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Whirly90



Member Since: 01 Sep 2016
Location: Ampshire
Posts: 398

England 1993 Defender 90 300 Tdi HT Keswick Green
Tdi performance mods
I'm in the early stages of rebuilding my 90 300 Tdi. The galvanised chassis arrived last week so at the weekend i started prepping the 90 for the strip down. I removed the roof tent, winch, bumper, towing gear, spare wheel, swingaway wheel carrier and bumperettes. I've done a rough calculation and i reckon i've removed 200kg - 250Kg and the difference is noticeable. The 90 has more get-up-and-go and goes round corners much better without my house on the roof. It's a nice improvement but unfortunately all the weight and wind resistance has to go back on after the rebuild Big Cry
Post #893271 22nd Mar 2021 8:06pm
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Procta



Member Since: 03 Dec 2016
Location: Sunderland
Posts: 4908

United Kingdom 
you could look at going to a good proper diesel tuner to give it a tune up. Once its all back together, Thumbs Up Defender TD5 90 ---/--- Peugeot 306 HDI hatch back

Success is 90% Inspiration and 4 minutes Preparation # you can make it!
Post #895249 1st Apr 2021 1:24am
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Jon w



Member Since: 22 Dec 2015
Location: North East Wales
Posts: 186

Wales 1991 Defender 90 200 Tdi HT Epsom Green
Weighed mine the other day and it was 2.1Ton, they are supposed to be 1750-1800kg out the factory
Post #896078 5th Apr 2021 8:45pm
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shropshiredefender



Member Since: 05 Jun 2017
Location: Shropshire
Posts: 832

England 2011 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 USW Santorini Black
Re: Tdi performance mods
Whirly90 wrote:
I'm in the early stages of rebuilding my 90 300 Tdi. The galvanised chassis arrived last week so at the weekend i started prepping the 90 for the strip down. I removed the roof tent, winch, bumper, towing gear, spare wheel, swingaway wheel carrier and bumperettes. I've done a rough calculation and i reckon i've removed 200kg - 250Kg and the difference is noticeable. The 90 has more get-up-and-go and goes round corners much better without my house on the roof. It's a nice improvement but unfortunately all the weight and wind resistance has to go back on after the rebuild Big Cry


When I had a 300tdi 110 rebuilt I had a full width intercooler, center silencer eliminator pipe and a properly ported and gas flowed head fitted, these all helped performance.

Then I had Gwen Lewis "optimise" the fuel pump. The difference was night and day, it went much better, smoother and more powerful, torque was well up and the additional H.P. meant that it easily kept up with traffic and pulled like a train!

If I had a 300tdi now I'd install new injectors, get a quality reconditioned/new injector pump and have it "optimised" by a proper professional tuner.
Thumbs Up Just because you're offended doesn't mean you're right.
Post #896193 6th Apr 2021 12:20pm
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donmacn



Member Since: 06 Nov 2017
Location: Nth Scotland
Posts: 1829

Kind of like the above. I recently had my engine rebuilt by Turners and went for the option of a gas-flowed head. I'd had success elsewhere with this many moons ago. The engine was probably fine, but at 230k I didn't want to start adding any performance mods onto it unless I could be a bit more confident the engine would take it and remain reliable.

In no particular order I also did/added:
VNT from Bell;
Full width intercooler from Allard;
Donaldson air filter to help it breathe a bit better;
Full bore Griffin s/s exhaust;
The injectors had been renewed about a couple of years ago, so probably just 'breaking in'

Finally I had the fuel pump tweaked by Electro-diesel in Exeter. I know Clayton / L110CDL had issues with his, but I've been really happy with that.

My pump was apparently 15% down on standard when they first checked it, so they brought it back to stock and then did whatever tweaks they use.

As a package, I've been just delighted. It is so much more driveable. I'm still happy to pootle along at 55-60mph but it's easier to keep it there, rather than lugging out of corners.

I have an EGT fitted where the EGR valve would normally go. The alarm is set to 630', and I can pass that if I'm not paying attention - accelerating too hard, or up a hill. "Normally" it runs anywhere within the 300 - 500 zone. I also believe that the EG temps can drop significantly even in the few centimetres between my temp probe and the turbo blades, so I'm reasonably confident I'm running it in a sympathetic envelope.

Next thing I'd like to consider is a further improvement on the air intake side/size. I understand IRB are working on a couple of options, one of which will preserve the stock locations.

As I often say, Im no kind of expert, but by looking carefully at various threads over the years I came up with the list above as a sensible and useable combo. Donald

1994 Defender 300Tdi 110 SW - owned since 2002 - 230k miles and going strong
(The 'rolling restoration' or tinkering thread: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic58538.html )
2000 Range Rover P38 4.0L V8

in the past..
RR classic - fitted with 200Tdi
1984 RR classic - V8 with ZF auto box
1993 Discovery 300Tdi

not to mention the minis and the Type 2 VW camper...
Post #896240 6th Apr 2021 4:15pm
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Whirly90



Member Since: 01 Sep 2016
Location: Ampshire
Posts: 398

England 1993 Defender 90 300 Tdi HT Keswick Green
I'm happy with the performance of the 90 now, it goes as well as you'd expect a 300tdi to. The engine only has 60,000 miles on it so i'm expecting it to be in good condition. I'll wait until it's rebuilt and all the weight is bolted back on and then consider a few minor tweeks. I'm not looking for sports car performance, i'm quite happy for it to drive like a Defender + a little bit for good measure.
Post #896282 6th Apr 2021 6:09pm
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shropshiredefender



Member Since: 05 Jun 2017
Location: Shropshire
Posts: 832

England 2011 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 USW Santorini Black
Given what you've just posted injector pump optimisation alone would give the most bang for your buck. Just because you're offended doesn't mean you're right.
Post #896309 6th Apr 2021 7:45pm
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PAT303



Member Since: 25 Feb 2013
Location: Australia
Posts: 123

Australia 1998 Defender 110 300 Tdi SW Alpine White
I've put a 3'' exhaust on mine plus have a hybrid turbo, Airtech intercooler silicon hoses, boost pin and boost ring and Ashcroft ATB sitting in box's ready to fit, after that a dyno tune to get it all running nice, that should improve things
Post #902273 9th May 2021 10:06pm
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