Tuning Guide
We show you how to transform the performance of your Land Rover
We show you how to transform the performance of your Land Rover with the help of under-bonnet modifications, suspension and braking upgrades and different tyres
LAND ROVERS are like our children and pets: we love them but we know they’re not perfect. That’s why we like to personalise them. For many of us that means fitting seat covers, a roof rack or winch. But some like to dabble in the black art of tuning.
Only it isn’t really a black art, of course. It just sounds like that to those of us who’d rather get out the toolbox and add some more chequer plating. Most of us would like a bit more power from our Land Rovers, but believe that getting it is expensive, complicated – or both.
But you can transform your Land Rover’s performance without breaking the bank. And you can also do much of the work yourself.
I love tuning. To me, a standard Land Rover is just a blank canvas. That’s where tuning comes in. The secret to any tune is getting things in balance. If you have lots of power and rubbish brakes you will end up driving into a news headline.
The best cars have a beautiful combination of power, handling, braking, and comfort. With Land Rovers there is much you can do to make them just right for you.
ANY POWER upgrade starts in the engine bay, so let’s lift the bonnet to see what’s there – and how we can improve it.
Tdi diesels
Tuning options for the early Land Rover engines are fairly limited. You can spend a lot of money on an original 2.25-litre engine and only get a modest improvement in output. You’ll be better off swapping the engine for a more modern unit, like a Tdi.
The 200Tdi and 300Tdi engines fitted to Discoverys, Defenders and Range Rovers in the 1990s can be tuned up with simple mechanical pump modifications, plus a little bit of extra boost from the intake and exhaust system. I’m talking about a pleasantly-tuned vehicle, not silly horsepower but enough to pull itself out of mud and up steep banks without bogging down. You’ll need a boost gauge – we’re aiming to get near one bar of boost but no more, and ideally we’d have an exhaust gas temperature gauge and ensure it doesn’t go over 730 deg C.
Start the tuning process by shortening the boost capsule rod. Remove one end and rotate the outer part about four turns, then screw in the main fuel adjustment at the back of the fuel injection pump one turn. Now the engine will idle very high, so turn the idle speed adjuster to bring the idle speed back down. Finally undo the four screws on the square boost capsule on top of the pump and carefully turn the rod on the diaphragm 90 to 120 degrees, which will improve the way the power picks up when you put your foot down.
Every fuel pump, turbo and engine is different, so you may have to experiment to get it spot on. You should end up with a much more responsive engine, but you should not get loads of black smoke. If there’s excessive smoke you need to ease off on the adjustments until it’s gone.
The 300Tdi was also available in electronic diesel control EDC form, which can be tuned by changing the software in the ECU, this needs specialist equipment but most tuning shops will be able to do this for about £350.
The standard intercooler is okay for mild tunes but if you want significant improvements then you’ll need a bigger one from companies such as Allisport. Remember the key is to keep plenty of cool air flowing over it, so make sure it doesn’t get caked in mud.
Removing the centre silencer and replacing it with a straight-through pipe is a popular mod, which makes a small difference to performance. The exhaust sound is louder but not unpleasant.
Outputs of up to around 180 bhp are feasible, but 150 bhp is more realistic and will give you a good, reasonably economical, strong-pulling engine that will last a long time. Hybrid turbos are available which increases the spread of torque over the rev range and can make the car bit more pleasant to drive, but prices are north of £650 for good ones.
V8 petrol engines
The original 3.5 Rover V8 petrol engine was usually sold in a lower state of tune for Land Rovers – sometimes as low as 116 bhp, which was used with a very mild camshaft and lowcompression pistons that allowed the engine to run on poorquality fuel.
A relatively straightforward modification for the 3.5 cars is to fit the later 3.9 or 4.2 V8, but if you want to keep the 3.5 cam with a bit more lift and duration, a Piper 265 coupled with a free-flowing exhaust and intake could get outputs of up to 190 bhp.
The stock exhaust manifolds start to show their limitation for tunes above 160 bhp and a nice set of tubular headers will help.
Stock carburettors can be re-jetted for outputs in the 160 bhp range. For higher outputs a change of intake manifold and either a bigger carb or fuel injection is best.
With any of the distributor-equipped engines running on good quality modern fuel it may be possible to wing the ignition advance up a few degrees to liberate a bit more power and fuel economy.
The larger 4.0 and 4.6-litre Rover V8s benefit from having a camshaft with a bit more duration, such as a Piper 285,
“The Td5 was a brilliant engine and treated well can deliver high power”
which works well on a variety of tunes. Combine this with a some cylinder head work, a set of tubular exhaust manifolds and a free-flowing air intake system and you can have an engine that pulls strongly through a wide rev range and sounds gorgeous. A well-tuned 4.6 can make about 300 bhp with cam and head work.
Td5 diesel engines
The Td5 was a brilliant engine and treated well can deliver quite high power output with reliability and reasonable fuel economy. With a basic remap to increase the boost level and increase fuelling to suit you can expect figures of up to 180 bhp, matching the performance of a 3.9 V8 petrol (but with diesel economy). You can push it a bit further without any mechanical modifications to the engine but you will be producing black smoke and this may cause damaging buildup in the turbo and other engine components. The next stage would be a modified turbo to give more boost over a wider speed range matched to a bigger intercooler and a freeflowing exhaust system, which can give close to 200 bhp. Done well a full set of modifications on a Td5, including some head work, could yield up to 250 bhp and a very good spread of torque.
BMW petrol engines
The BMW 4.4 petrol V8 used in the Discovery 3 and L322 Range Rover was a fairly traditional design that needs to be well serviced if its to be reliable. An ECU tune could yield another 40 bhp, potentially with a good intake and exhaust. To go further needs a change of cam such as the M Sport
items to raise the power to around 300 bhp.
An ECU tune (aka chip tune) on any non-turbo engine can increase performance a little bit as long as the exhaust and intake are not restrictive, but unless you start getting into cam changes and serious engine modifications, and therefore expense, you will not make a dramatic difference.
A tune on a turbo or supercharged engine can increase boost. The more air you get into the engine the more fuel you can burn, and so these engines see the biggest improvements with a chip tune.
BMW diesel engines
The BMW 2.5 straight-six diesel fitted in P38 Range Rovers was of modest performance and improvements can be made which will make it feel a bit more nippy, but you won’t get big power figures out of it without spending a lot of money. It may be more prudent to fit the larger 3.0-litre unit that was fitted in the later L322. However, a good chip tune with more boost and a larger intercooler could release another 40 bhp.
K-series petrol engine
Freelander 1.8 K-series was another great engine design, let down by cooling system issues that can lead to head gasket failure. There is a later version of the thermostat system which is far more reliable.
The standard 1.8 can benefit from a chip tune, performance cams and a free-flow intake, potentially taking the output up to 145 bhp. To go further needs some head work which is where it starts to get expensive but this can yield outputs over 160 bhp. Fitting throttle bodies and trumpets from companies such as Jenvey, combined with cams and head work, can take the output to over 180 bhp.