Idrive a turbo , How long do I allow this engine to idle before driving…Most of my driving is in town and under 60 miles per hour…rarely do I kick in the turbo.
Thanks guys love your show!!!
Kellyannie
I don’t know how long you let your car idle. I let mine idle long enough to fasten my seat belt, maybe a little longer if the weather is really cold.
Turbo does not really make a difference. It is generally good to drive off as soon as the engine will provide reliable power. However you don’t want to hit the freeway or do jackrabbit starts until about the time the car is starting to put out heat.
Remember that in extreme cold you need to warm up more than the engine, you want heat to clear the windscreen and you want to warm up the suspension system etc. before hitting the freeway.
It’s more important to let the engine idle a bit before you shut it off than it is to idle it before you drive it in the morning. The turbo-charger spins REALLY fast, and if you shut off the engine while it’s still spinning at high speed it can cause problems with the turbo bearings.
Why did you buy a turbo-charged vehicle for this driving environment?
Few things, change your engine oil every 4months/3750 miles.
Before driving don’t worry about warm up just drive very easy and keep RPMS low by driving easy and out of boost(power rush).
The only time to idle the car after driving is if you are in boost and then park the car immediately after. This is a rare event. The only event I can think of is climbing a highwa hill and then pulling off onto the side spot. I would say 99.5% of driving before parking is out of boost and your turbo gets the idle down.
The only time the turbo spins is when the car is in boost. This is a rare event before shutting off.
Also to add Subaru uses convection in the cooling system to continue cooling the turbo after it is shut off. Subaru’s stance is idle down is not necessary in the modern turbo Subaru’s except after hard usage of vehicle.
First of all, so long as the car is on, the turbo is always spinning, it’s just that at idle or easy driving, it’s not spinning fast enough to make boost. So the issue isn’t really turning the car off while the turbo is spinning (on or off boost). The main reason you’d want to idle the car after driving it is to cool the turbo down.
After hard use- extended periods “on boost” like racing- can raise the temp of the turbo to over 1000 degrees, so turning the engine off w/o letting the coolant and oil circulate through and cool it off can lead to cooking the bearings and oil.
In your case though, in town and rarely on boost, I wouldn’t worry about it. I doubt the turbo gets anywhere near hot enough. If you really are concerned though, you can always invest in a “Turbo Timer” which keeps the engine running for a predetermined amount of time after you’ve left and locked the car.
That’s up to you, but personally, I wouldn’t bother. I’ve had a number of turbocharged cars that went 20+ yrs and never had a problem w/ the turbo cooking itself.
After driving my Mazda turbo I let it idle for about a minute before shutting it down. This is enough time to allow the turbo bearings to cool down so the oil doesn’t coke on the turbo bearings.
Tester
To add, I found an old link sent to me why turbo cool down not needed here from Subaru technical newsletter for Techs:
http://www.endwrench.com/current/summer03/InsiderInfoEndFall03.pdf
Thank you all so very much for all of the advice…Truly appreciate the tips
Kellyannie
Just how will warming up the engine and interior warm up the suspension?
Just how will warming up the engine and interior warm up the suspension?
I won’t which is why I wrote: "It is generally good to drive off as soon as the engine will provide reliable power. "
Which Mazda do you have that’s got a turbo? You got the Speed3?
1990 Mazda 626 GT.
Tester