So you want to upgrade your 1HD-FTE? Welcome to the complete performance & tuning upgrade guide

If you’re reading this, then you might be thinking it’s time to start upgrading Toyota’s greatest gift to the diesel world, the 1HD-FTE 24 valve direct injection electronically controlled engine. Let’s start out with the basics, what power do these engines actually put out at the rear wheels in stock form? Well, there’s a few variants out there so we’ll break these down nice and easy.

HDJ79 Landcruiser Ute & HDJ78 Landcruiser Troop Carrier

In factory form, with a stock exhaust these models will produce between 100-110 horsepower & 250-280 newton-meters at the rear wheels on our Mainline Chassis Dynamometer. So how do we increase this power output? Let’s break it down into some easy to follow categories.

Stage 1: 180-200HP: 3″ Exhaust, Unichip & Tune, NPC Clutch Upgrade.

With just a 3″ exhaust fitted, we will see an increase in power and torque up to 130HP and 300nm. Following this, fitting a NPC 1300NM clutch kit with the billet fly wheel (we will go into this further later) and a Unichip Uni-X tuning module with electronic boost control will allow us to raise your horsepower and torque to approximately 180HP & 550NM. This is a 60% increase in power and a 90% increase in torque. These are huge results which will quite literally change the way your car feels more than any other modification you could possibly make. With such huge gains, you may be wondering, is this safe? The answer is ABSOLUTELY. These engines are so derated from factory in the HDJ70 Series range of vehicles that performance increases basically bring them into line with what a stock auto HDJ100 Toyota Landcruiser with the 5 speed auto makes from factory with a 3″ exhaust added. We are not pushing the boundaries of anything here. Fuel economy is never a guarantee, but most report back with a 2L per 100km improvement. ** Side note, if you fit a PDI Intercooler kit as well at this point, the power can be further increased to 200HP/600NM on the stock turbocharger @ 18PSI of boost.

The cost to supply & fit a Unichip is $2750 with the electronic boost controller, $3050 with 5 Map Select.

The cost to supply & fit the NPC 1300nm clutch upgrade is $2820 if it’s required i.e. your Landcruiser has a stock clutch.

The cost of a 3″ exhaust fitted is $1990, this price can vary depending on mufflers verse no muffler, stainless verse steel, etc.

Stage 2: 200-240HP: 3″ Exhaust, Unichip & Tune with 5 Map Select, NPC Clutch Upgrade, Turbo Upgrade, Intercooler Upgrade

This a great starting point for those who are chasing a serious performance upgrade to their vehicle. We thought we’d dive deeper here into turbo choices and how they can be used to future proof for fuel system upgrades down the track, and what works best with stock injectors. The United Fuel Injection (UFI) & GTurbo are without a doubt the most popular go to brands, and for a reason. These two manufactures offer genuinely custom built housings that are application specific. What that means for us and yourself as the end user is that you are getting exactly what you asked for through a tried and tested product that is being built to the absolute highest standard imaginable. Fortunately enough, we are also spoilt for choice when it comes to picking the right one! Let’s break it down.

It’s important to remember that when upgrading to any of these turbos on your 1HD-FTE, you will need to modify the induction pipe as the GTurbo runs a 3.5″ inlet, and UFI runs a 4″ inlet on the compressor cover.

• GTurbo Green Wheel – A good replacement for stock and suitable up to 240HP.
• GTurbo Red Wheel – This turbo is a freak all rounder. It is just as good at 250HP, as it is at 350HP. This turbo is recommend to be paired with a set of 300HP (aka +30) 1HD-FTE Injectors, we will go into this later. It can still be used as a Stage 2 upgrade.
• UFI 16G – A good replacement for stock and suitable up to 200HP. Factory spool times, far more reliable than the stock turbo.
• UFI 18G – This turbo is a fantastic application specific turbo. These will still deliver peak torque below 2200RPM on a set of stock injectors. These are suitable up to 220hp on stock fuel injectors, however still capable of producing 270HP & 700NM with a set of 300HP (aka +30) Injectors.

Once you’ve upgraded your turbo it’s time to also upgrade your intercooler. We will only use and recommend the Performance Diesel Intercoolers (PDI) range of intercoolers for these vehicle as their fit up is fantastic, they work 100% effectively, and the quality is 10/10. They are good for every bit of power your 1HD-FTE can make. These are $1700 and approximately $1300-1500 to fit. Your vehicle will need new AC hoses and lines, therefore system will need to be vacuumed out and re-gassed. Other brands such as HPD (High Performance Diesel) also produce great intercoolers that are also effective and look great, but we have seen an overarching popularity from the PDI brand.

