In the morning how long should i wait before i start driving the car? Also how long should i wait for letting my turbo cool down when shutting off the car, i have a turbo timer, right now its on 30 secs. Also sometimes i do very short trips do i still have to let the car cool down?

 

Well, I know a guy that has his set to 1 minute, but he has an FD. I'm not entirely sure what the rule is for turbo cars. You'll get better responses later on. P.S. - I'm losing sleep over car stuff. I think I'm all right, but I'm a little iffy.

 

I just let my car idle down for about 30 seconds...unless i'm not boosting at all. Then i just shut the bitch off.

 

You don't have to wait at all. You should just drive gently until thr engine warms up just like with any car. If you have time in the morning there's nothing wrong with letting it idle for a few minutes before leaving to reduce the time you have to wait, but it's not necessary.

Cars with water-cooled turbos don't need turbo timers unless you have zero self-control. All you have to do is drive the last mile or two gently and there'll be no need to leave it idling at all.

 

Here's my two cents:

I start driving immediately on cold startup and just go easy until it's warm.

I think it's a good habit to get into where you let the car idle for a bit before shutting down, but unless you were boosting moments before it's probably just a waste of petrol. What you are wanting to avoid is shutting off the turbo's oil supply while it's still spinning hard. Coke, it's not for turbo shafts.

 

Good point. Like a dufus I momentarily forgot our turbos are also water-cooled.

 

Why don't you get an EGT gauge and figure that out yourself?


-Ted

 

^^ +1

 

you don't need a turbo timer, but they're nice. I've seen a stock turbo turn bright orange and sometimes you're just in a hurry and don't have time to wait...

I think 30 seconds is fine.

 

I think turbo timers are a royal waste of money and a waste of fuel.
The EGT gauge will tell you when the exhaust "cools down" to a normal level.
Why are you arbitrarily waiting x seconds just to cool the turbo down?

Most times, if you drive gingerly the last 5 minutes before hitting your destination, the turbo is more than cooled down enough.
The EGT gauge would've told you that.

I think people think it's cool you can get out of the car and leave the engine running and have it miraculously turn off at a later time.


-Ted

 

So what? That only happens under sustained full load. If you shut down the engine immediately after that then you're an idiot, but why would you ever need to do that?

So learn to drive the car so you don't have to wait. This is not hard.

Sure it is, but it's also unnecessary. The turbo is cooled far more efficiently when the car is driving than when it's stationary and the engine is just idling.

Besides, if turbo timers were as useful as you think, how is it that turbos can easily manage to last 15+ years without one? If the car's never had one, what possible difference could it make now?

 

My rule of thumb is:

Warm up for at least 2 mins. Cool down for 1 pref 2. Drive soft for last mile or two. Drive under 3k for the first 5-10mins of start.

Should be fine then.

I think a Turbo timer is handy...but NZ makes a good point.

 

The warm up is easy to figure out when you have an oil temp gauge.