Engine Management System - Troopie

Submitted: Sunday, Nov 27, 2011 at 03:31
ThreadID: 127751 Views:8216 Replies:8 FollowUps:6
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Has anyone recently upgraded the engine management system on a V8 Troopie (LC78) by changing to an aftermarket computer?

If so, I would appreciate some feedback.

Cheers,

Roger
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Reply By: Gone Bush - Sunday, Nov 27, 2011 at 03:55

Sunday, Nov 27, 2011 at 03:55
Roger, do you mean a power chip?

AnswerID: 583507

Follow Up By: Tracks n About - Sunday, Nov 27, 2011 at 17:34

Sunday, Nov 27, 2011 at 17:34
G'Day Roger,
I've also got the LC78 V8 Troopy. Just wondering why you need to look into an upgrade of the management system. Have you been having problems ? As with my previous two Troopy's I've never needed to change anything,except I did fit a Turbo on my last one for more grunt to pull our BT.
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FollowupID: 854080

Reply By: Pat 'n Roger - Sunday, Nov 27, 2011 at 19:57

Sunday, Nov 27, 2011 at 19:57
Thanks for the responses.

"DPChip gives you total fuel and timing control. Not only is this essential to obtain the best possible fuel economy, it is also necessary to control peak exhaust gas temperatures for optimum durability."

Power is obviously not too much of a problem with the V8, I was thinking more about the fuel consumption. Claims of improvement by up to 18% are being made by the diesel engine fraternity, even half that would make a difference to the travelling budget.

Cheers,

Roger




AnswerID: 583508

Reply By: Gone Bush - Sunday, Nov 27, 2011 at 20:59

Sunday, Nov 27, 2011 at 20:59
Roger, I'm sure we can well and truly cover this subject over a bottle or two at Denmark, but I'll start off here....

When we had our TDV8 trayback (same engine as you) I had this one fitted:
Site Link
This was when it was being distributed by a QLD company. Now a WA company has it. I'm afraid it didn't make any discernable difference to either power or economy and I removed it and got a refund.

Now we have a 200 series, as you know, and a couple of years ago I fitted one of these:
http://www.chipit.com.au/
It made a bit of difference to the power but nothing to economy. I sold it.

In both cases there have been big improvements since then but all towards producing extra power.

We recently travelled with some friends with a DP chip in their 200 series. We regularly compared economy readings and there was very little difference.

The main issue with these chips while towing a van like yours and ours is exhaust gas temps. These are raised considerably and there is very little, if any, way of monitoring them because neither of our vehicles have EGR sensors or the ability to have them fitted (unless you have an after market exhaust pipe with a position for them to be installed).

High EGRs will considerably increase the risk of engine failure which would really be annoying. I think that all power chips increase fuel usage because that's the only way to get more power out of a diesel engine.

More fuel = more heat = trouble, and that's more likely to occur under load.

Claims of improved economy would, I believe, only apply to regular driving, not towing.

AnswerID: 583509

Follow Up By: Gone Bush - Monday, Nov 28, 2011 at 04:47

Monday, Nov 28, 2011 at 04:47
EGR should be EGT.

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FollowupID: 854081

Reply By: Spydor - Monday, Nov 28, 2011 at 05:05

Monday, Nov 28, 2011 at 05:05
Hi Pat & Roger,
I agree with "gone bush". I have two friends with dp chips in their 200 series V8s. I have the 200 series without the chip. The chip does give marginally more power. however, our cruiser pulls the b/t with no effort at all. I don,t see the need for the chip, as both of the people mentioned above that have the chip show NO real difference in economy when we travel. I think the disadvantages outway the advantages. "ie" cost & possible loss of engine longevity! Good luck which ever way you go.
Cheers Spydor & Robyn.
Spydor
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AnswerID: 583510

Reply By: Mick n Jan - Monday, Nov 28, 2011 at 06:59

Monday, Nov 28, 2011 at 06:59
I fitted the steinbaur chip and have found it to dramatically improve the drive ability of my 79 series V8 ute. Also fitted the Taipan exhaust at the same time.
Basically the power and tourque is there earlier, there is improvement in fuel as well so long as you do not drive the vehicle hard.
For me I would do it again but I did get a really good deal.
AnswerID: 583511

Follow Up By: Gone Bush - Monday, Nov 28, 2011 at 07:57

Monday, Nov 28, 2011 at 07:57
No disrespect here Mick & Jan, just part of the discussion.....

If Roger's main aim is to improve economy and therefore his travelling budget, the purchase of any chip would take a long time to recover via reduced fuel costs. I'm glad you mentioned getting the Steinbauer on a good deal because it's one of the most expensive available.

