OK you have been caning your Zed hard on a hot day and you are running low on petrol. You happen across a petrol station (the only one for miles around) - my question is:

 

Is it safe to turn off the car whilst you get petrol (since you will then be driving off shortly thereafter) or would you sit about for a few minutes with your turbo timer on (which can be difficult at a petrol pump)?

 

Obviously you can put the turbo timer on once you get home but what about temporary stops of a few minutes to get some petrol? will this harm the turbos?

 

many thanks :confused:

Personaly I would pull into the parking area of the station and sit for a few mins and let the turbo's cool, then pull up to the pump.

The whole point of turbo timers is to keep the oil supplied to the turbos while everything ticks over and cools down. So if you turn it off, you don't get that benefit and your turbos suffer.

Alternatives:

1) Keep an eye on the fuel gauge and don't cane it if you know you're low on fuel.

2) If you know you're going to cane it, fill up first.

3) See the petrol station, slow down and drive without caning it for 5 miles in one direction and then back again.

4) ^^^ what he said :D

So how long is it after truning off before the turbos actually start becoming harmed?

As far as I know (and I wait to be corrected) when you turn the engine off with hot turbo's the oil obviously stops circulating around them and can bake onto the internals of the turbo's. Letting the engine idle for a few mins allows the oil to cool the turbo's.

Immediately http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbo_timer

 

You've got very hot metal rotating very quickly with no oil supply. It'll stop rotating pretty quickly but if the turbo is too hot, you'll cook the oil in the oilways. Leaving nastly little deposits and making your oil a bit less effective. Neither are very good for the like of the oil nor the moving parts it protects.

 

Personally, I would never boot the car unless it was well warm through out (5 - 10 mins) and that includes the tyres. And coming home, I would drive normally using as little boost as poss for at least 5 mins prior to stopping.

 

(and what he said ^^^^ again dammit :D )

Just use common sense and don't drive it hard if you're low on fuel and trying to find a petrol station. Not only will you cool the turbos down without having to sit outside the petrol station with the engine on for 5 minutes, but you'll have less chance of getting fuel surges and running the car lean.

 

If I know I have to stop and turn the engine off within the next 'X' amount of time/miles, I'll drive accordingly

 

:)

haha i always sit next to the pump while is ticking the count down i have sit there having stares, looks and all sorts from stress heads waiting for me haha.

I would pull up to the pump and wait. Its only about 30 secs or so. I have spent 5 mins sitting waiting for some fookin idiot to put their seatbelt on and tidy the handbag. straighten the hair and touch up the lipstick. So dont worry. The place wont burst into flames.

 

 

I think :confused:

That sparks a good question:

 

What is your Turbo Timer set at. Mine is set at 30 secs. If I give it some the timer automatically rises the time. Its been up to 42 secs before but thats the highest?

mine's 1 minute 30 sec :D

TBH. I aint got a clue. I havent got the instrctions for it as it was on the car when I got it. So I dont know if mine is set correctly or not?

sounds obvious, but low petrol = dont thrash. that law's looked after me for ages :D

My turbo timer is set at 3 mins but most of the time I just drive at a slower pace for about 4-5 mins before I need to stop.

 

Just use a bit of common sense.

 

Personally I think it is safer for everyone if you turn your motor off when you are at the pump.

 

I once filled up mu van in a garage in New Zealand and there was this fat old granny in the car next to me, smoking a fag while her car was being filled! I had to step in and tell her she might kill us all!

ive found that the final 5 mins of driving off boost and keeping the rpm really low seems to be better than letting it idle for a min or two after a hard blast due to "heat sink", on idle after driving hard the engine temps atually rise for a couple of mins so this is kinda counter productive in my eyes :confused:

what he said ^^^^ if you have an after market temp gauge you can watch it rise if you just stop and let it tick over

i have a aftermarket temp gauge and it never moves till i stop and let it idle i have my turbo timer set to 1 min if i set it to auto it goes to around 5 mins if i have been bootin it

Better to have a nice smooth drive for 5 mins before home or the petrol pump, air over the rads, coolers that cool the water and oil which results in less heatsink...