I was just reading a thread on useless mods. People were mostly saying the AF gauge and turbo timer was a waste. Why the turbo timer? I thought that it was a good reliable mod...

 

I dont think the turbo timer is a waste personally, but If you know what your doing you dont need one.

 

I like it. Even though our turbos are good enough we don't really need one, it's still nice to be able to let the car cool down for a few minutes regardless. Some of them come with some cool perks as well so they aren't too bad.

 

For the most part, it has been discussed (to death) that water cooled turbos won't benefit from long shut down cycles, as the oil will only coke on really hot turbos which hopefully the close proximity water jackets reduces or even eliminates. That said, it should also be mentioned that ideling the car with no monitoring of the temps can and has led to overheating if the fans fail to come on. Besides, why run the temps up and down between 221 and 190F a bunch of times if you don't need to?

Basically, if you just drive gently the last three minutes or so, that can help. What REALLY makes a nice cool down is to run it around 3-5 minutes with the fans on. I've taken bright red turbo housings to no visible glow at all with this method. Fan mod rules all!

If there's a way to turn the fans off when the timer shuts off the engine (or even runs the fans an extra minute or so to allow a little extra cooling), then it would make much more sense to run one to reduce heat soak from the really F***ing hot manifold the pours its heat into the engine block, laying waste to the poor little rubber O-rings. But to reduce oil coking in the bearing feeds, the timer isn't doing much...

 

I only use mine to warm up the car..

 

I don't set mine for a ridiculous time. 30 seconds to a minute should be more than enough. And it does make me feel better when I'm letting my car warm up and eating Lucky Charms inside that it doesn't have any keys in it. I think it's worth the cash.

 

You start it, let it run, shut off, the go back out and start it again??? Or do you use it so you can run it, lock the doors with the keys in your hand and not worry about it getting stolen...cause I did it that way too actually. LOL

 

Do you ever wonder why the more experienced owners don't buy turbo timers? It's because they have learned that they are a joke, and are a waste of time, space, and money.

I challenge anyone to find a member on this forum, who has significant years racing experience, that has a turbo timer. They are gimmicks for kids that don't know any better.

 

I've got a TT with the miata thermoswitch and fan mod. Working together they do just that. ^^ It has been debated alot, but I think it's worth it.

 

And exactly what difference would racing experience make? Explain please. Most cars are rarely, if ever tracked.

 

Someone with a great deal of rotary racing experience will have a much better understanding of what is necessary on a car, and what is not ...... what is usefull, and what is not ........ what is helpfull, and what is not ....... what is a toy for kids to play with, and what is not.

My challenge stands

 

And my question still stands. What does "racing experience" have to do with whether or not a TT is worthwhile? If I had a track car, I wouldn't have a need for a TT, but for a street driven car, I sure like mine.
Kinda like an airbox mod. Works great for a street driven car, but I suspect no "experienced racer" uses them. Or maybe not.

 

I'd agree. It doesn't take much common sense to lay off the boost 30 seconds before you reach your destination, which esentially does the same thing for free.

 

Racing experience is not limited to track cars. Many people, including myself, have many years of autocross racing, or 1/4 mile racing with their "daily driver" cars. Many of these experienced racers design their own mods for their cars, which includes intakes.

I would be very surprised if you are able to find someone like this who uses a turbo timer. Quite simply, they know better .......... as I expect you will someday .......... but not today

 

I totally agree with Adam C. I've owned plenty of different turbo cars, and never found a need for a turbo timer. They're just a worthless gimmick...

Edit: FYI, I do quite a bit of track racing, but firmly believe that timers are completely worthless for street cars as well. They serve no purpose

 

You aren't talking about yourself are you