Hilux2.4LTD(22Rto22RE)Dyna/Dyno-Before(Carb)&After(EFI)
Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2014 9:43 am
Hi Guys,
I'm not new to the forum as a member, but new in adding a topic, so please bear with me.
This is our conversion story (22R to 22RE), with carb (before) Dyna/dyno results and EFI (after), and many more after (extra Dyna) results from different Dyna-tuners.
In 2008 I started research on how to improve fuel efficiency on our 1998 2.4 Hilux LTD (22R). Since I'm no mechanic, and know very little of vehicles, it took me close to 3 years of research before we decided to go with the 22RE (Dicktator) conversion. The main parts (manifold, fuel rail, injectors, air inlet housing with filter etc.) got ordered from USA late 2010, and arrived early 2011. It was extremely expensive to say the least, plus the SA buggers charged us customs and import taxes when the parts arrived on our shores. Anyways, had to bite the bullet and pay the people (can't have them ship the stuff back after I paid US dollars, and waited almost 4 weeks for the parts to arrive). :wth:
Other than getting the main parts, there were so many other little parts (Dictator [ECU], surge tank, fuel pumps and filters, regulator, fittings, sundries etc.) still to source, that we only managed to get going with the actual conversion in Nov 2011. (Got a few parts every month or so.)
The conversion alone took us almost 12 weeks (including December break) before we could get going to the first Dyna/dyno. You can imagine the EXCITEMENT at the time. :razz:
So, in 2008 we had our Hilux (22R) Dyna-Tuned for better fuel consumption, and boy, what a difference; 66 to 76 Hp. (I'll add the scans later on...)
In 2012, she was EFI'ed (22RE) and ready for that Dyna... funny enough, max HP was still around 76, but she felt different, more responsive. Around the block and between robots she felt kinda mean, so at the time I was very happy (a little concerned about the fuel smell and some black smoke coming from the exhaust while she runs, but happy).
So, time to see whether we can beat the 8.2km/l we used to get with our Hilux on the open road (not loaded). Off to Bloemhof we went, and what a different ride; far less down shifting on the gears, and much more stable keeping her at 100km/h (normal cruising speed for us when going on holiday). 350km later, time to refill... when the garage fuel pump's meter started to tick over more than we were used to at filling for our normal fuel consumption (should be around 42/43l at 350km for 8.2 km/l), our eyes got bigger. :wth: As that pump's meter rolled over to 50l our hearts started pounding in our throats. I started looking underneath the 4x4 to see whether we might be leaking fuel somewhere... “Luckily” she was full at around 54l (6.5km/l)... WHAT! How can that be!!!! You can imagine our disappointment!
So, we discussed it with a few friends, and naturally I came to the hilux4x4 forum for input and advice. It was decided that we'll give it 2 more runs, because it could be that the previous petrol fill-up was probably not full to the rim, wind can be a factor etc.
Off we went for another few trips, and unfortunately the 6.5km/l stayed with us. DANG!!!!
The next thing we said was, well, we rarely drive with the Hilux not loaded, so let's hook the trailer and see because she feels like she has a lot more power, and perhaps if the 6.5km/l stays, we still won't be happy, but at least it is in the same fuel economy vicinity of what we got with the carb (in some cases, with no wind, we used to get around 7km/l when pulling the Venter when she had the carb). Low and behold, pulling the trailer, the fuel economy was worse (as probably expected), 5.5km/l. :alvarin:
How can this be? Nothing, except the conversion, was changed. Tires were the same as before, tire pressure was the same (or close at least), the same amount of weight in the Venter and in the Hilux (or close at least) as before the conversion.
In theory, the fuel injection should improve the fuel economy if configured/setup like that. Surely the Dyna-tuners heard us when we said, thousands of times, why the conversion was done; to save on fuel.
We tried it 2 more times (loaded), and still, 5.5km/l. We even had to run around town for a month with the Hilux since one of our day-to-day vehicles had to go into the chop shop for a prang/skid on a wet highway after a heavy rainfall (luckily no one got hurt), and got 4.2km/l. OH NOOOO!!!!
You guys should see the black deposit on the garage wall close to the Hilux's exhaust where she parks; she is so over rich, I can't even explain. So, it was time to take her to another expert Dyna-tuner, the guys who Dyna'ed her when she was still a carb, the guys who gave us 10 extra horses on a standard setup. Unfortunately they could only add 1.3 horses more (to 77.3HP) but hopefully the fuel smell will be gone, no more black deposit and smoke coming from the exhaust, which will ultimately get us at least back to our carb-time fuel economy numbers.
With our first fill-up after a "new" test run, we still did not get the carb-economy, but at least got slightly better from 5.5km/l to around 6km/l (loaded). You can imagine how sad we were at the time. So sad, that we said we have no choice but to take her for another "expert" Dyna, so we coughed up another R1000 for a Dyna. You can imagine how expensive this little conversion is becoming. Last we counted, we spent close to R30 000 on this conversion. Yes, ridiculous right!
