turbo cooldown question

T

tomkit

Member
In the CX-7 Manuals it says that after long freeway or up-hill drives, before you shut off the engine, you should let the turbo cooldown for 30 seconds to avoid damage to the engine.

My question is how long is a "long" freeway drive or up-hill drive? If I drive 30 minutes to work on the freeway, do I need to idle my engine for the turbo to cooldown?

Isn't there an automatic cooler that works when I take my keys out? My friend has a Volvo SUV that's turbocharged and when he takes out his keys there is a cooler that keeps running for a while to cool the turbo.

Any ideas?
 
get a turbo timer (greddy, hks, blitz, etc). do a search to see if anybody has done it yet.

but yeah, cooling down the turbo will prolong it's life and prevent any super hot oil in the turbo from sitting in there. 30 seconds is usually about right. if you run really hard, i would say 1 minute. but that's usually more than enough.
 
FULL AUTO TIMER
FATT.JPG
The basic function of a turbo timer is to allow the vehicle to idle the engine for a timed period, with the ignition key removed. This allows the engine oil and turbo center cartridge to cool down and prevent internal turbo damage. GReddy Full Auto Timers pack tons of features into one economical, compact unit. In addition to two standard programmable count down presets (P-1, P-2), the GReddy Full Auto Timer also has two auto timer modes (A-L, A-H). The modes estimate the driving RPM according to the vehicles alternator signal and then recommend a count down time. Also new are the stopwatch/lap time and attack modes along with a built in voltmeter and speedometer. Still standard are the optional parking brake and speedo safety hook-ups.
TURBO TIMERS MODEL YEAR MAKE TYPE SPL NOTES PART# LIST$ FULL AUTO TURBO TIMER black 80x21mm full auto timer, volts, attack, stopwatch 15500020 $99.00 FULL AUTO TURBO TIMER silver 80x21mm full auto timer, volts, attack, stopwatch 15500021 $99.00
 
So there is no auto-cooler built into the CX-7? I've been driving my car for about 3 weeks now and after my drive to work (30 minutes freeway @ 60-80mph) I usually don't wait to turn off the engine. Do you think this will have damaged it much?

I can't believe the dealer didn't say anything about this -- I'm glad I read it in the manual.
 
I've never had a turbo before so I could easily be wrong, but I thought the warning applied after running the turbo especially hard. So unless you're going uphill all the way to work, you were probably using the turbo to get up to speed, and then only intermittently after that.

Or am I totally off base?
 
I'd think that the last few blocks to work or home would be streets w/25mph speed zones, and you don't go screaming into your driveway or garage like a nascar pitstop - soooo I'm hoping it's cooled by then.

Rest areas on interstates might present a concern, though.
 
080669 said:
I've never had a turbo before so I could easily be wrong, but I thought the warning applied after running the turbo especially hard. So unless you're going uphill all the way to work, you were probably using the turbo to get up to speed, and then only intermittently after that.

Or am I totally off base?
Click to expand...

however you drive, the turbo should be cooled by idling for at least 30 seconds or more. basically oil is running through the turbo/engine and as you idle, it will cool it down slightly. this will prevent any hot oil to sit in the turbo, which is bad. of course this is over the long run of a turbo. so it's not like if you did it a few times, you're screwed. if you keep on doing it though, it's not good. any turbo timer will help your situation. check with any of the MS6 guys to see if they have installed a turbo timer yet.

my greddy FATT is set to 40 seconds before shutdown. if i have been running the turbo hard and then come to a park somewhere (like work), i'll just bump up the timer to like a minute or something. any cooling time is better than none.
 
my limited understanding is that is always good for the hot oil in the turbo to have time to drain back into the pan as much as possible. Whe you shut the car off and don;t let it drain, that hot oil, over time will build up inside the turbo and cause it's earlier than normal demise.
i'd say any "hard" or prolong driving, you'd want to let it "cool down"/drain back...30 secs to a minute. i let my p5 cool down for a min.
 
ChopstickHero said:
however you drive, the turbo should be cooled by idling for at least 30 seconds or more. basically oil is running through the turbo/engine and as you idle, it will cool it down slightly. this will prevent any hot oil to sit in the turbo, which is bad. of course this is over the long run of a turbo. so it's not like if you did it a few times, you're screwed. if you keep on doing it though, it's not good. any turbo timer will help your situation. check with any of the MS6 guys to see if they have installed a turbo timer yet.

my greddy FATT is set to 40 seconds before shutdown. if i have been running the turbo hard and then come to a park somewhere (like work), i'll just bump up the timer to like a minute or something. any cooling time is better than none.
Click to expand...

lol, i was typing to slow....you beat me to it!! :)
 
Please log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Sister Mary
  • Question
Turbo question
Replies
2
Views
1K
youri
Y
D
P2096 on 2011 CX-7 2.3L Turbo
Replies
0
Views
603
D-Dub
D
P
CX-7 Turbo pressure issue
Replies
0
Views
2K
Plfarms
P

Latest posts

Back