I found this book the other day on Amazon and ordered a copy. It’s by Brookland Books out of the UK and is really nothing more than a collection of articles, tech data and road tests of the Land Cruiser during those years, including the 80 and the other Land Cruisers. Mostly just b/w copies of Mag articles from the UK and Australia and a couple from the U.S. about the Land Cruiser covering 1988-1997. But still pretty interesting. Especially the perspective that testers had on the new rig...and the very over inflated fuel economy numbers everyone was getting and the mass praise on the brake system, etc, etc.
Thumbing through it, I found a few interesting notes that might be of interest, but have since been lost to time….
From a test of a 1993 LC by Motor magazine….
“In an age of hydraulic followers, this may seem old fashioned, yet Toyota doesn’t expect adjustment for the first 100,000 Km.” (62,000 miles)
“The iron block has been designed to take two steps of overbore when the engine is being rebuilt. Toyota has said that this very new design of an engine has been designed to see 300,000km (186,000 miles) between rebores or the potential for about 900,000km (560,000 miles) of normal service.”
“…..the engine’s specification are impressive, but under stressed…..it is only developing 35kW/liter.”
“…..305Nm of torque is made at idle….”
“…intitial tests indicated that a mix of hard driving, climbing and highway cruising could return 13 liters/100km or better.”
“…..it is the first 4wd to use twin knock sensors in its ignition management computer to keep power up and potential engine damage down when using doubtful quality fuel. It also means that the 1FZ-FE can detect the difference between standard and premium unleaded, offering a slight increase in power on premium.”
“…..intake and exhaust valves are made of nimonic steel…”
“…..valve shims can be removed without removing the cam shafts….”
“…..the oil pump is capable of pumping 70 liters a minute at full revs….”
“…..ABS on the top models presents no serious problems even on unsealed roads. The reason is that the Land Cruisers system uses a form of G-meter to measure deceleration and adjust the brake on/off periods accordingly. It can, in effect, detect the type of road surface and change its operation to better suit it.”
”….the A442F’s torque converter is new to cope with the extra torque of the new engine and its stall ratio of 1.88 (up from 1.80) makes the new vehicle step away from traffic lights with greater enthusiasm.”
“….a new load sensing and proportioning system to the rear brakes improves braking…”
“….Four wheel anti-lock disc brakes give the Land Cruiser exceptional stopping power, illustrated by a remarkable 60-0 distance of only 128, the best we’ve recorded on any sport/utility.”
Test of a 1993 diesel LC80 by British 4x4 mag:
“…..manufacture claims a top speed of 102 mph….”
“…..the service brakes were excellently progressive and controllable…”
Comparo between 1993 LC80 and Nissan Patrol, from Aussie 4x4 magazine….
“…..Fuel economy for the distance averaged at for the patrol of 17.1 liters/100km while the Land Cruiser was 17.5 liters/100km. For our economy run, which is a return trip on flat freeway at 90-100 kph, the Patrol returned 13.3 liters/100km, while the Land Cruiser came in at 12.7 liters/100km.”
Sport Utilities Magazine, 1995 LC….
“…..for 1995 a 2nd gear start was added that reduces wheel spin on slippery surfaces….”
“…..new 1995 are standard duel airbags, height-adjustable front shoulder anchors. Also for 1995, the instrument panel as been redesigned and the front sheet metal restyled.”
“….if the sport utility boom were to end tomorrow, it’s a good bet Land Cruiser fans would keep on buying them….”
British magazine about 1994 Land Cruiser 80 diesel…
“…..The automatic gearbox appears to draw on its electronic controlled power option in low range. It will hold its chosen gear until peak power revs under a heavy right foot, no doubt to gain pace for those desert dune climbs, but ease off and it can be made to shift up until little more than idle is being used to haul it through deep mud. Even the most vehement opponent of autos off road would warm to this almost manual level of control.”
“…..Government fuel consumption ratings (diesel)(urban) 20.6 mpg, (56mph) 30.1 mpg (75 mpg) 19 mpg”
British Autocar Roadtest, 1993….
“….4.5 liter straight-six producing a useful 202 brake horse power….”
“….where the Land Cruiser managed just 14.9 mpg in our hands, this is a poor figure….”
“…..With a light throttle and taking advantage of overdrive gear, the Land Cruiser will deliver 20.6 mpg…”
“….Government fuel consumption ratings (petrol) (urban) 15.4 mpg, (56mph) 28.5 mpg (75 mph) 20.5 mpg….”
“…..gross weight is 3500kg (7700lbs)….”
“….Toyota claims 106 mph top speed and 0-60 mph in 12.4 seconds for the petrol VX….”
There’s a couple of funny “curious” statements…these from Four Wheeler about the 1993 LC
“…we’re getting between 14.5 and 17.5 mpg, depending on how much air condition we run and how horrendous the traffic is….”
“….with the 24 gallon gas tank, we find ourselves filling up every 3rd day, but that spare tire has to go somewhere, and since no one wants it in the rear cargo area, is has to go under the truck where a larger fuel tank would go.”
“……24 valve 4 liter straight six produces 212 horsepower….”
