I was wondering what it is that finishes off a turbo. Seems to me that a manual driven hard gives the turbo the hardest time with the pressure shocks and turbine decelerations each time the throttle is slammed shut at max boost while you change gear. You then depend on recircs or bovs to ease up on it.

 

An auto doesnt do this because you keep the throttle wide open all the way up the gears. The only time you "shock" it, as it were, is when you lift off suddenly at max boost.

 

So maybe turbo life is more related to how many max boost gearchanges the car gets rather than simply mileage.

Originally posted by WillieO

So maybe turbo life is more related to how many max boost gearchanges the car gets rather than simply mileage.

Or simply how well they have been looked after.

I dont think you can really say Auto turbos last longer without really seeing proof of how many autos have problems with turbos as opposed to manuals with the same year and rough milage on them.

oil starvation and over spinning impellors are turbo killers, i dont think stop start and stall of the impellors give them trouble.

if you look at turbo failure it is usually the Housing cracking or the shaft siezing (which leads to impellors leaving there intenended posistion in the turbo )