Turbocharger care?
Discussion
Just wondering - the 3200 is a twin turbo engine, and as tradition dictates I religiously 'warm down' the engine, by running it in a high gear, at low revs for a couple of minutes before turning the engine off. I understand that this lets the turbos wind down and stops them clogging up.
I do know however that some other turbo cars (eg 911TT) don't need this kind of mollycoddling because they have some kind of pump arrangement that coninues to function after the ignition goes off to keep things sweet. I don't think the 3200 ahs this, but I am occasionally wrong about these things!
So, am I wasting my time warming down the 3200, or am I doing the right thing?
I do know however that some other turbo cars (eg 911TT) don't need this kind of mollycoddling because they have some kind of pump arrangement that coninues to function after the ignition goes off to keep things sweet. I don't think the 3200 ahs this, but I am occasionally wrong about these things!
So, am I wasting my time warming down the 3200, or am I doing the right thing?
I believe the reason for doing a "warm down" is to prevent turbo Bearing wear as if you turn the engine off with them hot it evaporates the oil in the bearings so that when you turn it on again the following morning the first use of the turbo will result in metal on metal in the bearings and hence big wear.
However I doubt you would need to do that on a 3200 unless it was coming off a track - It's just not that stressed on a normal road trip
However I doubt you would need to do that on a 3200 unless it was coming off a track - It's just not that stressed on a normal road trip
I'll keep warming the car down then, best to be safe than sorry and all that. having worked on loads of turbo cars inc lots of 3200gts my understanding of how a turbo works the best thing you can do to prolong turbo life is leave your car idling at tickover for a few mins before turning off.If you dont the turbo is still spinning at xxx rpm with no oil feed as the oil pump only turns when the engine is running thus this is why bearings wear out when people turn there engines off straight after driving not allowing the turbine to stop spinning with no oil there. Hope this makes sence not to sure about porkers may have a differant system
mr_tony,
Any turbocharged car should be warmed down. You're doing the right thing. Even Porsches need to have this treatment. Having done loads of trackdays in the UK and at the Ring, its amazing how many people don't leave the car idling for a few mins after a session on track.
Your 3200GT's turbos will last for a long time if you keep on doing what you're doing and you'll be financially better off in the long run as you won't have to have them rebuilt or replaced.
Matt
Any turbocharged car should be warmed down. You're doing the right thing. Even Porsches need to have this treatment. Having done loads of trackdays in the UK and at the Ring, its amazing how many people don't leave the car idling for a few mins after a session on track.
Your 3200GT's turbos will last for a long time if you keep on doing what you're doing and you'll be financially better off in the long run as you won't have to have them rebuilt or replaced.
Matt
360 said:
having worked on loads of turbo cars inc lots of 3200gts my understanding of how a turbo works the best thing you can do to prolong turbo life is leave your car idling at tickover for a few mins before turning off.If you dont the turbo is still spinning at xxx rpm with no oil feed as the oil pump only turns when the engine is running thus this is why bearings wear out when people turn there engines off straight after driving not allowing the turbine to stop spinning with no oil there. Hope this makes sence not to sure about porkers may have a differant system
I'm certainly glad you have never worked on any of my turbo cars because you have no frigging idea what you are talking about. The turbo is not spinning when you shut off the motor unless maybe you go full boost and then shut off the motor immediately. Even then, it would spool down pretty fast.
Quite a few others in this thread are smoking crack as well.
The reason why you let the car idle for a minute or so before shutting down, or not driving on boost before shutting down, is so the oil doesn't "coke" in the bearing. What happens when you get on boost is the turbo naturally gets VERY hot, especially if you are on boost for long periods of time (think glowing red hot). If you shut off the motor with the turbo that hot, it actually burns the oil in the bearing and the bearing no longer can be lubricated as well. Turbo timers keep the engine running for a period of time in order to keep the oil moving so it doesn't sit long enough to coke in the bearing. Sitting and letting your car idle does the same thing. The best thing is to just not get on boost for a minute or so before shutting off the car.
As far as the guy saying his Scoob needed to be warmed down more than his other car, the Scoob is actually one car that doesn't require it as much. At least the newer ones anyhow. They have a coolant line going to the turbo that allows coolant to evaporate when the turbo is hot and help keep oil from coking in the bearing. However, it's still advised that you warm down after a hard run, but the risk of damage is minimized.
The coking up argument gets my vote too. Oil is retained on all other surfaces that operate at 'normal' working temperatures so it makes sense to try to equalise the turbo temps as well. That's why I try to reverse park where possible at the end of each journey, a few more seconds of low stress running before switching off lets the hot bits cool down (things warm UP, not down).
Gassing Station | Supercar General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff