My new Hilux.

[Johnnyboxer]

Is it necessary, fitting a chip?

I have heard of the advantages, but surely the motors pull well enough, don't they?

 

[wobbly]

Yes....sort of.

Its slower off the start line than my old kzte Prado, its ok then up to about 55, but 55 to 70/80 (never been faster) its asthmatic. Its really noticeable on motorways.

Im hoping the steinbeaur will make it a bit sharper with steady acceleration.

 

[AndyCook]

I find the power on my OK, but on trips I am at the max gross weight

I find it is much more powerful than 1kzte for overtaking, the vehicle is much more refined and quieter than the 90 series, so the Hilux didn't "seem" as fast when I first drove it, but then I looked at the speedo !!!
And knowing I could have 200bhp on tap rather than 170bhp is a temptation to great and the big increase in torque. Toyota did have a version of this engine tuned to 200bhp, in the 120 I think
Also, it will reduce auto box kick downs on hills
I was put off with chips, but done more research on the steinbauer and user long term reports, so more confident now that the chip has safety feature built in and is not a cheap pressure increase chip

 

[wobbly]

I have two items on my shopping list.....

Baroud Evasion Evolution hard shell roof-tent

Steinbauer chip set and tune.

I reckon roof tent first as the truck runs ok, then steinbauer if I have the sheckels left.

 

[wobbly]

Update......

Bought the Baroud, have used it once for a 2 week trip to Portugal.

Seems to cost me a couple of mpg, I took it off on return but since then have bought a Skoda Estate for work which gives me 60mpg, so the Baroud is going back on permanently.

The tent sits on top of the cab, with a zip door rearward facing over the truckman top, so my plan is to mount two hard plastic cases on the truckman - this means I can keep my undies, socks etc within easy reach of the baroud, getting up and down the ladder can be a chore.

I also intend to fit a led strobe roofbar at the rear of the truckman, so if I am stopped at the roadside I am clearly visible - this can be an issue if the rear hatch door is dropped sown and I am stood at the rear - cars cant then see the rear lights.

I looked at various roofracks but have decided to use roofbars for the time being.

The Baroud.......wow, who knew camping could be so comfortable, like a hotel bed!

Sadly it had to go back to Baroud as the fibreglass was poorly made on the base, and its been gone 4 months but should be back soon I hope!

 

[wobbly]

Baroud being collected and refitted at Devon4x4 on Wednesday

I have purchased 4 roofbars to sit on the Carryboy.

Two will support the two plastic cases I have bought for camping clothing, going to drill/bolt them in place, and the rear two are for a roof mounted lightbar - I want this for when stopped at roadside, in case im at back of truck and rear lights are obstructed.

 

[wobbly]

 

[wobbly]

 

[wobbly]

Its going to be an improvement for convenience/accessiblity, but its starting to get a bit noisy, should quieten a little when the Baroud goes back on.

 

[wobbly]

Truck has been off road for a few weeks, failed its MOT.

The Pedder leafs I fitted in 2016 had sagged considerably, at least 20mm, so I decided to replace with Pedders HD leafs. These have raised the rear up to 995mm. Thats ground to top of wheel arch.

Previous pedders (not HD) raised it to 940mm. So rear end is another 55mm up!

It has a slight 'leaning forward' feel, but at the moment there is no load, so when loaded for next trip in a few weeks it should sit a bit lower, should soften as well.

 

[wobbly]

In order to improve space in cab, Ive removed rear seats, its huge in the back now, much better than using seats. its all carpeted and floor is level, just got to fit some eye bolts to secure fridge and storage boxes.

 

[AndyCook]

Got any photos of your new storage area ?

 

[wobbly]

I have taken a few, need to sort out photo hosting to upload them first!

 

[Chris]

Just drag and drop into your thread window from your PC. No need to host them. I love my JB. My lid showed some crazing and they sent me a whole new tent.

 

[wobbly]

 

[wobbly]

 

[wobbly]

Since taking these, I have added a fire extinguisher in the centre.

Boxes are secured down using straps - I added lifting rings using the threads where the seatbelt brackets were.

 

[wobbly]

To give an idea of the extra rear lift height, above is an after photo.

The photo below is of the same vehicle at standard height.

If you look at the line of the sidebar, in the before photo it is in line with rear centra cap, in after it is above the centre cap.

This is quite extreme - I can no longer climb onto rear tub door when its lowered, I need a step Ladder!

 

[AndyCook]

Looking good

 

[wobbly]

Rear lift feels massive, thinking of fitting HD springs to front as well to even it up as it feels slightly down at the front, just not sure I need that much lift, would also mean having to re-work the caster/camber at front, although Im not sure it has ever been correct as steering always felt slightly light/twitchy sine the original lift.