The Story of the 1FZ-FE Turbo
Once upon a time, people like you and I, 4wd lovers and off-road enthusiasts have thrown the 1FZ-FE engine found in the FZJ80 and FZJ105 Toyota Landcruiser’s to the wolves. But in 2021, something changed.
An employee at HD Automotive bought himself a bog stock, FZJ105 Toyota Landcruiser as the 1HD-FTE 100 Series Landcruiser variants at this time had sky rocketed in price. Little did he know, he was about to start a 1FZ revolution. The FZ revival was on. We believed in it’s performance capabilities. Where others saw a lazy old forklift engine, we saw the 2JZ’s big brother ready to get back in the ring.
Overnight, Max jumped straight into his new build. Research had begun, when very quickly the HD team made a realization.
Most people were seeking a 250-400HP power solution, just as Max was. Our research kept leading us down 600HP+ power builds, with beautifully crafted 1000HP manifolds, $30,000+ built engines, $4000+ turbochargers, and build costs exceeding upwards of $60,000 dollars! We found out very quickly, this was not going to be a very budget friendly route to take and had to work out a solution.
This leads us to today.
This leads you to this website.
This leads us to this post.
This story has now turbocharged over 200+ 1FZ Toyota Landcruiser’s globally.
Congrats!
You’ve just bought your 1FZ Landcruiser. Or maybe you’ve owned it for the last 10 years and it’s time to do something about the lack of power? Either way, you’ve taken the first step to enjoying your rig like you never have before. Where to next?
Let’s Establish Some Baseline Numbers
The 1FZ-FE engine produces a ballpark figure at the back wheels of 100-130HP, and 270nm of torque through the automatic and manual transmissions.
Time to Talk Power
We’ve found the sweet spot for these engines to be around the 350WHP & 650NM of torque. Most of them being done with this sort of power have anywhere from 200,000KM – 400,000KM on the engine.
We have definitely found that KM’s become a variable factor in the amount of power your engine is capable of producing. But not often in reliability. This seems to have remained consistent regardless of KM’s with zero blown engines to date from in house builds.
The Formula
When it comes time to turbo your 1FZ, you’re pretty much going to need to do it all at once. With the exception of one or two things. Let’s start with the things we can do to our builds before even bolting the turbo on.
Start with the fuel pumps and the head studs. Fitting these to a stock engine is perfectly fine, it will allow you to continue to drive your vehicle before you pull the trigger and turbocharge it completely.
When replacing your factory head bolts with ARP head studs, we have had success with the ‘1 in 1 out‘ method. This involves removing 1 factory head bolt at a time and replacing it with an ARP stud. This has to be done in the factory torque sequence and every stud must be torqued down to the specified level, before the next factory bolt is removed.
However, if you’re putting head studs in your 1FZ, this is a perfect time to send your cylinder head off to get reconditioned. The factory valve stems seals are notorious for leaking, especially if there are a few k’s on the engine. Getting a valve re-grind and fresh stem seals ensures a healthy & happy engine that won’t burn oil!
You can even fit a Cometic MLS head gasket at the same time for those higher-horsepower builds! We highly recommend that the cylinder head is decked and the block checked for flatness if you’re planning on fitting an MLS head gasket. The factory head gaskets are a little more forgiving when it comes to sealing on a not-so-perfect surface.
Larger fuel pumps are a must when boosting your 1FZ. We have found the limit of the factory pumps to be around 200hp, depending on their condition. There are a few options for these vehicles, with Raceworks EFP500’s and Walbro 460’s being the two most common pump upgrades.
If you own a 105 series, you’ll have to replace the pump in both tanks, however those with an 80 series will only need to do the pump in the main tank as the sub tank feeds into the main tank! For that typical 300-400hp goal, 750 – 1000cc injectors are more than enough.
Our kits come with full length, direct fit injectors that make replacing them a simple, 1 hour job. A fuel regulator off the front off the rail will ensure consistent and safe fuel pressure that compensates with boost. The complete turbo kits supplied by HD have a Turbosmart fuel regulator kit in them with the correct fittings and lines to plumb straight from your rail, through the regulator and back to the tank.
A major part of turbocharging 1FZ-FE’s correctly and reliably is proper engine management. Having complete control over fuel quantities, ignition timing, all engine sensors etc, is the key to a well running and long-lasting engine.
We recommend and primarily use Haltech for our engine management. There are few different ECU packages available, from piggy-back setups to complete stand-alone systems. Elite 750 ECU’s wired in ‘piggyback’ alongside the factory ECU is a fantastic budget-friendly option. This allows the Haltech full control over the engine while leaving things like idle control, dash cluster, auto control etc to the factory ECU.
The next level is a full stand-alone ECU utilising something like an Elite 2500 ECU. These are a fantastic ECU and have a multitude of outputs allowing for complete control over absolutely everything. They also have provisions for knock control, drive by wire, auto transmission control and a heap more outputs.
The basic sensors that are used on turbocharged builds include air intake temperature, electronic boost control, wideband O2, oil / fuel pressure, with the option of adding knock control, aftermarket displays etc. Keep in mind, you can fit and fully tune your vehicle with an aftermarket ECU while it is still naturally aspirated.
Both 80 and 105 Series Landcruiser’s have enough space up front behind the grill to nicely fit a 600X300 intercooler. HD Auto offers an off the shelf mounting solution consisting of laser cut, folded and TIG welded mounting brackets.
