Update On our oil & water cooled VNT

Many of you have probably seen our Td5 VNT dyno video making some very respectable numbers a late last year, well Josh (the owner) has covered just over 10,000 miles since the conversion as he uses this vehicle to commute to work and go off-roading (when were allowed out again) and is still extremely pleased with it.

Saying that every time he drives it he cannot help but smile! He just loves how quickly it can make boost and holding throughout the rev range giving big power and torque when it is needed instantly, showing the advantages of a VNT over a standard turbo.

When we initially installed the turbo and started refining the calibration before going to the dyno we noted how easy it can make boost and hold it throughout the entire rev range while still keeping EGT’s down meaning a nice clean burn and no thick black smoke out the back (this is still possible and as mentioned this is ultimately the customers decision providing it is within the safety limits of the vehicle, the modifications carried out and what we deem to be acceptable).

This has been reinforced by Josh installing his own EGT sensor/gauge after the VNT was fitted and doing some data logging in his spare time (these are his own personal findings). Some of his findings are below – Please note this Defender has an uprated V8 5th gear fitted to the gearbox and is running 33’s:
340*c @ 70mph motorway cruising
380*c @ 70mph accelerating up a long hill
480*c @ 90mph motorway cruising

As you can see these are extremely low temperatures bearing in mind that this is making 230bhp & 525nm with no visible smoke and dyno proven (Click here for the video).Remember that the dyno is only as good as the technician operating it and if not set up correctly it will show miss-leading and inaccurate figures.

In the video we mention that we are struggling to maintain a consistently high airflow and we found that the standard air box was too restrictive at this level of performance. Keep in mind this vehicle is running a fully sealed 3.0 inch snorkel system for when Josh needs to go swimming/wading in deep water on many of his overland trips. So we left it there for that session, but now Josh has fitted an considerably larger ITG air filter in a custom housing which should allow much better air flow. So it is due to come back for further tuning testing and refinement to see the additional performance gains.

In regards to the TD5 engine this engine is 20 years old now and it has to be said the TD5 can handle very rich AFR’s, (air fuel ratio), unlike some modern engines the TD5 is very forgiving in what you do with the fuelling. However with that being said not all customers enjoy plumes of black smoke from the exhaust of the vehicle.

So when we map your vehicle we ask what level of smoke you would like at partial and full throttle, this is true when coming directly to us or to one of our authorised agents.  Some customers do not mind having lots of smoke as it is a pure off-roader or weekend vehicle while others use their vehicle daily on the public road. You can find out more here > TD5 Ceramic Ball Bearing Oil & Water Cooled VNT

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Below is  the spec of Josh’s awesome Empire Tuned VNT Defender!

Engine –
Empire Ball Bearing Oil & Water cooled VNT
Bosch 4 Bar Map Sensor
MAF Delete
Larger Intercooler
Different Boost hoses
EGR Blank
CJM Manifold + Wurth extended studs with spacers
3.5″ Snorkel + 3.5″ pipe to airbox
Wrecker Fab Airbox with ITG Filter (3.5″ Inlet 3″ exit)
3″ pipe airbox to turbo
3″ wrapped downpipe
3″ Side Exit

Gauges –
Stack Pro Control water gauge
Stack boost gauge
Fourby EGT gauge

Drive line –
Xcess 4×4 Ultra build pegged ATB front/rear diffs
Ashcroft HD R380 + Higher 5th
Synco Gearboxes LT230 DURAspec 1.3 ratio
LOF Extremespec VNT SMF (7,000 miles, previous LOF Powerspec, DMF exploded)
Bailey Morris HD Wide Angle rear prop
Gywn lewis wide angle A Frame
Gywn lewis cranked rear arms
LOF 16″ Big Front Brakes
Koni HT Raid Adjustable +2″ Dampers
OME +2″ Springs
Front ARB
Syncro Slickshift