Power Conversions, Modifications Upgrades
Performance U-Connect / Unichip Tuning

Toyota’s Land Cruiser 200 has set new standards compared to its renowned predecessor and has enjoyed an exceptionally high level of acceptance since its introduction.

Behind the demand is significantly improved vehicle that is stylish, spacious, comfortable, and packed with electronic aids for the optimum 4X4 SUV driving experience. This is a vehicle that is comfortable towing a horse box to the local derby, or a boat to the coast, but equally totally at home providing a luxury driving experience in the roughest terrain.

The Land Cruiser 200 draws on every aspect of Toyota’s vast store of 4X4 knowledge accumulated over nearly 60 years of Land Cruiser evolution from a basic 4X4 utility to a premium class luxury SUV.

This flagship SUV embodies the go anywhere capability of the very first Land Cruiser and combines this with the latest in engine and safety technologies as well as the comfort levels of a luxury sedan.

Toyota’s flagship Land Cruiser wagon relies exclusively on V8 engines for power with a choice of either petrol or diesel. And in our case it is the diesel 4.5 litre V8 that has been enhanced by the guys at Steves Auto Clinic via a U-Connect unit.

By implementing the latest common rail fuel injection and variable nozzle turbocharger technologies Toyota has introduced a high power, high torque engine that uses only as much fuel as typical engines that have just 60% of its capacity.

The Land Cruiser V8 diesel produces 173 kW at 3 200 rpm and 615 Nm at between 1 800 and 2 200 rpm. But once you have the U-Connect and an extra 20% in power and torque on board, you can be assured that not only does your SUV now have the capability to achieve a level of fuel economy that might embarrass a large sedan owner, it might just give them a hard time from the lights too.

The U-Connect unit is not to be confused with the mostly, overseas sourced and local condition non-specific, re-flash methods of tuning that most performance enthusiasts seem familiar with in which the OEM ECU code is simply generically re-written with a hand held programmer via the vehicle’s OBD port.

With the U-Connect, all the changes occur within this unit and are electrically communicated to your vehicle’s engine control system. No changes are made within the OEM computer, and thus all the engine safety parameters as set by the manufacturer remain in place.

The U-Connect unit comes as a complete stand-alone product, complete with a wiring harness that plugs directly into the OEM ECU via connectors that are perfectly matched to the factory connectors on your vehicle.

There is no dangerous or complicated cutting into of wires on your vehicles existing main wiring harness and there is also no room for errors by wiring the wrong wires together.

From start to finish, most installation times are less than five minutes (depending on the options you choose) and everything stays as is in your vehicle. No extended and inconvenient vehicle down time, no long hours spent on the dyna, and no stripping and modifying of parts.

As already mentioned, the U-Connect unit is completely removable, and this means that you can choose to remove the unit from your vehicle when you want to sell it or you can transfer it to another vehicle of the same model type should you upgrade your vehicles.

The basic U-Connect unit comes in the form of a unit that has only one performance option fitted and is non-switchable to other performance maps. But you can also opt for the more flexible multi-map unit, which includes a two-position option via which you can change between a standard map and the upgraded map, or you can configure that same unit to allow you to choose from up to five different map settings for your vehicle.

So now you can have an everyday traffic map, a map for towing, a map for open road performance but to name a few of the options that can be tailor made for whatever motoring requirement you might have.

At this stage, this technology and switching capability is via a neat and functional unit supplied with the U-Connect unit, but Bluetooth switching is currently being developed so that you can change the performance map on your car via your cell phone in the future.

Steves Auto Clinic are well aware that any motor manufacturer reserves the right to cancel your vehicles factory warranty and / or motorplan / service plan should you modify your vehicle, be it from mild to totally wild. But it is worth noting that this not only applies to tuning upgrades, a little known fact is that this scenario can extend to something as the simple fitting of aftermarket alloy wheels, to even sound system upgrades that are not authorised.

But in SAC’s 25 years as the country’s leading aftermarket performance enhancers and over the course of thousands and thousands of performance upgrades, history has shown that most manufacturer service outlets treat their clients with the same respect that their clients treat them, and this includes those that have had their vehicles responsibly upgraded.

For further peace of mind, SAC is the only aftermarket performance enhancing concern in South Africa to have a dedicated and stand-alone Research & Development Centre.

This centre is responsible for the development, via their own specifically purchased vehicles, and the subsequent comprehensive testing of these vehicles under local conditions, for all the performance upgrade packages as undertaken by the entire SAC Group of outlets situated countrywide.

So besides knowing that your vehicle is not being used a test mule to fine tune some companies claimed performance capabilities, you can be assured, no matter which SAC branch you take your vehicle to, the quality of the upgrade will be the same

So should you want to know more about this specific upgrade, contact a SAC Branch near you.