These are great for quickly and securely mounting your intercooler while retaining the front radiator brace support required for the bonnet latch. Typically, the intercooler pipes are run through the LH and RH side of the radiator supports, directly from the turbo outlet and into your intake manifold.
For exhaust systems, the easiest option is to utilise a 3″ off the shelf system designed for diesel vehicles. Just make sure you get one with the largest muffler available or it’s going to be unbearably loud! These bolt up to 80 or 105 series and will save you 90% of the work involved in making a system.
You’ll just have to fabricate a dump pipe from the back of the turbo to the first flange on your diesel exhaust system. Don’t forget that O2 bung & sensor!
With all this extra power your 1FZ is going to be pumping out, an upgraded valve body (auto transmission) or heavy duty clutch (manual transmission) will be required! We want all those extra ponies to got straight through the transmission to the rear tyres with minimal losses along the way.
For those running an auto transmission, you’ll most likely have the A442 behind your engine. These are fantastic in standard form, but don’t love to hold big power with the standard valve body.
An upgraded, heavy duty valve body increases line pressure to those clutch packs, ensuring a firm and direct power transfer. A must have modification for your boosted 4WD!
Those running the factory manual transmission, the H box found behind the FZ in both 80’s and 105’s is absolutely up to the task of holding all the power you can throw at it. You will however, need a clutch that can handle it or you’ll be frying your clutch instead of your tyres.
We use, supply and recommend NPC clutches when it comes to these builds. They offer a direct fit, billet flywheel clutch kit capable of handling 600+ HP and 1300+ NM of torque. They also feel as soft as a factory clutch and are super drive-able. Perfect for those that wheel their cars!
After all that work is done, it’s only a matter of bolting up your turbo kit! Manifold (J-pipe or 6Boost), turbo, oil & water lines. Plumb your turbo outlet to your intercooler and then back into your engine. Make a dump pipe to suit your diesel exhaust system, hook up all your sensors, have a final check over the vehicle and then bring it down to HD Automotive for its big day on the dyno!
This is going to consist of basic Q&A’s that we get asked on a daily basis to help understand what changes are required to safely turbocharge your 1FZ.
Q: When do you choose a J-pipe over a 6Boost manifold?
A: When your power goal is below 400HP or you plan to run below 15psi of boost. The J-Pipe is a more cost efficient, compact and heavy duty design built to withstand any abuse you throw at it. We have never had a warranty claim on these for fitment, breakages, or performance flaws. Some key points about each of the manifolds are below.
J-Pipe
- Far most cost efficient. They are half the price of a 6-Boost, and require far less fabrication costs to fit as they do not require the use of an external wastegate to be fitted to the manifold.
- Compact design. Utilising an internally waste gated turbo means there is less space taken up in the engine bay, leaving your vehicle easier to maintain and far less to go wrong.
- Durability. We have tested these through every condition imaginable. They simply do not break due to their sturdy and simple design.
- Performance out-put goals. The J-pipe is a perfect match up to 450HP at the wheels.
6-Boost
- Perfect choice for over 500HP. If you want to push your 1FZ to the next level, these manifolds are the go to choice.
- The ability to run an external gate. With big power, comes big boost, and moving to an external waste gated turbocharger will be required to efficiently control boost over 15psi.
- Flow efficiency. When it comes to big power, you are also increasing the air flow of your engine. This needs to be met by efficiently designed manifolds to make the most of that flow and driving airflow into the turbine of the turbo charger at maximum velocity.
Q: Do I need head studs and can I replace these one by one while leaving the head on?
A: Yes, we recommend head studs. Yes, they can be replaced one by one with the head on. The 1FZ is common for wearing out the valve stem seals though, so we recommend removing and reconditioning your head while fitting these. If you are not machining your block, stick to a standard head gasket.
Q: Can I run a stock ECU?
A: Absolutely not. We highly recommend you listen to NO advice that says you can. There is no control for the turbocharger, fuel system or any other features required to safely tune these on a stock ECU.
Q: Do I need to run an intercooler?
A: Yes. This is imperative for knock protection and engine safety, as well as a massive increase in the amount of boost you can run.
Fun Fact #1
We’ve had vehicles come into the shop with 400,000+ KM’s, no oil in the dipstick when checked, and advised people not to go ahead with turbocharging their vehicle before rebuilding the engine. In the particular instance above, the customer insisted we proceed, even though he was made fully aware of the potential consequences.
Well, that was over 2 years ago, and she’s still going strong at 347HP. A testament to the resilience of these engines. Just to add to the spice, this vehicle has been back multiple times for servicing and other upgrades, nearly every time it comes back there is no oil on the dipstick. This vehicle somehow still has had no issues. This isn’t a good thing. But we’re proud of the tough old girl regardless!
Fun Fact #2
We’ve made over 500WHP on a stock engine. On ULP98. It was one of our own vehicles and we wanted to push the limit on 98 Octane, it melted a piston eventually, but we did this for you! Now we know, 500HP is probably a bit too spicy for 98 Octane only. We limit these out at 450HP on 98 only now with a built engine.
Fun Fact #3
105 Series Landcruiser head design is far superior to 80 Series. They have both crank and cam position sensors, and factory coil on plugs, with an option to upgrade to our coil on plug kits utilizing the factory ECU (or when upgrading to a Haltech), and run no distributor.
