Are these a must? Just wondering if they arent I've heard they just lengthen the life of your turbo's or whatever? I've never actually got 100% into them and would rather ask you guys than a sales person.... thanks.
It's bad to turn your engine off when the turbo's are really hot as the oil in them cools down too quickly and can coke and clog them up (I think this is a bigger problem with non-synthetic oils). The other consideration is that when you turn the engine off the turbo has no oil pressure and this is bad if it's still spinning quickly. So do you need a turbo timer? Not really, if you know how to treat your turbos. If you've been boosting or driving under load, settle down for a couple of minutes before you reach your destination, let it idle for a few seconds to make sure the turbos have spooled down and you should be pretty right. Having said that I have a Blitz DTT, which I use more as a boost gauge than a turbo timer. But the turbo timer is usefull as it takes the hassle out of worrying about the turbos. It has an auto function, so it automatically calculates how long the engine should run before switching off. Most of the time it turns off after a couple of seconds, if not straight away. But if I've just come off the highway or have been boosting heavily it can sometime run up to minute.
It's a good habit to get into (what Chrispy said) and as far as I know though technically turbo timers are illegal or at least it's illegal to walk away from your car with it still running. Something like that... They're still a good idea to have though, I just set mine to 30 seconds. By the time I've arsed about getting my gear together and gone to get out of the car it switches off itself.
Yeah Thats what I figured, I might just do that I figure I'll just let it run idle for 30 seconds before I turn it off, thanks guys
My alarm system has a turbo timer mode... it'll run for a minute after switching off the car. I've only actually let it run the full minute a few times at most. Most of the time I'll turn it off almost straight away, or after I hop out of the car before locking it. Having said that, if you want one I have one you can have for $15
True Illegal to leave a car running unattended.... Plus with a turbo timer you cant leave car in gear if you have a manual which you should always do IMO turbo timer is a waste of money.... Just drive nicely before your destination and let it idle for 20 seconds.....
good to have, but not a necessity, if they were then they would be factory equipment. that being said, i have and will always use one on my tt........
