SAC have been at the forefront of reliable vehicle performance enhancing technology for over 20 years in South Africa. And they have quickly identified that the new Actyon Sports? biggest asset is also one of its biggest downfalls.
In standard form the 2,0 litre turbo diesel powerplant produces a very healthy 104 kW at 4 000 r/min and a chunky 310 Nm at 2 400 r/min. But when you add this highish torque peak to the hefty, almost 2-ton vehicle, that turbo lag we all dread on the Reef becomes a very real factor.
The technical aspects of this problem in terms of turbo size and vehicle weight are not the only ones to blame here. At Gauteng's high altitude, the air is thin and not as oxygen laden as it is at the coast, and this plays a big part in not allowing the turbo to spool up as quickly as you would want. So moving to the coast is certainly an option, but being unable to enjoy the full potential of your Actyon Sports, is not an option.
Back to SAC, they offer a very cost effective R 3750 chip tuning upgrade that will put a smile on your face through almost any designated rpm range you choose to run through with your vehicle. As can be seen by the flexibility figures listed below, this upgrade goes quite someway to helping with the immediate problem of turbo lag as can be seen by the almost unrealistic '40-80 km/h in 5th Gear Test' that shows gains of almost 3 seconds, which is huge in real world terms on the open road.
The 2nd biggest plus with this upgrade is in that in the very realistic 80-120 km/h in 5th gear test the vehicle also improves substantially. Add to this the fact that you have power and more importantly, torque, improvements across the range with a far better spread than standard. This in turn makes for a smoother feeling daily drive experience that we all look for in our vehicles.
Acceleration runs were done in 4x4 High mode and they too showed impressive improvements. This vehicle will certainly be better off-road and / or when towing or hauling a load across our country. Almost as the cherry on the cake so to speak, should the vehicle be driven at the same freeway speeds as when standard, it will use less diesel as a result of having to use less throttle opening to achieve the desired speed.
So does this upgrade completely address the issue of turbo lag? No, there are factors at play here that can't be changed with tuning. But no doubt, that when you add a touch of SAC magic to the already impressive and exceptionally well equipped SsangYong Actyon Sports, you have now have a real outdoor vehicle that will be happy almost no matter what the road might throw at it.
Steves Auto Clinic branches are situated countrywide, so pay them a visit and tailor a package to suit your budget or take a whirlwind drive through their comprehensive website at www.steves.co.za or contact Steve Fischer at SAC Holdings on 016-981 1033 for further information.
Before and After Tests SAC SsangYong Actyon Sports
Sprint Times: Standard + SAC
0-60 km/h 5.63 secs - 5.47 secs
0-80 km/h 9.43 secs - 9.01 secs
0-100 km/h 14.63 secs - 13.92 secs
0-120 km/h 22.20 secs - 20.71 secs
Quarter mile 19.30 secs 18.77 secs
at 113.36 km/h at 116.41 km/h
1 km 36.25 secs 35.35 secs at 138.18 km/h at 141.52 km/h
Flexibility: Standard + SAC
40-80 km/h (4th) 9.56 secs - 8.92 secs
40-80 km/h (5th) 19.77 secs - 16.92 secs
60-100 km/h (4th) 9.48 secs - 8.89 secs
60-100 km/h (5th) 12.70 secs - 11.79 secs
80-120 km/h (4th) 12.63 secs - 11.75 secs
80-120 km/h (5th) 14.74 secs - 12.77 secs
Top speed standard 152.97 km/h at 4 100 r/min in 5th (165 km/h clock)
Top speed SAC 155.09 km/h at 4 200 r/min in 5th (169 km/h clock)
Issued by Mark Jones of Performance Motor Media. Please feel free to contact me directly on 082-553 9804 or markjones@performancemotormedia.co.za should you require any further information or higher resolution pictures.