OK more complete report, now I am at work I have more time to myself
Calculated fuel economy for the trip was an average of 10.5lt/100km, this seems pretty reasonable considering I have the larger tyres fitted now added to the fact I wasn't being gentle in my "research" to test the improvements made.
I would describe the power and torque as insistent rather than urgent, there is great walls of torque behind you, and it feels like it would take a lot of load to slow it. Kinda like body surfing, once the wave of torque is behind you it just keeps pushing and pushing. I was able to start at the bottom of Mooney Mooney Bridge at 100km/h and accelerate up the hill to 130km/h+ easily and stayed in 5th gear all the way.
Also had the chance to do some off road hill climbing on the weekend. 4lo, 2nd gear, no throttle and she just walked up a very rocky incline like it wasnt there (except for the kids being thrown around in the back!)
I cant wait to hitch up a big load on a trailer and see what it does, cause I have a feeling that it will be damned impressive. Its great to see and feel such usable levels of torque, and there is a noticeable improvement in power too, but its not like being shot out of a cannon or anything.
Most impressive by far, is how well behaved the engine is. No nasty diesel rattle, no surging, no black smoke. She runs quiet, smooth and responsive, dare I say it, like a petrol engine!
There are some improvements I would like to see. You do need to hunt for the right rev range to get into the juicy torque curve, and the seat of the pants feel is telling me there is more room for improvement with power to match the increase in torque.
For me, the test of the upgrade was letting Mrs Sapient drive the car. She knew nothing of the work done, and took the Triton to the shops. On her return she had noticed no change. "Nothing?" I quizzed. "It needs a bloody wash!" she retorted. Its our 10 year anniversary in 3 months, god love her!
This got me to thinking, what does 20% feel like? I expected a 20-30% increase, and probably got it, but Mrs Sap couldn't feel the extra 20%, and to be honest my first impression was, this aint 20%! But it probably is, especially in torque, the dyno will prove it I am sure. But I can tell you, I will be looking for more power before I am done on the dyno. Which, by the way, is the next step. A step which is unlikely to happen until the new year, so until then......stay tuned.