Anyway, so we took her to her third Dyna (third time lucky hey), or so we hoped. These guys we took her to, were supposed to be THE best (we had to make an appointment 3 weeks in advance, and only the lucky ones get in with them... or so we were told.)
Another 1.6 extra HP (78.9HP) and a few extra tweaks (the torque seems kinda nice; flat and high from the start), so maybe this is it. As we drove off from the Dyna property, we could not really feel a difference (not that 1.6 extra HP will do anything, unless you had none to start with ), but the next morning when we wanted to start her, she almost refused, and when she eventually kicked in, a lot of black smoke was present and a heavy fuel smell (over rich once more) and had to book her back in again, and you know what, we had to wait another 3 weeks. Oh boy!
This time she stayed over at Dyna so her cold-start can be checked out.
Luckily she came back and the cold she contracted from that previous visit was all sorted out.
We have now made various long (loaded) trips with her, but never get close to the previous 7.5km/l we used to get with the carb. Best we could get was around 6.2km/l. (Putting the carb back will probably not help, because once one changes a setup, it will never be the same as before. Or so the experts tell us. Which makes sense, because most everything else works like that; if you “fix” what’s not broken, you break it, and can’t put it back the way it was.)
We really want to enjoy our Hilux again, so are almost at our very last straw (actually second last) to make her better, so thought to give one of the Dyna-tune experts on this forum a chance before we start thinking of some radical changes again.
Perhaps it’s not a tuning issue, but a setup issue. We don’t think it is the setup because various mechanics have had a look, and can’t find anything majorly wrong. Perhaps something small is an issue, like the advance, or ignition or something, but really, something is up with our EFI. It is evident hey.
Our Hilux only has 98 700km on the clock (yes, less than 100k ); she still smells new on the inside (well kinda), and everything else is in excellent nick and shape, so it will be a very sad affair if we can't get her back to her previous glory days, or even better, theoretically.
From reading this forum for the past few years, we are extremely positive that it has a magician somewhere out there that can transform our ‘Lux back to (or close to) her former glory fuel-efficient-days.
Any and all advice, stories, add-ons etc. will be very helpful and extremely grateful guys, so please help.
I'll load the engine pics and Dyna/dyno result scans in order (chronological) as mentioned in the story above, in a few.
Thank you for reading, and hope to hear from you.
Cheers!
I'm not new to the forum as a member, but new in adding a topic, so please bear with me.
This is our conversion story (22R to 22RE), with carb (before) Dyna/dyno results and EFI (after), and many more after (extra Dyna) results from different Dyna-tuners.
In 2008 I started research on how to improve fuel efficiency on our 1998 2.4 Hilux LTD (22R). Since I'm no mechanic, and know very little of vehicles, it took me close to 3 years of research before we decided to go with the 22RE (Dicktator) conversion. The main parts (manifold, fuel rail, injectors, air inlet housing with filter etc.) got ordered from USA late 2010, and arrived early 2011. It was extremely expensive to say the least, plus the SA buggers charged us customs and import taxes when the parts arrived on our shores. Anyways, had to bite the bullet and pay the people (can't have them ship the stuff back after I paid US dollars, and waited almost 4 weeks for the parts to arrive). :wth:
Other than getting the main parts, there were so many other little parts (Dictator [ECU], surge tank, fuel pumps and filters, regulator, fittings, sundries etc.) still to source, that we only managed to get going with the actual conversion in Nov 2011. (Got a few parts every month or so.)
The conversion alone took us almost 12 weeks (including December break) before we could get going to the first Dyna/dyno. You can imagine the EXCITEMENT at the time. :razz:
So, in 2008 we had our Hilux (22R) Dyna-Tuned for better fuel consumption, and boy, what a difference; 66 to 76 Hp. (I'll add the scans later on...)
In 2012, she was EFI'ed (22RE) and ready for that Dyna... funny enough, max HP was still around 76, but she felt different, more responsive. Around the block and between robots she felt kinda mean, so at the time I was very happy (a little concerned about the fuel smell and some black smoke coming from the exhaust while she runs, but happy).
So, time to see whether we can beat the 8.2km/l we used to get with our Hilux on the open road (not loaded). Off to Bloemhof we went, and what a different ride; far less down shifting on the gears, and much more stable keeping her at 100km/h (normal cruising speed for us when going on holiday). 350km later, time to refill... when the garage fuel pump's meter started to tick over more than we were used to at filling for our normal fuel consumption (should be around 42/43l at 350km for 8.2 km/l), our eyes got bigger. :wth: As that pump's meter rolled over to 50l our hearts started pounding in our throats. I started looking underneath the 4x4 to see whether we might be leaking fuel somewhere... “Luckily” she was full at around 54l (6.5km/l)... WHAT! How can that be!!!! You can imagine our disappointment!
