Turbo Timers

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 4:05 am

I know some of you have to have them.

I searched for "Turbo Timer" and got nothing.

SO, I am looking for some advice.

I'm trying to decide between a Blitz and a GReddy turbo timer. Haven't decided which yet, so I'd like some input. The GReddy is the standard Automatic Turbo timer

The Blitz is the basic DCII or whatever.

Also, how difficult to install on our cars is this? Plug and play or what have you?

Thanks in advance!

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 4:33 am

They're very easy to install. Not plug and play, of course, but the ignition switch wires are easily accessed (makes you feel good to know it's easy to hotwire your car, no?

).

Do you care about any of the fancy features they might have? Because if you just need the basic functionality I'd just say to get the cheapest one.

But wait a sec -- don't you have a 5-speed? Do you really want to park your car out of gear?

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 4:44 am

I'd rather park it with the e-brake on than cook my turbo.

Know what I mean?

I ALWAYS set the e-brake, and only put it in gear as a back up.

THAWA · Post by **THAWA** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 4:45 am

Why wouldn't you do both anyway? I never leave a car without the e-brake on.

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 5:12 am

THAWA wrote:Why wouldn't you do both anyway? I never leave a car without the e-brake on.

I do do both. Always set the e-brake, and put the car in gear "just in case"

I won't be able to put the car in gear when I get a turbo timer.

ciper · Post by **ciper** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 5:19 am

THAWA: You are damaging your parking prawl and it could get stuck. Park is not supposed to be used to hold the car still.

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 5:26 am

So does anyone have any input on which timer to get?

The GReddy is a little cheaper, but the Blitz has a boost guage built in. Otherwise, they are the same.

THAWA · Post by **THAWA** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 5:43 am

sorry i guess i worded it wrong but I always have my ebrake on. And yeah I do set the brake first then shift into park.

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 5:58 am

Yea, I set e-brake, put it in 2nd, take foot off brake and exit car.

Same deal in my auto. Shift to park, pull e-brake, take foot off brake.

Post by **DLC** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 6:14 am

I've had a Blitz dual turbo timer that i won at the Cobb opening, but never got around to installing it because i just got used to being nice to the turbo. I f i take long drives at speed, i'm always off onto side streets for at least ten minutes afterwards, which coolls it down just fine.

Dave

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 6:27 am

I like being safe with the car. I've seen plenty a fubar'd Turbo Integra because the driver was dumb.

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 5:07 pm

BAC5.2 wrote:I like being safe with the car. I've seen plenty a fubar'd Turbo Integra because the driver was dumb.

Is risking your car falling off a cliff or rolling into traffic being safe with the car? ;)

Parking brakes can fail. The cables can snap, or shoes can wear without being noticed. Sometimes a quick push by another car is all it takes. In my opinion you really do need two safeties -- one in the drivetrain (engine braking or a parking pawl) and one on the wheels (parking brake).

Like Dave says, most of the time it's very easy to cool off the turbo yourself since driving on side streets at low speed is just as good as idling. The biggest risk is when you stop at a gas station on the highway, and you'll have to wait with the car anyway in that case.

And, the Legacy Turbo cooling system is designed to reduce the need for extended idling by allowing fresh coolant to continue entering the turbo's water jacket (to the point where Subaru says the WRX, which has essentially the same system, doesn't need to be idled). The Hondas' isn't.

I installed an HKS turbo timer in my old Legacy Turbo automatic, but decided not to for these reasons on my current Legacy Turbo 5-speed.

mTk · Post by **mTk** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 5:13 pm

Rallitek has a pre-harnessed AVO turbo timer HERE

MK

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 5:26 pm

So running 11 to 13psi won't require a turbo timer? Stock, I wouldn't run a turbo timer, but when boosting 5psi more than stock? While a slow side-street drive can do the same thing as idling, I don't always have the time to drive casually around for 10 minutes. And if parking next to a cliff or in san fransisco, you can always turn the timer off and leave it in gear with the parking brake set.

I do see your point though. It was just kind of scary hearing the horror story of the 300whp integra cooking it's turbo.

I need to learn more about our cars, lol.

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 5:43 pm

10 minutes is excessive. Even when boosting 13 psi you should only really need to cool down for a couple of minutes at the most. I usually consider 30 to 60 seconds sufficient for myself.

Let me give a quick explanation of the cooling system thing I was talking about:

The coolant filler tank on top of the engine is the highest point in the cooling system. When the engine is shut off and oil is no longer circulating through the turbo, the residual heat in the turbo vaporizes the coolant in the water jacket. The vapor rises up to the filler tank (and if necessary escapes through the cap's valve to the overflow tank). The low pressure in the turbo cooling jackets then draws more coolant in from the passenger side cylinder head. The whole process continues until the temperature falls below the vaporization temperature of coolant.

