Pull any hill at 65mph in an 80 series - Video

[LandCruiserPhil]

A lot of 80 series owners complain about lack of power to climb a hills.

I'm posting a video to shows how it is done.

I'm also pulling a small trailer (pictured) I tried showing it in the video but not very well.


Conditions
Arizona
July 29
100° +
Travel time Noon

Location
Hwy 87 south out of Slate creek ( see attached)
3 miles @ 7% grade (not sure why the TOPO shows it at 8%) Source
1000’ elevation gain in ~3 miles

Video in vehicle
1996 80 series
136K
Original radiator
Original PHH
Original head gasket
35” BFG KM2
Stock gears
Light armor
Full of gas
AC running
Trailer weight ~600#
Speedo has been corrected

Performance upgrades
Fan clutch – performance tuned by ToolsRus
High clearance over the frame exhaust,
Walker quiet muffler
Magnaflow single heavy duty cat
Safari Snorkel

 

[warpdriv]

Cool! I'm more impressed with your mad driving skills filming and driving.

 

[6894kevin]

Thanks now I have that song stuck in my head

 

[cartercd]

It can be done indeed, but I hate to think of what gas mileage you were getting at 4,000+ rpm. Committing to 2nd gear definitely helps keep pace with traffic. The annoying thing about taking these trucks in the mountains is you really have to drive them - lots of shifting, maintaining momentum, etc. Add high elevations to the equation and it gets worse.

Out of curiosity I looked up some long and steep grades in the U.S. shown below. These would not be fun in an 80. In addition, the Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70 west of Denver at 11,000 feet is one of the highest tunnels in the world - would be interesting what an 80 could do on that.

 

[Stevesnj]

I saw 202

 

[rockrod]

In addition, the Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70 west of Denver at 11,000 feet is one of the highest tunnels in the world - would be interesting what an 80 could do on that.

the vortec levels that hill.

heading east up vail is worse. it has a sharp left turn right at the bottom of the big grade so you don't get a shot at momentum.

my truck is similar to yours - same tires and gears, but no armor and no trailer. wife and I heading to beaver creek in two weeks and i will try to get some video.

 

[CRZR45]

The real fix is a diesel.. My 4BT with nv4500 will do that at 1800 rpm and still get 15 plus in the hills while heavy on the go juice. Ditto on the video and driving skills..

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

It can be done indeed, but I hate to think of what gas mileage you were getting at 4,000+ rpm. Committing to 2nd gear definitely helps keep pace with traffic. The annoying thing about taking these trucks in the mountains is you really have to drive them - lots of shifting, maintaining momentum, etc. Add high elevations to the equation and it gets worse.
......

MPG might surprise you. With trailer I seeing 12-12.5 without 13.

It seems easier on the motor if you go to 2nd immediately when you drop below MPH. Temps climb faster when you try to get everything out of 3-4.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

The real fix is a diesel.. My 4BT with nv4500 will do that at 1800 rpm and still get 15 plus in the hills while heavy on the go juice. Ditto on the video and driving skills..

True but then everyone tells you stink

 

[Wrench]

"Water temp never exceeds 200°" Check the video again. At 1:23 it hits 202°.

 

[Terrax]

Nice job!! If there was an engine swap I would do on an 80, I would put a 2uz-fe in there. What a great engine it is, power, torque and a very long life.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

"Water temp never exceeds 200°" Check the video again. At 1:23 it hits 202°.

Yep I stand corrected but then it goes back down

My experience is it would be even higher if one spends more time in 3-4.

 

[cc93cruiser]

Wow.. I'm impressed. I don't think I've ever reved my engine that high let alone for that long... Guess I just baby her that much...

 

[scrowley]

I dont think I have ever had any toyota I ever owned held at over 4k rpms for that long. That would def. scare me. I feel these trucks last so long due to the low shifting rpm's and also good quality...

 

[Tools R Us]

Wow.. I'm impressed. I don't think I've ever reved my engine that high let alone for that long... Guess I just baby her that much...

If you are climbing significant grades in the heat, lugging the motor in higher gears is not "babying" it. Some of us have been doing this for a longtime and when lugged the temp will be 10f+ higher and will be much slower going uphill.

Look at the power curve, if you are attempting to climb at say, 2500rpm, the motor is only making ~125hp, not going to be very successful?

 

[kmcoop7]

Real Hills

Try a hill like that in Colorado. Elevation makes a BIG difference.

My 80 on 37's and stock gears holds 55-60 up Vail Pass/Eisenhower. I need 2nd gear the whole way to do it though. Hoping for a 6.0L Vortec to make that 75-80 in top gear someday.

An 80 has no problem turning 4k plus RPM's for a LONG time. Try some snow wheeling someday. Remember these are fork lift engines and fork lift operators run at full throtle all day everyday.

 

[Tools R Us]

... The annoying thing about taking these trucks in the mountains is you really have to drive them - lots of shifting, maintaining momentum, etc. ...

Yep, huge work, have to reach over and click the shifter! I drove manual trans rigs for lots of years, had to pickup my left foot, push the clutch, back off the throttle with the right, then operate the shifter, what a workout!

 

[Tools R Us]

...
An 80 has no problem turning 4k plus RPM's for a LONG time. Try some snow wheeling someday. Remember these are fork lift engines and fork lift operators run at full throtle all day everyday.

Agree, have done several highway climbs at ~10 min, no biggie. Also sand wheeling is long term high rpm.

 

[e9999]

it may make perfect sense to go 4K and I know Toy said the red line is up there, but I do still cringe when I go over 3000 so I never do it... silly gut reaction I guess... those are big pistons...

 

[jcope]

I did this today in mine on Rabbit Ears pass and then up to Eisenhower tunnel. Except where we hit construction. I saw coolant temperatures reach 207 briefly early on, but they stayed right around 200 on the rest of the climbs. ~190 otherwise.

You can certainly push the motor like that. I think high RPMs for short periods of time don't hurt a well-maintained engine. It definitely sounds harsh, I know that. I was wanting an in-between gear. It seems better to manually downshift into 2nd before losing too much speed, than to crush the gas pedal and wait for the vehicle to decide when to shift. I let it go to third if I think it can stay on top of it for at least half a mile.

On the climbs I was getting ~5 mpg. The mileage for the entire trip was about 17.

I'm on brand new 285/75s.