Turbo Timers

[morgsj50]

how long should one set ones minimum turbo timer time for?? say that 10 times real quick....

[someonestolecc]

search.

- you should drive your car slower toward the end of the drive so you dont need a turbo timer. If you need it to get you over the line I'd do 30 seconds min. 5 mins if you've been on the track.

[morgsj50]

cheers, i've got it set on auto with the minimum set at 40 secs

[Tangles]

What do you fellas with Turbo Timers do when you're at a petrol station, refilling?

ie, with the turbo timer on, and the car running......

Im not that comfortable with the idea, and switched mine off. I would have thought it'd be very dangerous to be filling up your petrol tank with the car still running.

[Sydneykid]

Turbo timers = waste of oxygen (ie; rice)

Turbo timers = good place for a thief to get access to your ignition system

Turbo timers = nothing for your gearbox, diff or brakes

Throw it in the bin and cool the whole car down properly.

cheers

[Tangles]

Good points (dont know about the 'rice' factor tho - each to their own!)

Plus add-in the fact they are illegal in SA (unless your vehicle weighs over 5T I think).

Mine was disconnected after the first week - I was embarrassed to fill up with the car still running (weird & dangerous), and couldnt stand listening to my car run for 5mins after Id gotten home, changed, had a bourbon & smoke, and then sat down to watch the news (with the damn car still running!@)

[Turbz_13]

i have an old hks 1 that came in my car that ya can turn off or use pre-set times(30secs, 1 min, 3 mins or 5 mins)...i dont use it! if i have been boosting i will just drive my car around slow and softly for a lil bit or sit in it and let it idol for a lil bit then turn it off.

hey any1 kno where bout in SA(adelaide) i can get it taken out? im from victor harbor and i dont think there is any1 that can do it down here. and i havwnt heard of anywhere where i can get it taken out...oh that is for my "exemption from compliance"

cheers

[midnight]

for everyday driving just dont drive on boost for the last few minutes of your journey.

I only use my timer after Ive been pounding it round the track...

[RBFIRE]

i dun usualy trash my car, so most of the time it is off, but when i drive it hard, i leave it on for 4o sec - 1min

petrol station: dun drive hard b4 u go fill petrol. simple.

[EvilINGT]

My turbo timers built into the alarm (autowatch) so i can remotely turn it off. I rarely use the turbo timer though, switching off at the same time as the car. Its good as there are no controls for anyone to touch or wiring to follow directly. Not too sure how good autowatch are though. Its set a minimum of 90 secs, but probably only let it run that much after ive done long drives.

cheers

Evil

[JimX]

If the turbo isn't on boost then it's not much hotter if at all than if it was just idling. In fact my motorcycle starts to heat up when stationary/idling, and cools down again at low rev cruising, so if you are driving home off boost, start your "turbo time" from the last time you put your foot down and it'll probably cool down quicker than going from foot-to-floor straight to idling in your garage. And like SK says, think of the extra bits of your car that need cooling off like brakes.

I have the added benefit of having to manually lift my garage door. I leave it idling while doing this so by the time I've parked the car it's done plenty of cooling down and I then just switch the engine off. The car came with a timer but I never use it. If I knew where it was I'd remove it.

Edited March 7, 2006 by JimX

[MacGuyver]

I don't know about other turbo timers, but I have an Apexi one (the slim style) that lets you turn it off if you don't feel like waiting for it to run down. I've never put petrol anywhere near my car with the engine running!

[scathing]

Good points (dont know about the 'rice' factor tho - each to their own!)

It provides marginal (at best) performance or reliability benefits, which you acknowledged by crediting SK's points, while providing a security weakness. However, it does give you another flashing light in the cabin.

How is it not rice?

[illusiVe]

dude.. if u have a TT and u fill up... u park, WAIT for it to turn off.. then pop the cap and fill up.. dont be fkn stupid.

also, if u are filling up for petrol, its probably cause your LOW, so u shouldnt drive on boost anyway. (towards the petrol station) so if ur TT goes on, should only be for 20-30 seconds.

[Busky2k]

The majority of turbos are water cooled so there is no reason to idle down after a normal drive. If they are designed correctly, even with the engine off, water can still syphon through the turbo for a few more minutes after shutdown.

Its the older school oil cooled turbos with the crap oils they had back then that were a problem. A good synthetic with a oil cooled turbo is usually good enough not to warrant a turbo timer anyway.