Turbo Timers - Is it worth installing one in the VR-4?

DarkVR4

Leaving Skid Marks
Location
Queensland
First Name
James
Drive
Black FL Reganum
Hi Team, Just writing this one as I am wondering why Turbo Vehicles dont come out with Turbo timers as standard, are they a thing of the past? Is it worth fitting one to our VR4's? I know there are Turbo timers out there that have many other features, such as Speedometers,1/4 mile timers and shift lights etc etc. Tell me your thoughts....

Anyway I have a HKS Turbo Timer Type one with all of the above features plus some, which still needs to be fitted, does anyone in the Brisbane area know of a good Automotive Electrcian.
 

SiliconAngel

1 AYC Bar
Location
Perth, WA
First Name
SA, Trevor
Drive
'99 Legnum VR4 Black MT
James, the purpose of a turbo timer is to cool down the turbo fins so you don't get uneven cooling that can cause warping and cracking. The thinking behind it is when you have a hot piece of metal that's being heated up by something (like a hot engine pumping out hot exhaust) but being cooled by air flow, once you stop that air flow if said metal component is still attached to the heat source it may actually get HOTTER once everything stops moving, because the moving air that was cooling the component isn't moving anymore, but the metal is still just as hot...

So if you've been thrashing about on high boost and full throttle, your turbos will be extremely hot... and if you just switch off your engine the turbos can get HOTTER before they start to cool down. This can either take them beyond the heat range they were designed for, or cause uneven cooling which can cause warping and cracking. As you can imagine all this stuff is BAD!

So some clever boffin came up with the idea of a turbo timer - FORCING the engine to idle for a given amount of time to let everything cool down a bit before the engine cuts out and air stops flowing. You can achieve the same results, however, but driving sedately for the last few minutes of your trip before you turn your engine off.

Additionally, heat related problems tend to affect larger turbos running fairly high boost (especially brittle ceramic models) - the tiny little stock turbos in the VR4 are unlikely to be affected by sudden switch off no matter HOW hard you're running them, but the stock boost is only 8 or 9psi anyway, and the ECU will only allow up to 15psi (even if you pushed it higher, it won't do you any good anyway).

So essentially a turbo timer in a VR4 is massive overkill (quite apart from being illegal...), but hey if you've already got one, knock yourself out! :D
 

bradc

1 AYC Bar
Location
New Zealand
First Name
Brad
Drive
Facelift Manual 400hp VR-4 Legnum
Another point as well is that it was supposed to keep the oil from coking up and sitting in the oil pipes.

Not of this is much of a problem with a VR-4, the turbos are watercooled so there won't be much of a problem with oil coking at all.
 

hawks

Leaving Skid Marks
Location
NSW
First Name
Mark
Drive
Sold my 1998 Legnum VR4 Type S
Spot on lads, they are not needed.

Put it on eBay, James :D
 

snickells

Leaving Skid Marks
Lifetime Member
Location
Australia
First Name
Anon
Drive
Car
My Leggie came with one installed and its a pain in the ass! I'm by no means a hoon and when and IF i really hit boost its only for a few seconds and well away from my final destination. I ended up setting the thing to off and hiding it up under the dash. Problem solved :p
 

gilly

Leaving Skid Marks
Location
SA
First Name
Simon
Drive
2000 Legnum VR4 Type S
My Alto came with one installed and its a pain in the ass too! Ive got it set to off now. I did notice it has a few other features like lap timer, and temperature guage (not sure where it gets this reading from). I dont like the idea of walking away from the car when the engine is still on - people give you starneg looks and I cant be bothered explaining to them why its still running. Its set off my alarm a few times too.
 
G

Guest

Unregistered
I have a turbo timer sitting in the glovebox of my VR-4 waiting to be installed. Are you guys telling me I don't actually need it?

Do you still idle your cars before you switch off? Does the water cooling negate the need for it?

I would have thought that a smaller turbo would have to spin faster and therefore hotter in order to do anything.

I know running or engine after removing keys or whatever the technicality is illegal, more imortantly, how will our insurance companies view the matter if the vehicle is stolen? Do they use the presence of a timer to refuse a claim? That is my biggest worry.
 

naughtika

OzVR4 Stalker
Location
Brisbane, QLD
First Name
Christian
Drive
'96 Galant VR4, '17 MB A180, '25 Macan GTS
mine came with it but was disconnected by the compliance.. I just had to connect it up again..

I use mine once in a while when I do long drives or "spirited" driving :D

I'd rather waste petrol to save my motor.. IMHO though..
 
G

Guest

Unregistered
turbo timers arent actually illegal, so they wont void your insurance, what is illegal however, is leaving a running vehicle... so basically you have to sit in there while the timer counts down, so you may as well do it yourself.

that said, they are wanky rice, and not needed.
anyone that thrashes their car up to their destination is an idiot anyway!
 

