Throughout the 4wd world nearly everybody has heard of Berrima Diesel located 130km south of Sydney in the southern highlands. These guys know their stuff so I thought it was time to take my old 80 series down for a tune while we were in the area since I previously had the motor rebuilt just before heading off around Australia. Take a step back to where it all begin with Reinhard Leimroth completing his apprenticeship with Bosch back in 1956. Soon after he was sent to Australia to troubleshoot and was soon working on ships, massive trucks and then ran a large workshop in western Sydney. His son Andrew has followed in Reinhard’s footsteps and now Andrew’s son Trent is learning the ropes. From the moment you arrive you are made to feel quite welcome but its the fact that they listen to you and what your concerns or problems are that make them stand out.
Now since my 80 is nearly 30 years old ( old school diesel pump with no computers to worry about with the 1HDT engine ) I knew it would be down on power even after the engine rebuild. The first step was a on the road test run, then back to the dyno for some trouble shooting. After several runs on the dyno Andrew is happy to let you know what he found, how he will fix it and why he is doing it. This explanation to me ( or to the customer ) on how they are safely tuning your diesel engine makes you feel quite comfortable with the results achieved. The 80 was booked in for a basic tune so there were several road tests, back on the dyno and some fine tuning. Even if you're like me and don’t understand the inner deep secrets on diesel engines the boys take their time and explain everything from AFR ( air fuel ratios ), turbo boost, exhaust size, over fuelling and across the board to fuel filter micron size. The explanations carry on to when you get the dyno results, Andrew was more than happy to explain even the outcome and where the gains were found.
I have done 50,000 km since the engine rebuild so was hoping that the motor was run in and time for the tune and realistically I was expecting some minor adjustments for only a few more kilowatts. The basic tune takes half a day but the difference is bloody amazing. Andrew found gains in a full 10kw, found that the turbo boost was down 3psi and the AFR ( air fuel ratio ) was out. So now after the tune the 80 comes on boost sooner at 1800rpm, gears are holding longer and generally gets on the power band sooner and stays there. But the torque has increased immensely and that makes all the difference in towing with a diesel. What this means is that the fuel pump, injectors and the turbo are all working in sync, which in theory is more efficient where I can save fuel and its better for the environment with less gasses going out the back.
The team at Berrima diesel are fanatical about diesel and are known across the country. In fact they were telling me that customers do come from all over Australia leave their car at the workshop for the day so Berrima diesel can fix problems others cant. From basic old school diesel engines right through to CRD and D4D engines on 4wds, motor homes, trucks and cars these guys know diesel. To say I’m impressed is an understatement where towing feels a tad easier with the power coming on sooner and staying there.
