The Toyota FJ Cruiser is a very recent introduction to the Land Cruiser family in South Africa but has already come under the spotlight at Steve's Auto Clinic, which has plenty of previous experience with the FJ's well-proven four-litre V6 engine.
Standard trim on the 'retro' SUV delivers 200kW at 5600 revs and 380Nm at 4400rpm, but after and SAC upgrade, Steve's is quoting 215kW and 400Nm.
This entry-level upgrade centres on volumetric efficiency, starting with the removal of all restrictions in the airbox, while leaving the external appearance exactly the same.
Then the catalytic convertors are removed and a 63mm, stainless-steel, free-flow exhaust with dual, equal length, down pipes is fitted. The new exhaust system follows the same routing as the original, however, so there's no knocking on the under tray or compromise to the vehicle's off-road clearance.
Finally, a Uni Q Chip optimises the FJ's fuel and timing settings to suit the improved breathing .
In independent testing the deep-breathing, ‘chipped’ FJ bettered every factory performance parameter of the original except one: its 0-100 sprint time came down from 10.18 seconds to 9.6, 0-160km/h came up in 25.62 seconds (down from 26.69) and real-world acceleration times from 60-100km/h or 80-120km/h were consistently a second quicker than standard.
Top speed, however, was unchanged at 176km/h, since Steve's had left the standard electronic limiter undisturbed.
This admittedly conservative upgrade will cost an FJ owner about R15 000,m although that can be reduced by opting for a mild-steel exhaust system, or a 'wired-in' chip rather than the preferable 'plug 'n play' set-up, which can be retuned to standard at any time.
A full-house Stage 2 upgrade is already in the works, which will include gas-flowed cylinder heads and re-profiled camshafts.