Wednesday, Feb 03, 2010 at 15:14
Lucas,
Like some of the others here, I can only give general advice as we don't get this variant in Australia with the 1HZ.
It would be helpful to know what you want to do with the car, ie towing duties, anticipated load weights and the type of terrain that you might want to traverse as these things definately infulence whether this car may be suitable for your needs.
With reference to the 1HZ, it is a great motor in my humble opinion and given your requirement of going for 500,000km without trouble, it will do it failrly easily, provided that you keep clean oil and
fuel up to it and use good quality oil and
fuel filters. That being said, this engine is no powerhouse. It will comfortably cruise on 100kph on the flat, may lose some speed going up reasonable inclines, but is at home crawling around the bush in low gears. It has great engine braking and plety of torque for this purpose. If, however you just have to have 200kw and be able to overtake a Porsche on the freeway with a 3 ton caravan, I would look elsewhere. The 1 HZ can be fitted with an after market turbo charger but this WILL reduce the longevity of the engine (though it may
well still do 300,000km if done properly and looked after impecibly). I have chosen NOT to go down this path due to the high cost of turbocharging (including intercooling,
fuel system overhaul, boost compensator, exhaust etc...). For the money this costs, I could do an engine swap to something that would ultimately be more reliable and more powerful anyway.
In relation to the gearbox, I'm not too sure exactly what is in the HZJ76, but I would assume it to be the R151 box which is somewhat lighter in construction than the H151 fitted to the V8 turbos and petrol series. It is however a nicer box to live with, shifts nicely once you find the right grade and brand of oil and will last a long time if treated
well. Again if you are to tow heavy loads, this will place more strain on the box and may reduce it's longevity.
Personally, I lust for just a little more power than the 1HZ provides, given I tow a camper or tour with quite heavy loads, but it still gets there in the end and I feel I have the reliability to compensate for the lack of power.
Good luck with your decision.
Cheers,
Mark
AnswerID:
402454
Follow Up By: bikemaniac - Thursday, Feb 04, 2010 at 10:18
Thursday, Feb 04, 2010 at 10:18
Mainly I will not use it for towing and offroading but just as a normal vehicle. I do not do many kms every year but I just want to feel confident in the car knowing that everything can be fixed by myself. Some would say it is overkill, but this is how I want it :-)
Lucas
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672058