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Turbo timer...Do I need it?

1516 Views 13 Replies 10 Participants Last post by  firedog25, 
Flyineunos
Hey guys,
I have a FMIII kit on my 90 miata. I've heard many trades of thought. Do I need a turbo timer? I just don't know.
Some say that I don't cause it is oil cooled not water cooled.
Some say I do for the added insurance.

My thoughts are that I don't cause the oil temp will remain at the same temp for a while and may even get hotter with the car just idling. My turbo is oil cooled.

Any thoughts?

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turbored
you don't need one especially if you're conscious of how you're driving. Don't boost hard and shut the engine off. If you want one, though, I have one for sale here :)
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RusMan
I got one just to be on the safe side, because sometimes I drive hard and don't have to wait for it to cool off, better safe then sorry. but mostly it's just for pimping I guess.
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LagunaRoadster
from the little research I did on RX7s and turbo timers, it seemed like something I would purchase. It's always a good idea to let the motor idel a bit before turning off the car, and something that does that for you, excellent!
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S
+1 turbo timers got a little fancy a few years ago, but are good insurance.

on my rx7 I had a greddy and it was fine. it was a bitch to rig with the alarm auto arm.
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F
I have a Blitz DC FATT IV. It not only is a turbo timer, it also tells me cabin temps in celsius (47 C is pretty hot), I also use it when I want to warm the car up but don't want someone to be able to swipe my car.
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S
^^ see, fancy :)

mine kept my car running for 1 or 3 min... thats it. lol
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geffrocks_86
when i had my boosted miata, i had a HKS type-1. it always worked well for me. and it gave me that piece of mind cuz i'd always be haulin' it trying to make it to class on time. in the end i was still late, but at least i knew my car was cooling down for a couple of minutes after hopping out

my turbo'd car is actually leatherface24's car......i was the original owner, i bought that car when i was in college back in 2001....i know he's been trying to sell it for a while--anyone know happened to it?
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ultimateforce
As far as I know he hasn't sold it yet, but I haven't talked to him in ages. He is too busy for the LITTLE PEOPLE.
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Flyineunos
OK so everyone is saying its good for insurance....but to let the car cool down while it is running??
I understand if I am tracking the car that I need to cool down (cool down lap)before I shut it off but in regular driving, as long as I am not racing all the way to my garage I should be ok...
I may be running the car like a bat out of hell on my way home from work but when I get within 5 min of my house, I transform in to the safe defensive driver(don't want to hit any children on my block..that would be bad). So, I'm basically cooling down the car then ..Right? I have a huge racing radiator and the water temp rarely goes high if ever.
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Flyineunos @ Sat Oct 07 said:
OK so everyone is saying its good for insurance....but to let the car cool down while it is running??
I understand if I am tracking the car that I need to cool down (cool down lap)before I shut it off but in regular driving, as long as I am not racing all the way to my garage I should be ok...
I may be running the car like a bat out of hell on my way home from work but when I get within 5 min of my house, I transform in to the safe defensive driver(don't want to hit any children on my block..that would be bad). So, I'm basically cooling down the car then ..Right? I have a huge racing radiator and the water temp rarely goes high if ever.
Click to expand...
correct, its really not necessary at all in your (and most peoples) driving styles.
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turbored
the water temp has nothing to do with it, though. It's because your turbo gets really hot. Turbos can get so hot you can see em glowing even during daytime. What happens is if you shut the car down with the turbo megahot, the oil bakes in the turbo and "coking" (not a typo) happens, which can cause clogging of key turbo components.
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kotomile
Flyineunos @ Fri Oct 06 said:
Hey guys,

My turbo is oil cooled.
Click to expand...
The idea of the timer is to cool the oil that gets heated in the turbo. By keeping the oil circulating through for an extra minute or so while the temp. drops, you prevent the oil coking in the turbo.

However..

Since your neighborhood driving is essentially a cool-down lap, you shouldn't have to worry about it. It is fun to see people thinking you left your car running when you run into a store and especially fun when you drop your car off with a valet!! Last time I did that they wrote "This car runs awhile after you take out the key!!" really big on the ticket, with stars and arrows pointing at it.
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Sid @ Fri Oct 06 said:
^^ see, fancy :)

mine kept my car running for 1 or 3 min... thats it. lol
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It is nice, kind of gee-wiz kind of stuff. I really suck at converting celsius to farenheit though. I think it does a few other functions, but I don't pay attention to those. The problem is finding a place to mount it. I mounted mine just to the left of the steering wheel close to my cruise control switch. If I'm going straight I can see whatever it's displaying.
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