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| ROADTESTS |
| SAC Toyota Hilux 3,0D 4x2 Double Cab |
 | 4x4 Buyer's Guide 2000 | | Magazine | | | Since its launch a little over a year ago in normally-aspirated form, Toyota's 3,0-litre diesel pick-up has not been renowned for its soul-stirring performance. | | Turbocharged versions are available, via the factory-approved Alpine kits, but there are hundreds of oil-burning Hilux punters out there who would like a bit more punch without the hassle and cost of fitting a turbo. | |  | |
| This is the thinking behind the Steve's Auto Clinic conversion for the 3000D, which we sampled in conjunction with our diesel shoot-out to The Ranch near Pietersburg. |
| En route to our overnight lodgings along The Great North Road, we were impressed at the way the SAC double-cab pick-up, in 4x2 configuration, kept up with the turbo diesels in our convoy and we decided to conduct a mini-test on the vehicle as soon as we returned to home base. |
| Reliability and affordability are the keynotes to the conversions, according to SAC and, while we can't vouch for how it will perform over the next 100 000 km, we can attest to its affordability. |
| The conversion starts with a gas-flowed cylinder head and a similarly-flowed inlet manifold. Internal work on the engine extends to a reprofiled camshaft. |
| To maximise the improved breath potential, the air-intake is also relieved of restrictions, while retaining good filtration properties. |
| At the other end of the horsepower cycle, the exhaust system is exchanged for a branch manifold and complete free-flow pipe and silencer box system. |
| Final tuning involves optimisation of the pump settings and the piece de resistance on the conversion is a taller final drive ratio, from 4,875 to 4,55:1, to give the vehicle longer highway legs. |
| Total power increase is in the region of 33 percent, according to the SAC dyno sheet, with peak power rising from 67kW to 77kW at 4 000 revs/min. |
| It should be remembered that these figures are taken at Gauteng altitudes and then corrected to sea-level outputs. |
| Our test equipment illustrated the effectiveness of the conversion on the road. The standard 3000D recorded a 44,7 second 0-1000 metre sprint and a 29,53 second 0-100 km/h sprint, if that term can be applied to such egg-timer figures. |
| The SAC 3000D weighed in with a 39,76 second standing kilometre and a 21,20 second 0-100 km/h time.Overtaking acceleration is also vastly improved. |
| From 60-100 km/h in fourth, time drops from 21,37 seconds to an impressive 15,88 seconds, while the 80-120 km/h time in fifth improves from 36,53 seconds to 25,18 seconds. |
| Top Speed is not a great talking point on the 3000D but here too there is an improvement, from 144,9 (standard) to 152,0 km/h/ |
| The extra performance does come at the expense of some extra noise in the cabin and some increase in vibration. |
| However, economy is said to benefit, although we didn't test this during the time we had the pick-up. |
| For peace of mind, SAC offers a six month/20 000 km warranty on the conversion. |
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