Turbo Timers

[nightracer91]

Alright Guys and Gals, I was wanting some information on turbo timers. Are they really that necessary, or can you get away without them?

 

[kenamond]

Alright Guys and Gals, I was wanting some information on turbo timers. Are they really that necessary, or can you get away without them?

There are two schools of thought on this. One says yes, and the other says no.

When my T25 died at 78k miles, I tore it down and found a fair amount of coking on the shaft and hot side seal. That told me that you should do three things: 1) let your turbo cool before you shut down 2) change your oil every 2k miles and 3) use a good synthetic.

A turbo timer helps with (1). The oil gets very black by 3k miles, so it should be changed more frequently (Corky Bell says the same thing in "Maximum Boost"). And a good synthetic oil's thremal breakdown temperature is much higher than dino oil, so it cokes at a higher temperature.

I let my turbo cool while I sit there (manual turbo timer ), and I don't let it cool if I haven't been hard on it for a minute or so before I stopped, but I'd like to just stop, get out, walk away and not coke up my turbo.

Others will probably respond saying that wet turbos (coolant is fed through the cartridge) don't need to cool down, but the coking on my wet T25 turbo says that's not true. Most will agree that a dry turbo (no coolant supply) definitely needs to cool down.

There ya go.

 

[JayRolla]

My opinion is if the turbo is fed with coolent you dont have to let it cool, unless you are running it real hard before you stop. Dont boost then shut if off right away. I think it was defiant that said that after you shut the car off the coolent still flows through the turbo due to pressure allowing it to cool. But it is a safety precation because ive seen my fair share of turbo upgrades and a lot of people seem to pinch the coolent lines trying to rebend them to fit the new turbo.

 

[flyinghighlm]

I don't think you sum it up any better ^^^^^^ its just up to you. I don't have one yet so I get to sit in my car and wait but it sure is nicer to get out of the car and go do what you want......Turbo timers are more preventative measures and you can get by but again its convieniant thing to have.