, Dec 16, 2005 at 12:40
much embarrassement :(
I knew that - was just testing... ;)
Long week and late nights with early starts - blame that...
/viz
FollowupID:
397607
Follow Up By: Big Kidz (Andrew & Jen) - Friday, Dec 16, 2005 at 23:56
Friday, Dec 16, 2005 at 23:56
lol
FollowupID:
397669
Reply By: OMN - Thursday, Dec 15, 2005 at 20:57
Thursday, Dec 15, 2005 at 20:57
I unichipped my LC100 V8 about three months ago now as
well.
According to the before and after Dyno readings it went from 79kw at the wheels to 119kw at the wheels.
The fuel economy is only margianlyl better around town but is better on the highway by a bit but certainly not a massive amount. In fact i woudl say i am margianlyl disappointed in the lack of increase in fuel efficency so far as i was told it would improve across all ranges.
Of course i could be driving it harder now than i did perhaps.
The car has afair amoutn of extra kit on it but that was there before the upgrade.
On a pure performance basis though it is excellent, definitely got more up and go from standstill if you want it but when towing and passing cars with a trailer on it made a very large difference.
The other big change was when towing it used far less fuel than before.
Overall it was worth doing just for the engine note alone, no not quite maybe but it at least sounds like a V8 now.
Worth doing but not cheap.
AnswerID:
144082
Follow Up By: viz - Thursday, Dec 15, 2005 at 22:11
Thursday, Dec 15, 2005 at 22:11
No not cheap at $1250, plus $500 for the exhaust (I do believe though that the benifits of Unichip-ing are much more enhanced by a more efficiient exhaust - but you have to do it prior).
Should have said also - I started out with 93 kw at the wheels and got 114 kw after the chip. Some of that I guess was the exhaust.
Looking at your figures one would initially wonder about the low pre-Unichip figures - that is quite low. Must have been severly restricted, though dyno figures are not necessarily accurate. However, and it is a big however, regardless of the low figure you certainly got some bang for your buck at the end. 119 from 79 kw (40 kw - 33%) is a HUGE increase... Methinks that something was not right about your initial state of tune (read factory). That increase should not have been that great - anyone else had experience with a Unichip in the V8 LC100?
/viz
FollowupID:
397559
Reply By: OMN - Friday, Dec 16, 2005 at 09:14
Friday, Dec 16, 2005 at 09:14
The figures i quoted were pre exhaust and pre unichip as i had them both done at the same place.
The graph on the APS website for my car, who supply unichip, and is without any exhaust mods. It shows about 75kw at wheels as standard to start with.
Regards,
Mark
AnswerID:
144123
Follow Up By: viz - Friday, Dec 16, 2005 at 12:32
Friday, Dec 16, 2005 at 12:32
My figures are post exhaust and pre chip; based on your figures I might say that the exhaust mods had more of an effect than I realised. I did not get to drive it much in between (just around
the block).
Mmmm... food for thought!
/viz
FollowupID:
397604
Follow Up By: OMN - Friday, Dec 16, 2005 at 17:02
Friday, Dec 16, 2005 at 17:02
the place i had it done said that the exhaust on its own would be about 20 - 25kw and the unichip on its own about 15 - 25kw.
Both combined somewhere between 30 - 40 was their guess.
Also as i have a
snorkel on the car that supposedly makes the dyno reading lower.
My exhaust is also ceramic headers all the way back form
the block as the standard are very restrictive on the V8.
It defintley does run better.
FollowupID:
397642
Follow Up By: viz - Friday, Dec 16, 2005 at 23:22
Friday, Dec 16, 2005 at 23:22
That would explain why my starting hp (93 kw) was higher than yours. This was with the standard headers and new exhaust - I did not expect that to be as high...
Interesting that the six is only a few kw less than the V8. In the US the Lexus V8 is very popular to hot up and there are some nice bits of kit for it. I have heard of figures of 2000 hp (with nitrox). 6 bolt mains (with crossbolts) for a start hold things together real
well...
Should be a very reliable motor for a very long time.
/viz
FollowupID:
397665