Also part of the equation with the TDV8 in the 70 series is that driving in 4th gives slightly better fuel economy than in 5th, and there is more power on tap because of the gearing. When I had my trayback I used my Scangauge to prove this to my satisfaction.

I'm not saying that Roger tows in 5th, just throwing this comment out there for everyone.

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FollowupID: 854082

Reply By: Mick n Jan - Wednesday, Nov 30, 2011 at 03:45

Wednesday, Nov 30, 2011 at 03:45
Stephen I agree wholeheartedly with what you are saying.
AnswerID: 583512

Reply By: Bushtucker Man - Thursday, Dec 01, 2011 at 02:17

Thursday, Dec 01, 2011 at 02:17
Hi All,

We have just completed 37000 k's around the block in our 200 series with BT in tow which weighs in at 3500 kg and averaged 21.5 lts / 100 k's, plus had the A/C going a lot of the time especially up North. I always tow in 5th gear as suggested by Toyota and travel between 80 / 100 k per hour on the blacktop, on dirt roads / tracks we did between 10 / 80 k per hour depending on conditions.

Cheers.
AnswerID: 583513

Follow Up By: Bushtucker Man - Thursday, Dec 01, 2011 at 02:20

Thursday, Dec 01, 2011 at 02:20
I should have added we have not had any add ons like chips, aftermarket exhaust etc.
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FollowupID: 854083

Follow Up By: Tracks n About - Thursday, Dec 01, 2011 at 06:25

Thursday, Dec 01, 2011 at 06:25
G'Day,
We have the 70 series V8 Troopy. Interesting to read that you tow in 5th gear as suggested by Toyota. We got ours from Toyota at Morayfield (Q'ld),our 3rd Troopy,and were told to only tow in 5th on flat roads and only if there wasn't a strong head wind. They said that as in our previous Troopys,the 5th gear cog shouldn't be put under major strain. Makes one wonder how different places have different ideas,and who's right ! As far as I'm aware,ours has the same gear box as the 200 series. Except the Troopy only comes in manual.
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FollowupID: 854084

Follow Up By: Gone Bush - Thursday, Dec 01, 2011 at 08:00

Thursday, Dec 01, 2011 at 08:00
Tracks....

Stan drives a 200 series.

The gearbox in your troopy is the manual gearbox out of the 100 series. That's why the V8 you have is detuned to the same power and torque as the engine in the 100.

The 200 has a 6 speed auto, that's all, no manual.

In your vehicle tow in 4th.

Stan is correct in towing in S5, that is Toyota's recommendation for that box.

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FollowupID: 854085

Reply By: Pat 'n Roger - Wednesday, Dec 21, 2011 at 03:12

Wednesday, Dec 21, 2011 at 03:12
Thank you to all for your contributions to this discussion.

Having done a bit of research, this is my take on the subject, although I'm sure others will have a different understanding.

Expectation - If you want more power that delivers more torque through the drive train you can achieve it by fitting a ‘chip’ which delivers more fuel to the engine. If you want to consistently use the increased power available you should expect to use more fuel. If you want more power to be available when required but the key issue for you is fuel economy, there are other considerations.

Engine Management – From what I can gather, most chips ‘trick’ the engine management computer into thinking that fuel flow is lower than it should be and tells the pump to add more fuel. This results in a bigger explosion and the extra power output to the drive train. However, is not an efficient way to run the engine and may manifest itself incomplete combustion (black smoke) and potential damage to the drive train due to shock loading.

However, if the extra fuel is added progressively toward the combustion point then the build-up power is smoother. If you also use the right boot with more sensitivity you can achieve the desired effect sooner without so much ‘boot’ and actually use less fuel.

Exhaust System - Another side effect of putting more fuel in is that more air is needed for combustion and with consequent increase the temperature and volume of the exhaust gases.

If fuel economy is your goal then changing the exhaust system will enhance the fuel efficiency. This happens in two ways, a) it assists the spool up of the turbo and be it clears the exhaust gases more efficiently, removing heat from the engine. In some cases it might be necessary to check that your ‘snorkel’ (if fitted) is not causing a restriction to the charge air. I don’t know but this might be an issue with the 200 series and your twin turbos.

Components - To my knowledge the only ‘chip’ that manages fuel flow in this way is the Steinbaur (if you know of another please let me know). Options for exhaust systems are Taipan and Manta.

So there you go, I guess the old adage applies, “if a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing properly”, which includes driving for economy.
AnswerID: 583514

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