His enthusiasm and knowledge is unrivalled in the UK (or Libya and Morocco as well, BTW). We wish Julian and Overland Cruisers all the very best.  Read More…
Paul Blackburn
I was impressed by Julians knowledge, and the suggestions that he made . . . Highly Recommended.  Read More…
Ken Jordan
Discovering Julian and his knowledge of the Landcruiser is one of those "at last" moments when you finally discover an expert.  Read More…
Damien J. Hill
I highly recommend Julian for his knowledge, expertise and enthusiasm in relation to Land Cruisers  Read More…
Barbara Hawksley
I thoroughly recommend Julian as someone who is honest, brilliant at what he does and has your interests closest to his heart.  Read More…
David Gittelson
Julian is the acknowledged heart-surgeon of LandCruisers for good reason; what he doesn’t know is not worth knowing.  Read More…
Barrie Dunbar
We would recommend Julian to help with pre trip arrangements and servicing.  Read More…
Bob and Anne Finch
I would have no hesitation in recommending Julian to do work on your Landcruiser, I have always found him to be very knowledgeable and friendly.  Read More…
Chas Spencer
....the greatest resource you can have is a fully charged telephone and Julian Voelcker's phone number  Read More…
Daniel Dungate
I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending, without qualification, Julian and Overland Cruisers to anyone needing work done on their Land Cruiser.  Read More…
Peter Jacques
I recommend to anyone doing an overland trip in a Land Cruiser to spend some time in the Overland Cruisers workshop.  Read More…
Neil Lister
I drove from my home in Southern Spain up to their workshops in Hereford.....I can definitely say that it was worth the journey.  Read More…
Dave Heppell
I have no hesitation in recommending Julian, his knowledege and his workmanship.  Read More…
Graham Smith
I have no hesitation in recommending Julian and Overland Cruisers.  Read More…
Richard Kaad
With an unmatchable knowledge of Land Cruisers and continued support on the road we couldn’t recommend Overland Cruisers more.  Read More…
Martin McGowan
I am happy to say that I would thoroughly recommend Julian and his work to anyone, and would be happy to be contacted to verify this.  Read More…
Paul Mills
.........it was Julian's voice that came through on the forums offering excellent advice.  Read More…
Graham Naismith
Julian is a master of Landcruisers. He took us from being a couple of novices into knowledgeable mechanics....  Read More…
Charlie & Nina
Julian's knowledge of cruisers is second to none, and I thoroughly recommend him.  Read More…
Andrew Wightman
A true specialist, I would not hesitate to recommend his services to any Landcruiser owner.  Read More…
Colin Moore
‘Overland Cruisers’ are the ONLY company that we would use for work on our client’s Landcruisers.  Read More…
Matt Richards
I have no hesitation in recommending Julian and Overland Cruisers to all LC owners.  Read More…
Piers Finlayson
We'll be using Julian again and wouldn't hesitate to recommend him others.  Read More…
Paul Driver

Performance Tuning

Toyota Land Cruisers certainly aren't sports cars, however a lot can be done to them to improve the way they run improving the driving experience.

Depending on the model, we usually start by making an initial assessment of the way the vehicle runs in standard form and then can advise on the various improvements that can be made.

When you start to make improvements you need to bear in mind that whilst each change should provide an improvement on it's own, the most benefit will come from combining improvements - a better exhaust may provide a 3% improvement, but when combined with a fuel pump tweak may improve things by 8% and then throw in an intercooler you may end up with an overall improvement of 30%, e.t.c.

Power V's Economy

People are always asking if X or Y performance enhancement will improve economy, which is a tricky question to answer.  In order to get more power from an engine we need to improve the efficiency of it  In theory this will lead to improved fuel economy, however with more power under your right foot drivers tend to use it more, attempting more overtaking, powering up hills rather than pottering, e.t.c.

In most cases if you don't drive like a loony you should notice an improvement in economy, particularly with the big diesel engines.  If you sit down and do the sums you will never save enough to cover your costs, but at least the car will be a lot more fun to drive

Pump Tweaks

At a very basic level on the old 80 series, with the manual fuel pumps, a lot can be done to tweak the fuelling across the rev range providing more grunt lower down and across thee rev range.  The 24 valve 80 series was particularly prone to a dip in power low down in the rev range which we can easily dial out transforming the way it drives.

Pusher Pumps

As the fuel pumps get worn they can struggle to suck the fuel out of the tank fast enough at higher revs, particularly when going up hills.  We fit an electric pusher pump down by the fuel tank that can make a big difference  on some models and it is something we would recommend to be added when fitting an intercooler.

Intercoolers

One of the easiest ways to get more power out of the 80 series diesel engines is to fit an intercooler.  We have worked with all the leading brands of Intercooler available in Europe and Australia, but always come back to the Allisport kits that constantly provide excellent value and performance.

On average you can expect a 20-25% increase in power and torque by fitting an Intercooler and tweaking the pump with more being achieved through additional work to the exhaust and turbo.

In addition to fitting intercoolers to the 80 series, Allisport also provide a range of larger replacement intercoolers to go onto other models like the 100 series, combined with a tuning chip these can provides a reasonable boost in output.

Performance Chips

For the Land Cruisers with electronically controlled fuel pumps the simplest way to improve the performance is to fit a performance chip that will remap the fuelling through the injection pump.  We generally provide the well proven Stienbauer chips, but have worked with most other models in the past including some rather interesting fake chips!

Turbos

We work with a firm that will recondition your turbo for you and fit bigger impellers at the same time feeding more air into the engine.  We can also supply bigger turbos for most models and even complete turbo kits for some of the non turbo models.

Exhausts

One of the main restrictions on the big diesel Land Cruisers is the exhaust systems that in most cases have been over silenced.  We are able to provide a number of changes from cutting out one of the main exhaust boxes in order to reduce back pressure helping low down power and torque through to providing complete replacement exhaust systems.

For the petrols we can also supply performance tuned headers that provide improved air flow.

Drivetrain Mods

Once you have tweaked the power output from your engine it is well worth giving a thought too your drive train.  For manuals we are able to provide competition and heavy duty clutches to handle the increased power and then for the Autos we provide upgraded torque convertors and valve bodies as well as oil coolers to keep the heat down.

It is also worth making sure that the suspension and braking system are in a good condition and if you can afford it upgrade these as well.

Disclaimer

It is worth noting that one of the key things before doing extensive tuning is to ensure the engine is in good health before we start - if we have any doubt we will recommend that remedial work is carried out in order to resolve the issues.

Many people ask how the tweaks will effect emissions - as long as we are doing our job properly the car should remain within the recommended emissions levels.

Finally, if you are considering tweaking up the performance on your Land Cruiser, don't forget that talk to your insurance company - they may not be happy with the changes!