If you use 50-50 antifreeze that means the turbo should stay around 270 degrees Fahrenheit. That temperature is well below the coking point of any decent motor oil.

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 5:54 pm

Hmm, good to know, thanks for the explanation.

aspect · Post by **aspect** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 6:27 am

I use a little HKS unit, no fancy features. I don't really see why you wouldn't want to cool down the car after driving hard. Sure, you can argue that it is not absolutly neccessary, but personally I would rather spend the small amount of money and just let it cool down every time.

And as for the debate about it being unsafe...

I park on a flat street with very little traffic, so I'm not worried. If I park on a hill or near a busy street, I just spend the extra 30 seconds and let the timer run out and then put the car into gear

It's not like after you wire it up, it's always active and you must use it...

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 6:36 am

Even on the quiet flat street you're causing unnecessary risk by parking your car out of gear though.

boostjunkie · Post by **boostjunkie** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 4:11 pm

I have a blitz dttdc (or whatever it's called). I'm using it as a boost gauge. I used to have it hooked up to keep the car running, but I accidentally disconnected it while I was having some craziness with my car a few months ago. I've just been so lazy to hook it back up.

I do admit that the timer was convenient when I'd be gettin some coffee and smokes in the morning during the winter. I could let the car heat up while I was going into the store . . . lock the doors and walk inside.

I'll usually drive the car off boost a minute or two before I park, and leave it on while I collect my items to leave.

LegacyT · Post by **LegacyT** » Thu Mar 11, 2004 1:38 am

turbo timers are a waste of time and money, you be much better off spending the effort to increase performace. Honesty unless you drive like a reckless idiot up into the parking lot, stop and turn the car off right away, then you don't need one. Most normal people can do like boostjunkie said, drive off boost for a minute or so prior to parking, then turn the car off normally and leave.

Mark,

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Thu Mar 11, 2004 6:03 am

Meh, I usually drive easy for the last few minutes before getting home, there are always those times where you're in a rush. I'll probably wait until I'm running things above stock.

Post by **Legacy777** » Thu Mar 11, 2004 3:31 pm

just run synthetic oil and you reduce the risk of oil coking up the turbo due to excess heat when you shut it off.

boostjunkie · Post by **boostjunkie** » Thu Mar 11, 2004 3:45 pm

Legacy777 wrote:just run synthetic oil and you reduce the risk of oil coking up the turbo due to excess heat when you shut it off.

And make sure your seals a good before you switch over to synthetic.

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Thu Mar 11, 2004 5:49 pm

boostjunkie wrote:And make sure your seals a good before you switch over to synthetic.

That's my concern. I don't want to dry out my seals.

When I take her in for the tuneup, I'll get all of the seals replaced and then start using synthetic. Only downside to synthetic I can see is that it's expensive

... But then again, so are engine rebuilds...

aspect · Post by **aspect** » Thu Mar 11, 2004 9:56 pm

vrg3 wrote:Even on the quiet flat street you're causing unnecessary risk by parking your car out of gear though.

Well, considering if you leave my car out of gear and without the parking brake engaged it still doesn't move, I'm not too worried. I guess leaving it in gear would prevent someone driving into the back of the car, thus breaking the parking brake cable, and pushing it down the street with their vehicle into something.

Honestly, I think saying I'm causing unnecessary risk is like saying people who don't use a garage and park their car on the street are endangering motorists by risking a collision.

LegacyT wrote:turbo timers are a waste of time and money, you be much better off spending the effort to increase performace. Honesty unless you drive like a reckless idiot up into the parking lot, stop and turn the car off right away, then you don't need one. Most normal people can do like boostjunkie said, drive off boost for a minute or so prior to parking, then turn the car off normally and leave.

Mark,

?? Just because 'most normal people' don't need them, how does that make them a waste of time and money?

In *my* owners manual, it clearly states to let the car cool by idling for a minute or so after driving on the highway. If after-boost cooling wasn't at all neccesary, why would subaru make such a statement?

When I'm coming home from work, it takes about 2 minutes for me to get from the highway to my house, and in that 2 minutes I'm dodging around in typical rushhour traffic. So I think I'll take subaru's recomendation one step further and error on the side of caution.

I often drive my car hard, and run the revs higher than need be, thus generating higher than normal exaust temps, not unlike highway driving. I'm also often in a hurry and don't feel like sitting around in my car after I park to let the car cool. I don't think that makes me a 'reckless idiot', I think it just means I'm not most normal people and therefore may benefit from some additional safety measures.

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Turbo Timers

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