“…….we sent our test vehicle back to Toyota to investigate a strange noise we heard in the valve train. The strange noise turned out to be the sound of a 24-valve 4.0 liter Six working perfectly, which we admit is a noise hadn’t heard in any other truck.”
Thumbing through it, I found a few interesting notes that might be of interest, but have since been lost to time….
From a test of a 1993 LC by Motor magazine….
“In an age of hydraulic followers, this may seem old fashioned, yet Toyota doesn’t expect adjustment for the first 100,000 Km.” (62,000 miles)
“The iron block has been designed to take two steps of overbore when the engine is being rebuilt. Toyota has said that this very new design of an engine has been designed to see 300,000km (186,000 miles) between rebores or the potential for about 900,000km (560,000 miles) of normal service.”
“…..the engine’s specification are impressive, but under stressed…..it is only developing 35kW/liter.”
“…..305Nm of torque is made at idle….”
“…intitial tests indicated that a mix of hard driving, climbing and highway cruising could return 13 liters/100km or better.”
“…..it is the first 4wd to use twin knock sensors in its ignition management computer to keep power up and potential engine damage down when using doubtful quality fuel. It also means that the 1FZ-FE can detect the difference between standard and premium unleaded, offering a slight increase in power on premium.”
“…..intake and exhaust valves are made of nimonic steel…”
“…..valve shims can be removed without removing the cam shafts….”
“…..the oil pump is capable of pumping 70 liters a minute at full revs….”
“…..ABS on the top models presents no serious problems even on unsealed roads. The reason is that the Land Cruisers system uses a form of G-meter to measure deceleration and adjust the brake on/off periods accordingly. It can, in effect, detect the type of road surface and change its operation to better suit it.”
”….the A442F’s torque converter is new to cope with the extra torque of the new engine and its stall ratio of 1.88 (up from 1.80) makes the new vehicle step away from traffic lights with greater enthusiasm.”
“….a new load sensing and proportioning system to the rear brakes improves braking…”
“….Four wheel anti-lock disc brakes give the Land Cruiser exceptional stopping power, illustrated by a remarkable 60-0 distance of only 128, the best we’ve recorded on any sport/utility.”
Test of a 1993 diesel LC80 by British 4x4 mag:
“…..manufacture claims a top speed of 102 mph….”
“…..the service brakes were excellently progressive and controllable…”
Comparo between 1993 LC80 and Nissan Patrol, from Aussie 4x4 magazine….
“…..Fuel economy for the distance averaged at for the patrol of 17.1 liters/100km while the Land Cruiser was 17.5 liters/100km. For our economy run, which is a return trip on flat freeway at 90-100 kph, the Patrol returned 13.3 liters/100km, while the Land Cruiser came in at 12.7 liters/100km.”
Sport Utilities Magazine, 1995 LC….
“…..for 1995 a 2nd gear start was added that reduces wheel spin on slippery surfaces….”
“…..new 1995 are standard duel airbags, height-adjustable front shoulder anchors. Also for 1995, the instrument panel as been redesigned and the front sheet metal restyled.”
“….if the sport utility boom were to end tomorrow, it’s a good bet Land Cruiser fans would keep on buying them….”
British magazine about 1994 Land Cruiser 80 diesel…
“…..The automatic gearbox appears to draw on its electronic controlled power option in low range. It will hold its chosen gear until peak power revs under a heavy right foot, no doubt to gain pace for those desert dune climbs, but ease off and it can be made to shift up until little more than idle is being used to haul it through deep mud. Even the most vehement opponent of autos off road would warm to this almost manual level of control.”
“…..Government fuel consumption ratings (diesel)(urban) 20.6 mpg, (56mph) 30.1 mpg (75 mpg) 19 mpg”
British Autocar Roadtest, 1993….
“….4.5 liter straight-six producing a useful 202 brake horse power….”
“….where the Land Cruiser managed just 14.9 mpg in our hands, this is a poor figure….”
“…..With a light throttle and taking advantage of overdrive gear, the Land Cruiser will deliver 20.6 mpg…”
“….Government fuel consumption ratings (petrol) (urban) 15.4 mpg, (56mph) 28.5 mpg (75 mph) 20.5 mpg….”
“…..gross weight is 3500kg (7700lbs)….”
“….Toyota claims 106 mph top speed and 0-60 mph in 12.4 seconds for the petrol VX….”
There’s a couple of funny “curious” statements…these from Four Wheeler about the 1993 LC
“…we’re getting between 14.5 and 17.5 mpg, depending on how much air condition we run and how horrendous the traffic is….”
“….with the 24 gallon gas tank, we find ourselves filling up every 3rd day, but that spare tire has to go somewhere, and since no one wants it in the rear cargo area, is has to go under the truck where a larger fuel tank would go.”
“……24 valve 4 liter straight six produces 212 horsepower….”
“…….we sent our test vehicle back to Toyota to investigate a strange noise we heard in the valve train. The strange noise turned out to be the sound of a 24-valve 4.0 liter Six working perfectly, which we admit is a noise hadn’t heard in any other truck.”
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