Turbo Timer---- Which are good & which to steer clear of

[machh1]

G'day, Got turbo fitted to my 60s diesel. Goes good. Just wondering who has experience with turbo timers. Are there any to definitely steer clear of, which ones are recommended. Does any turbo timer do the trick? Thanks.

[bj42turbo]

If your handy soldering I just got a kit one from Jaycar cost about $40


BJ

[chunderlicious]

the cheaper the better, all it needs to do is keep the engine going and turn it off after a minute or two. as bj42 said jaycar do a kit for 40. they arent a complicated thing or really "needed" in most 4wd situations but they do have a good wank factor about them.

[crack]

ii thought diesels with turbos should have a turbo timer or let them idle for a bit after a hard run? cant rember why but correct me if im wrong.

[dibbz]

The Jaycar kitis $30, there is not much to em.. my boggard one is broken and looking inside I reckon it's pretty similar if not the same as the jaycar kit :)

There's a particularly cheap one on ebay that's under $50 delivered, and you don't have to assemble it either. I'd say they are all the same, they don't do much it's pretty hard to stuff up such a simple circuit, but the quality of the relay and capacitor will determine how long it lasts.

I think most 4wd's would have a cast iron manifold which will retain heat and need more of a cool down.

Wikipedia has a good article on why.

[chunderlicious]

i look at it like this. if it is so bad to let your turbo cool down by itself why is it fine to rev the shit out of your car then splash into water or rev the shit out of it through mud. answer me that and ill be all about the use of turbo timers as a necesity.

[r0ck_m0nkey]

i look at it like this. if it is so bad to let your turbo cool down by itself why is it fine to rev the shit out of your car then splash into water or rev the shit out of it through mud. answer me that and ill be all about the use of turbo timers as a necesity.

To keep oil circulation.

If it's shutdown without adequate cooling down period, heat soak settles in and the oil left in the turbo to coke. At best you could hope it only stuffs the bearings and seals in your turbo, at worst the coked oil gets into your engine and causes bigger problems.

A Turbo Timer allows adequate time to idle and cool the turbo down enough that this won't occur. But in saying that, driving the last 1 or 2km's before turning off your engine gently without bringing the turbo onto boost is sufficient enough.

Not a necessity, just makes life a little easier.

In saying that i think it's actually illegal (in NSW atleast) to leave your car whilst idling on a timer anyway.

[Sixty's Guy]

I bought a cheapie off Ebay. I think it was about $30.

[chunderlicious]

its illegal in every state. i still dont think they are needed as the oil will keep circulating under its own force due to the heat and the flow it allready has for enough time after to stop it coking to the walls.

[RUFF]

its illegal in every state. i still dont think they are needed as the oil will keep circulating under its own force due to the heat and the flow it allready has for enough time after to stop it coking to the walls.

The only oil that moves is the oil running back into the sump. Hot Turbo's cook oil.

On another note a lot of large truck companies in Aus dont fit Turbo Timers. As the amount of fuel they save by not running them on timers after shut down they can afford to replace turbo's.

[chunderlicious]

ok fine next point of mine to make after that is..... if they are so important why do companies make turbo cars without timers. or if they are illegal then why do they not have post engine cooldown systems (audi do) i would have thought that if they were so important it would be a standard feature on most high end turbo cars.

[r0ck_m0nkey]

ok fine next point of mine to make after that is..... if they are so important why do companies make turbo cars without timers. or if they are illegal then why do they not have post engine cooldown systems (audi do) i would have thought that if they were so important it would be a standard feature on most high end turbo cars.

It's not that the timer is important, it's the idle/cool down period which is important. A timer just gives a convenient, easy way of doing it.

As for manufacturers, probably cost reasons, also not forgetting that some vehicles have water cooled turbos which is another thing altogether. If you're saying that Audi run a post shutdown cooldown system, well that just reiterates the whole idle period time for cooling reasons before shutting off an engine that doesn't have such a system.

I am just lost as to why you think they have "wank factor"

[foodie]

makes perfect sense. Flow oil while the turbo cools down, especialy if you have a shitty sleeve bearing turbo.

[carts]

i look at it like this. if it is so bad to let your turbo cool down by itself why is it fine to rev the shit out of your car then splash into water or rev the shit out of it through mud. answer me that and ill be all about the use of turbo timers as a necesity.

As far as revving the crap out of it and splashing it into water, its not fine. In fact, its bad.

Cast iron manifolds don't like sudden changes in temperature. Its not hard to crack them by dumping a red hot manifold in cold water. If you have a turbo 4wd, it is always good practice to let your car idle for a little while to let the exhaust temperatures drop before attempting a water crossing.

[chunderlicious]

i understand that oil cakes to the piping and stops the flow etc. but for MOST applications you never rev it out then shut it off. the audi shutoff thing is an elictric water pump and thermo fan. just runs for 30 seconds max on the 2.0 and about 5 minutes on the 1.8 (have both at home, not mine) but both cars are well known to have turbo problems.

i run turbo timers on turbos and recomend it, but i still think that driving slowly after you finish is enough.

i am taking in what your all saying and i know why your saying it and i think its all correct and your giving good info and all that jazz i am just differing my opinion on the subject with my experience with turbos and the likes, which now i think about it are all watercooled except for the rockys ive checked out which both have other problems to worry about.

on another note, not many diesel owners turn there cars off, they just leave it running all day if theyre in the bush etc. unless they dont have handbrakes.

[Spartacus]

which now i think about it are all watercooled except for the rockys ive checked out which both have other problems to worry about.

my rockys watercooled?

[chunderlicious]

no its not. it is an oil cooled turbo dude. thats why there were only two black oil covered pipes to hook up. not 2 clean bigger pipes to hook up to the heater piping aswell like wills 60

[bj42turbo]

this poor guy only wanted to know what turbo timer peoples recommend, not the whole other disscusion of wether to use one or not, I think that argument will never have a winner

BJ

[Yumsylux]

Don't buy ARB like all of their other stuff they are a rip job. Works and supposedly reliable but way way overpriced. Go for Jaycar or supercheap one.

[Spartacus]

no its not. it is an oil cooled turbo dude. thats
why there were only two black oil covered pipes to hook up. not 2 clean
bigger pipes to hook up to the heater piping aswell like wills 60

so whats the line from the thermostat into turbo and out to the block mmm

as for me i dont run a timer, i drive it easy back to camp and let it rest
against a tree till im satisfied. sorry i couldnt help with brands

[chunderlicious]

uummm you sure dude?

[ferrit]

Toyo 1KZ-TE factory turbos are oil cooled.

Dont know about the work 1HD-FTE's- havent had a chance to look at one closely

[machh1]

Well, thanks all for your input guys. Is very helpful. So far have been sitting in car letting it idle while it cools down. Can see that method being a bit of a pain sometimes. might get a timer oneday. I guess brand isnt such an important thing.
Another question though: I have heard that blow off valves benefit by "maintaining some boost during rev drops & gear changes". Personally i find them annoying to hear, but am interested to know if this theory is true or not. Thanks.

[chunderlicious]

dont mention bovs around here youll get flamed... not needed but sixtys have a throttle body so you can always try as itll make a little bit of noise and might help out boost hold