What is a turbo timer?

[Canty]

I have a honda buddy who just turboed his car. He was talking about a turbo timer. What is that and do we have one or need one?
Matt

[clocktowersnipr]

unnecessary. It allows the car to idle after you turn it off so the turbo can cool down.

[Canty]

Clocktowersnipr...it is nice to finally meet you. You dont know me but we both know Chad. He talks about your car alot to me. Anyway, thanks for the info.
Matt

[tryingbe]

turbo timer is useless to me.

I want to leave my car in gear when I park it.

[xrattiracer]

its a ricer item. if it actually did anything to save turbo life, car manufacturers would have included such a feature from the factory (it would be a cheap way to reduce warranty work if it were true).

[altered7151]

How can you say it doesn't help prolong turbo life? Do you think that oil coking in turbos doesn't exist? So you dont let your car idle down after hard driving? Just because 99% of the TD population is too cheap to buy one doesn't mean it doesn't work. In fact I think they work well. To answer your question Canty, a turbo timer wires into your ignition system, and can either be set for a certain amount of time or can create a counter based on your driving time. Once you park, you set your parking brake, turn off the ignition and remove the key. The timer will continue to run the motor for either the pre-set time or the counter based time. That way you dont have to sit in your car and let it idle to cool down. You can simply get out of the car and go about your business. The timer will automatically shut the motor down, and if anyone tries to release the parking brake while it is running, the motor will automatically shut down and not restart without the key in the ignition. It is a fact that hot shut downs on turbos will drastically reduce their lifespan. There are plenty of things that help save motor life that aren't included in new cars, synthetic oil & K & N style airfilters come to mind.

[jdawg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xrattiracer its a ricer item. if it actually did anything to save turbo life, car manufacturers would have included such a feature from the factory (it would be a cheap way to reduce warranty work if it were true).

you are kinda incorrect, newer Volkswagons have a small oil pump that runs for a few minutes after the cars is shut off to circulate oil

[88jbody]

^^ I plan to eventually get one, but for now I let it idle before I shut it off

[darkredturbo]

I have an APEXi Auto Timer that I switched over from my WRX. Sure, it may not always be needed, but it gives me piece of mince, and on cold days, I can start the van, turn the timer to 10 minutes (highest possible), and go back inside. The timer I have has a lead to the o2 sensor that allows it to "calculate" the amount of time it should stay on after you remove the keys. Who knows how acurate that is, but interesting none the less.

Ian

P.S. You can get one used for about $50, and that doesn't seem like too much to me since I spent over $1200 on my turbo. Easy to install too.

[shelbypowered]

You don't really need a turbo timer. If you've been flooring your car around the block before parking its definetly a good idea to idle the car for a few minutes. However if you have a turbo vehicule you should also be using synthetic oil which will prevent any coking.
Conclusion: Don't be lazy and idle the car a minute after hard driving and invest the money into something better.

Conrad

[xrattiracer]

actually thats correct, i dont ever do a cooldown cycle, and i live right by a freeway (makes for a glowing turbo every time). and i dont use water cooling on the turbo.
but i do always use sythetic oils, that makes a bigger difference than anything else.
If the turbo survived for nearly 20 years being fed regular dyno oil and driven by an average joe (who also doesnt do a cooldown), I am not at all worried about my turbo failing before the car turns into a pile of rust.
if you get one for free and like flashy stuff, then go for it. but otherwise thats a pretty good chunk of change that can be better spent elsewhere.

[Timmay2]

I doubt anyone that bought a TD originally thats had it go, say 100,000 miles, without a turbo failure, ever let there car "cooldown" before shutting it off.

Realistically, it helps. How much, and is it worth doing so, depends on you. I personally dont "cooldown" either my truck or my car. Turbo diesel or turbo gasoline, the manufacturers know people arent going to let them cooldown, and they are designed to take it.

And so what if the turbo only lasts 120,000 miles instead of the 200,000 if you let it properly cool down. 120,000 miles is plenty time to upgrade the turbo or get a new electric vehicle by that time.

[tkelly27]

gotta wonder how much gas you are gonna waste letting it chill out there. I think with the water cooled housings a turbo timer is kind of a moot point. They don't really get as hot as just oil cooled.

[PUNKslip]

I thought these timers just had a seperate oil pump that continued after you shut the ignition off, and had a timer on it. I didn't now they left your car running. I'm kind of old school, but, I don't want to leave my car running at all after I get out of it, even for a moment. I would purchase the the type I mentioned, not the kind that lets idiots ponder stealing my car.

John

[mitsubishiPOWER]

i run a remote start on my car. i can set it to 5, 10, 15 minutes run time. bought it from walmart for 45$ simple install. just remember to leave it in neutral when you park (M/T).

comes in very handy on the cold mornings and hot afternoons for warm-ups.