Stage 3: 300-350HP – 3″ Exhaust, Unichip & Tune with 5 Map Select, NPC Clutch Upgrade, Turbo Upgrade, Intercooler Upgrade, Airbox Upgrade, Fuel Injector Upgrade

This is where the party really starts. This is for those looking to achieve 300HP-350HP & 800-900NM. This is basically the same as above but opens up some more turbo options and requires the use of a higher flowing airbox. We developed our own airbox specific for the HDJ70 Series for this power level, it supports right up to 400HP. We reckon it’s the best bloody thing out there. I’ll throw a picture in for reference.

• GTurbo Red Wheel – Good for 330HP & 900nm with our 300-300hp injectors, capable of up to 350HP / 950nm with our 400HP injectors detuned to suit.
• UFI 21L – Good for 330HP & 900nm with our 300-330HP injectors.
• UFI 23L – Good for 350HP & 950NM with our 300-330HP injectors.

This power level is our favourite. The engines are still entirely reliable at this figure and means you can still depend on it to be the best thing Toyota has ever made. When paired with the Unichip’s 5 Map Select feature, you can range your power options from 350HP all the way back down to 200HP on the ‘stock’ tune. This is going to deliver the best fuel economy, more than enough power to get ya mates giggling like children in the passenger seat and all the torque you could ever need. Perfect for towing, touring, or just fun.

Stage 4: 400HP – 3″ Exhaust, Unichip & Tune, NPC Clutch Upgrade, Turbo Upgrade, Intercooler Upgrade, Airbox Upgrade, Large Fuel Injector Upgrade, Billet Conrods, ARP Head Studs

By the time you’ve reached this point, it’s time to build an engine. Yes, they will make the power without it but they won’t last. It will eventually bend/squish a connecting rod, we’ve seen it bend all six at once. The recipe here is genuine Toyota pistons, HD Auto billet connecting rods, stock crank, ACL race bearings and a set of ARP head studs.

This power level is a lot of fun, and can still be daily driven and used for towing and touring as the Unichip does still allow us to run the 5 Maps via Multi-Mapping. You can quite literally have a 400HP tune, and tame it right back to 200HP for towing. It really is the best of both worlds.

• GTurbo Blue Wheel
• HD Auto 400HP Injectors
• NPC 1600NM Clutch
• PDI Intercooler Kit
• Billet Conrods, ARP Head Studs
• PDI or other high flowing airbox (Most snorkels are a restriction at this power level)
• Unichip Uni-X with 5 Map Select
• 3″ Exhaust

We highly recommend the above setup, you will achieve FTE hall of fame and have a super fun enjoyable Landcruiser. The rest of the driveline holds up fine depending how you drive it. If you abuse it, like anything, it’ll break boxes and diffs eventually but only if you abuse it. The driveline is not made of glass.

HDJ100 5 Speed Manual

These models come fitted factory with a different ECU to the 70 Series and a front mounted intercooler. This means that they are tuned differently, therefore make more power at the wheels from factory. They produce between 130-140HP & 350NM at the rear wheels in stock form on our Mainline Chassis Dynamometer. These receive a similar upgrade to the HDJ70 Series in Stage 1 however they will yield higher figures.

Stage 1: 3″ Exhaust, Unichip & Tune, NPC Clutch Upgrade – Expected Power Increase to 200HP & 600NM.

With just a 3″ exhaust fitted, we will see an increase in power and torque up to 150HP and 380nm. Following this, fitting a NPC 1300NM clutch kit with the billet fly wheel and a Unichip Uni-X tuning module with electronic boost control will allow us to raise your horsepower and torque to approximately 200HP & 600NM. This is a 50% increase in power and a 70% increase in torque. These are huge results which will quite literally change the way your car feels more than any other modification you could possibly make. Is this safe? The answer is ABSOLUTELY. We are not pushing the boundaries of anything here. Fuel economy is never a guarantee, but most report back with a 2L per 100km improvement.

As for everything above this power level, refer back to the above staging for the HDJ70 Series as it applies all the same to the HDJ100 5 Speed Manual as well, some pricing may vary.

HDJ100 4 & 5 Speed Auto

These models produce between 130-160HP & 350-400NM at the rear wheels in stock form on our Mainline Chassis Dynamometer. These receive a similar upgrade to the HDJ100 Manual in Stage 1 as written above. Instead of an upgraded clutch, we upgrade the valve body to a Wholesale Automatics Nomad kit.