BuzzPuppy

OZVR4 Ambassador
Lifetime Member
Location
Victoria
First Name
Gavin
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レグナム Super VR-4
Same, mine's got the harnesses but came connected at compliance. The usual cruise home gives them sufficient time to chill out.
 

Peter_D

Leaving Skid Marks
Location
QLD
First Name
Pete
Drive
Cab Colt & Evo 6
Ours has the Turbo Timer as part of the alarm. Normally I'll stop, turn off the car (motor keeps running), gather my shit together, get out of the car activate the alarm and de-activate the timer as I walk away.
 
G

Guest

Unregistered
So idling up to your destination is sufficient cooling time? It doesn't need to idle with no load - neutral, Park? 650RPM?
 

Nick

Leaving Skid Marks
Location
Vic
First Name
Nick
Drive
Aristo
Had one in most of my turbo cars in the past, I prefer to have peice of mind that I dont have to worry about slow driving before getting to my destination. Mitchy, I spend a lot of time on the road going to various locations, so for me it is perfect. I can drive however I want, get to the destination, and not have to sit in the car. Especially if I just got to the place on time or late! I dont want to sit in the car waiting.

I agree with naughtika, for $150 I would rather have it and know that my turbos are protected ALL the time. Plus I know people that say "I just drive slowly before I get to my destination" and they very rarely DO!

If you are saving $$$ or worried about cops then dont get one. The law says you can not be more than 1.5mtrs away from a vehicle while the motor is running. If you are, this is considered illegal becuase you are leaving a vehicle running and "unattended". So all those with engine start! Strap in, you may aswell have a TT. You are breaking the same law. (In Vic anway, trust me, I have been done for it on Engine start in an auto)

The Apexi TT has AFR's aswell as battery voltage, and again if you want you can turn it off also. So spend the $150 and you can choose if you want to use it or not. If you cant justify the $150 then dont bother.
For me it was a no brainer. Only thing is I had to find a place to mount the little sucker!
 

hawks

Leaving Skid Marks
Location
NSW
First Name
Mark
Drive
Sold my 1998 Legnum VR4 Type S
Only thing is I had to find a place to mount the little sucker!

There is a bit of room under the steering column, but I am not sure if you want to see the display or not.

tt1.jpg
 

BuzzPuppy

OZVR4 Ambassador
Lifetime Member
Location
Victoria
First Name
Gavin
Drive
レグナム Super VR-4
Hmmm... how long do you have your timers set for? Nice lil' spot there Mark :)
 

VR4Rocket

Leaving Skid Marks
Location
Queensland
First Name
Kevin
Drive
Was a Ralliart Colt, was a 1997 Toyota Aristo was a 1996 Legnum..Now an XR5 Turbo
Ha stuff that...none of the excess racer crap for me! I would rather spend that $150 on my new intercooler and idle for a min or 2......but thats just me
 

Nick

Leaving Skid Marks
Location
Vic
First Name
Nick
Drive
Aristo
Relevant to topic.

img5297yj9.jpg
 

jungle

3 AYC Bars
Lifetime Member
Location
QLD
First Name
Simon
Drive
1 PFL & 1 FL Legnum
I wasn't going to reply but here i am typing.

I don't like turbo timers. As Mtichy has stated they are illegal when the car is running with you not in it. End of story.

But the purpose of a turbo charger isn't for what you've stated so far...Yes i agree that the ex temps will be lower idling than when the car is begin driven, so there is merit in saying that its for cooling it down. But, that's not the reason.

When your engine is turned off, so is your oil supply to the turbo's bearings. Now we all know that turbo's can turn upwards of 120+ thousand RPM when on boost so turning your car off quickly after a spirited drive isn't doing your bearings or thrust washers any favours...which leads to the reason for letting your car idle for 30 seconds to 2 minutes...its to let the turbo stabilse at it's idle rpm before removing it's oil supply. This gives it its best chance to stop with the residual oil supply.

Yes i agree the oil supply won't disappear instantly. You will also get heat soak once the engine is turned off, another reason to give some thought to where you are going and drive accordingly before getting out of the car.

I don't have any turbo timers on any of my turbo cars...my 2 cents worth
 

naughtika

OzVR4 Stalker
Location
Brisbane, QLD
First Name
Christian
Drive
'96 Galant VR4, '17 MB A180, '25 Macan GTS
hhmm I've just thought of something, in Brisbane city, Myer's department store's got a big ass carpark, and in one area of the carpark its got these big vents sticking out from the ceiling, pushing cool air down.. and now that's a good area to cool down your motor quickly :D
 
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