Here's the question I have about idling the turbo:

If you know you are going to restart the car in less than a minute or 2, but you can't leave it running, do you still need to idle it? Or will restarting keep it from damaging itself. Actually, I guess what I also want to know is, why do you need to idle the turbo. I'm assuming it's to cool the oil that stays in the turbo? When you're idling, is any oil actually moving, or is it just the fact that air is going to be moving through it?

Thank for any insights.

Lac

 

It's all about keeping the oil flowing through the turbo as it cools. Idling produces a lot less exhaust gas than driving around at 3000+ rpms, thusly the turbine side of the turbo will eventually cool down. Keeping fresh oil flowing through ensures that it doesn't degrade around the bearings where it gets REALLY hot.

I would let it idle for at least 20-30 seconds, even if you know you're going to restart it soon afterwards. Better yet, get yourself a turbo timer asap and just leave it running for the 2-3 minutes you'll be out of the car. That's what I do just about every morning while I get my starbucks.