So, we discussed it with a few friends, and naturally I came to the hilux4x4 forum for input and advice. It was decided that we'll give it 2 more runs, because it could be that the previous petrol fill-up was probably not full to the rim, wind can be a factor etc.
Off we went for another few trips, and unfortunately the 6.5km/l stayed with us. DANG!!!!
The next thing we said was, well, we rarely drive with the Hilux not loaded, so let's hook the trailer and see because she feels like she has a lot more power, and perhaps if the 6.5km/l stays, we still won't be happy, but at least it is in the same fuel economy vicinity of what we got with the carb (in some cases, with no wind, we used to get around 7km/l when pulling the Venter when she had the carb). Low and behold, pulling the trailer, the fuel economy was worse (as probably expected), 5.5km/l. :alvarin:
How can this be? Nothing, except the conversion, was changed. Tires were the same as before, tire pressure was the same (or close at least), the same amount of weight in the Venter and in the Hilux (or close at least) as before the conversion.
In theory, the fuel injection should improve the fuel economy if configured/setup like that. Surely the Dyna-tuners heard us when we said, thousands of times, why the conversion was done; to save on fuel.
We tried it 2 more times (loaded), and still, 5.5km/l. We even had to run around town for a month with the Hilux since one of our day-to-day vehicles had to go into the chop shop for a prang/skid on a wet highway after a heavy rainfall (luckily no one got hurt), and got 4.2km/l. OH NOOOO!!!!
You guys should see the black deposit on the garage wall close to the Hilux's exhaust where she parks; she is so over rich, I can't even explain. So, it was time to take her to another expert Dyna-tuner, the guys who Dyna'ed her when she was still a carb, the guys who gave us 10 extra horses on a standard setup. Unfortunately they could only add 1.3 horses more (to 77.3HP) but hopefully the fuel smell will be gone, no more black deposit and smoke coming from the exhaust, which will ultimately get us at least back to our carb-time fuel economy numbers.
With our first fill-up after a "new" test run, we still did not get the carb-economy, but at least got slightly better from 5.5km/l to around 6km/l (loaded). You can imagine how sad we were at the time. So sad, that we said we have no choice but to take her for another "expert" Dyna, so we coughed up another R1000 for a Dyna. You can imagine how expensive this little conversion is becoming. Last we counted, we spent close to R30 000 on this conversion. Yes, ridiculous right!
Anyway, so we took her to her third Dyna (third time lucky hey), or so we hoped. These guys we took her to, were supposed to be THE best (we had to make an appointment 3 weeks in advance, and only the lucky ones get in with them... or so we were told.)
Another 1.6 extra HP (78.9HP) and a few extra tweaks (the torque seems kinda nice; flat and high from the start), so maybe this is it. As we drove off from the Dyna property, we could not really feel a difference (not that 1.6 extra HP will do anything, unless you had none to start with ), but the next morning when we wanted to start her, she almost refused, and when she eventually kicked in, a lot of black smoke was present and a heavy fuel smell (over rich once more) and had to book her back in again, and you know what, we had to wait another 3 weeks. Oh boy!
This time she stayed over at Dyna so her cold-start can be checked out.
Luckily she came back and the cold she contracted from that previous visit was all sorted out.
We have now made various long (loaded) trips with her, but never get close to the previous 7.5km/l we used to get with the carb. Best we could get was around 6.2km/l. (Putting the carb back will probably not help, because once one changes a setup, it will never be the same as before. Or so the experts tell us. Which makes sense, because most everything else works like that; if you “fix” what’s not broken, you break it, and can’t put it back the way it was.)
We really want to enjoy our Hilux again, so are almost at our very last straw (actually second last) to make her better, so thought to give one of the Dyna-tune experts on this forum a chance before we start thinking of some radical changes again.
Perhaps it’s not a tuning issue, but a setup issue. We don’t think it is the setup because various mechanics have had a look, and can’t find anything majorly wrong. Perhaps something small is an issue, like the advance, or ignition or something, but really, something is up with our EFI. It is evident hey.
Our Hilux only has 98 700km on the clock (yes, less than 100k ); she still smells new on the inside (well kinda), and everything else is in excellent nick and shape, so it will be a very sad affair if we can't get her back to her previous glory days, or even better, theoretically.
From reading this forum for the past few years, we are extremely positive that it has a magician somewhere out there that can transform our ‘Lux back to (or close to) her former glory fuel-efficient-days.
Any and all advice, stories, add-ons etc. will be very helpful and extremely grateful guys, so please help.
I'll load the engine pics and Dyna/dyno result scans in order (chronological) as mentioned in the story above, in a few.
Thank you for reading, and hope to hear from you.
Cheers!