Is a turbo timer really necessary? I would think that if it were something similar would already come with the car.

 

may not be necessary but it sure is convenient. this is also assuming you let your car cool down after driving it. after a short trip where the engine didnt warm up completely or after a particularly hard drive, i always let the car idle, and having a turbo timer makes it much better than sitting there waiting...not to mention the looks you get from ppl when you lock the car, still running, and walk away... "sir you car is still on...yea, i know"

 

No, if you are a smart owner you dont need one. If you just flogged the hell out of your car we can assume your are smart enough to give it a decent amount of time to cool down while running. Normal driving definitely does not need a turbo timer.

The car also has a built in fan to run after a shutdown if the coolant is over a certain temp.

 

I had one in my Nissan. I mostly used it to warm up the car on cold mornings

 

turbo timer= gay

 

I think almost all modern turbo engines are designed to not need a turbo timer, except under those extreme conditions like Rguy mentioned. If you drive it hard, give it a few minutes of idling or normal driving to cool down. Most OEM designs allow for the oil to continue to circulate somewhat after the car is shut down, so it doesn't sit and cook.

 

*** soon as you start fudging with the boost you really need one. Its just cheaper then blowing your turbo. Cool down is just as important as warming up your car....and it's really annoying to have been on the gas before you got home or to work and have to wait a minute for everything to settle.... Well for me it does if you got the patience then you don't need one

 

No. And exactly.

Turbo timers are especially silly for our cars since you can't lock your doors until the engine has shut off anyway. And that means you've got to stand around and wait while your turbo timer does its thing, which of course is really no different than letting the car run for a few minutes and then shutting it off yourself.

 

I wonder if the concealed key method will even work on an MR.

 

No

 

Cars don't come with turbo timers because they cost money, and the manufacturers can pawn off responsibility on the owners with a note in the manual.

The Evo X manual states on page 3-85 under the Turbocharger Operation section: "Do not stop the engine immediately after high-speed or uphill driving. First allow the engine to idle to give the turbocharger a chance to cool down." This is the procedure a turbo timer allows you to do while you step away from the car.

The center bearing may be cooled by water and oil, but only while the engine is running. Once the engine is off and the oil pump stops, the oil around the turbo bearing just sits still and cooks. Some of it turns to sludge, and a little bit turns into solid "coking". Coking increases friction in the bearing, and will eventually seize the turbo.

Cars have had water and oil-cooled bearings for years. The turbo lasts longer that way, but a turbo timer is still a big help. My friend's 1988 Supra still has it's (tiny) factory turbo with both water and oil lines. When he got it, everyone heard the noise and felt the performance and told him the turbo was bad. But, he installed a turbo timer right away and has gotten tens of thousands of extra miles out of it. His turbo has now outlasted the head gasket.

The Supra manual just said to let it idle for 30 seconds, and the Evo X manual is really vague about it. This guy's turbo timer looked at water temp, oil temp, and RPM and came up with its' own opinion about how long to let the engine idle. It actually showed a running display of "if you stop now, this is how long the engine will idle..." It varies from zero, for puttering down the road at 45mph, to 5 minutes or more for a particularly hard run. Once I saw that, I thought the 30 seconds in the manual was B.S.

After seeing how the turbo timer helped that Supra, I'd really like one for my Evo...but ALL the ones on the lot had keyless entry.

The engine (radiator) fans have nothing to do with the purpose of what we're trying to do with a turbo timer. The radiator fans only kick in when the engine coolant temps are high, and they only cool water in the radiator. If the engine is off, that water is sitting still and not helping the rest of the engine.

 

If it was necessary, the car would have come with one. Unless you're boosting right up to the point you park the car, it's just an accessory or something to brag about at a meet.

 

Saying stuff like this comes from people who know nothing about turbos.
Turning up the boost potential does more damage than not letting the car cool down in short term. The shafts in turbos spin at 100,000s of revolutions per minute inside of a bearing. Bearings are precisely measured and manufactured, and only a thin layer of oil separates the 2. You can over-spin a turbo and fry the bearings faster than you can ever sludge them up by not letting them cool down for 5mins.


Putting a turbo timer on an 1988 Supra does not magically turn back time and restore bad bearings in a turbo. Sounds to me like regular oil changes, along with better quality oil, and better care of the car contributed more than any turbo timer will. The turbo probably wasn't bad to begin with.

Like you said before(More like copy and pasted from an internet resource), a turbo timer is merely convenience, it lets the car idle down for a predetermined amount of time.

Just follow the "End of song rule"(where you keep the car on and listen to the end of the song playing on the radio), and your car will be fine, and you will save that $150 by not getting a turbo timer.

 

The Supra's turbo didn't get any better; it's still a worn-out piece of crap! But, it's not getting any worse. The wierd noises it's not supposed to make are now drowned out by an unmuffled exhaust, so it's easier not to think about it. The owner's impressed that the car still goes to the grocery store and back.

It was about 2001 that this car finally had an owner who took care of it. After 13 years of bad maintenance and bad driving, the new owner thought he could delay the wear, but assumed the the turbo would seize one day. The fact that it hasn't is due to a combination of things, but the guy swears by the turbo timer. If not for all of the extra measures, the turbo would have continued to degrade, and he would have needed a new one by now.

(Rebuilding the engine and fixing stuff for real is waiting for getting caught up on house repair, a raise, spousal consent...)