looking into getting a turbo timer but there are a few brands out in the market and am uncertain on what to choose... any suggestions?

 

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/who-uses-turbo-timer-244047/

 

How about this for a recommendation: Don't buy one!!

They are a waste of time, space and money. They are stupid toys for little boys that don't know any better

 

Yeah I have one, but only because I got it for free. You don't really need one if you remember to just run your car normal for a minute. It's the exact same thing. I hear timers can cause over heating.

 

exactly

 

Yeah, I bought one 8 years ago because I didn't know any better(or know about this great forum to do reasearch on mods). I have found that I like being able let the car run while I pull the keys out of the ignition so that I can unlock the garage door...

 

how the hell would a turbo timer cause the car to over heat???? So your saying that if your car idles it will over heat, then there is something obviously wrong with your car. All a turbo timer does is idle your car to keep the coolant moving through the engine/turbos to cool it down to cause less damage over a long period of time due to heat soaked turbos.

My recomendation for a turbo timer is that if you are looking into getting one, buy one that tells you your volts, rpms, mph, 0-60 times and 1/8 mile and 1/4 mile times because all those things are great to know without having to go to a track and test it. I have an HKS turbo timer and it's great.

 

If you like waiting 2 minutes for your car to cool down then fine. Im lazy so turbo timer works great because I hate waiting.

 

my car came with a Greddy turbo timer and since i dont know how to use it i let the car cool myself! Its been 3 weeks cooling the car myself. havent even used the turbo timer once. Take mines if you want $50

 

People, please dont argue things you do not understand, our turbos are water cooled and therefore a turbo timer is not necessary at all, if you are running the car hard, make sure to give the car a "cool off drive" and i have heard people have had good results from just popping the hood while driving home.

 

Evidently, you don't know how the cooling system works on an FD. When the car sits at idle, no air goes thru the radiator. If no air goes thru the radiator, the coolant just gets hotter and hotter, until the fans come on.

So, sitting at idle makes the engine hotter. A turbo timer makes the car sit at idle longer than it needs to. Therefore, a turbo timer in an FD makes the engine hotter.

Nice recommendation

 

I'm in the "turbo timer is a waste of time and money" camp. It won't extend the life of any parts on your car, wastes gas, and is yet another ugly electronic gizmo inside the car. The only good reason I've heard for running one yet is that it allows you to keep the car idling while you go open the garage door.

-Max

 

yea, dont get it. i have one because it came with the car, but i wouldnt waste my money replacing it if it broke.

 

Yep

Ditto


-Rob

 

I got one but don't really ever use it to run the engine. I prefer to drive gentle to cool down before getting to where I'm going.

I do, however, use the turbo timer as a rather *expensive* fan mod to keep the fans running after shutdown. The beauty of that is u can set them to run for as long as u want. The problem is you have to wait for heat soak to trip the thermoswitch.

But perhaps the best feature of my turbo timer - if I start my car cold, and realise I've forgotten something inside the house, I can set the turbo timer, arm the alarm and lock the car. That way I dont have to run freaking out that someone might flog my car, and I dont have to turn it off straight after a cold start.

Because this only happens when the car is cold - the chances of overheating aren't great. And because I'm a forgetful freak - it's totally worth having a turbo timer for.

That said, I wouldnt buy one just for that reason. I kind of got sucked into it before I knew better........

 

Ok, I've read through the points allot of you made (doors unlock when it turns off) this guy is too lazy to setup the options on the car alarm so it won't do this) safety (if you park on an incline the car should be in gear? ? ? ?) our cars aren't like piston motors, I can put mine in first gear and it will roll with out much effort on level ground (use the friggin brake) if it's not holding you have a problem with the E-brake. These things come with lots of added features, I was going to add a volt meter, but would then have to get another gauge pod and find a place to mount it. The TT was just an easier choice as it gave me volt's and A/F not to mention rpm and I did away with my fan switch and use the TT for that (don't have to remember to turn the switch off after 12 to 15 seconds after shutting the car off) So there not a complete waste of money, add up the price of an A/F gauge, a volt meter, gauge pod, fan switch and room to put the extra gauges. With the features available whether you use it or not for a TT it has it's bennifits. Some of them have RPM with set points so it can even be used for a shift light................again this debate is like the oil issue, everyone has there own opinion on it. I like the take it easy after highway/hard runs method myself. So read and then make up your own mind about it. Jack

 

It all depends, I think. For those of us who live on a long steep hill, the turbos are ALWAYS running hard before reaching home.

I currently do not have a 7 but I think it's much the same principle. I hooked up my turbo timer, so that all of the fans turn on when the turbotimer runs, including the one on the oil cooler.

 

Well, it's not really opinion in this case. Turbo Timers are designed to allow the oil to cool to prevent coking. The stock twins are water cooled so this isn't an issue, thus making a Turbo Timer useless with them. If the owner has an aftermarket single turbo that isn't water cooled, then a Turbo Timer is a good idea.

 

Water cooling eliminates coking? That's the first I've heard of it. My understanding is watercooling helps reduce the likelihood of oil coking because of the lower temperatures through the turbo, and the quicker cooling, but does not eliminate it. Happen to have a reference?

 

Hit Google and use "water cooled turbos coking".

Here's a quick blerb about it:
http://www.sdsefi.com/techair.htm

"High pressure oil from engine feeds the bearing and is drained out the bottom of the housing back into the engine. Some housings are water cooled to prevent coking of oil deposits leading to bearing failure."

http://www.nissanperformancemag.com/november04/nerds/

"A major problem that old school turbos had was coking of the oil in the turbos center section. When a run-hard engine was suddenly turned off, the remaining oil in the turbos center section was heated to the carbonization point by heat soak. Because the turbocharger spins at such a high speed, it could also spin after the engine was shut off after a hard pull for several minutes. The turbo would spin during this time while red hot without any lubrication; this was not the greatest thing for the bearings. After many cycles of this sort of abuse, the coked oil would eventually block oil passages within the turbo causing bearing and shaft failure by lack of lubrication. This most common automotive failure mode has been eliminated with water-cooled center sections. On the aftermarket side of things, turbo timers allow the engine to idle after key removal so the rapidly spinning turbine can slow and the internal parts can cool down. This dramatically helps turbo life. Low ash synthetic oils also greatly improve the lifespan of turbos to equal that of the rest of the engine. Contrary to popular myth that synthetic oils are bad for a turbo, the excellent high temperature properties and superior film strength of good synthetic oils are great for a turbo."

 

wanna trade for one

 

Exactly, I wish people would read up a bit on this one before spending the bucks. Who uses oil cooled bearings in their turbos anyways these days, maybe GM or Ford, but real cars?

 

I like my Apex'i. Its good for warming the car while I eat a bagel. And it's small so it doesn't rice out the interior. And you can crank the eat with the key in the on position and let the timer keep the heat running.

 

i do like havin 1, the garage door thing, i like it because i usually have to move whatever cars in my driveway to get to the garage so its nice. honestly tho i wish i would have put the $ to something more useful...

 

What kind of temps are you seeing with your turbos? My turbos are watercooled (GT28R's), but are still past the limits of my IR thermometer (999 degrees F).