TwinTurbo.NET: Nissan 300ZX forum - Honestly, I am serious... although I may get flamed for this
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Subject Honestly, I am serious... although I may get flamed for this
     
Posted by Scotts94z32 on June 05, 2003 at 3:55 PM
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In Reply To Are you tracking your car??? posted by Scotts94z32 on June 05, 2003 at 03:16 PM
     
Message I'll describe my thoughts below.

Granted, the turbo timer is only a 75 dollar investment, so it's not that much. I came to this feeling after reading Corky Bell's book "Maximum Boost", so if you haven't read it, please do so. If you have read it, and you don't agree with him, then you probably won't agree with me either. Ok, onto some explanations...

The old argument of "coked turbos" is old, and out of touch (a la Corky Bell). Properly treated turbos are your responsibility, i.e. you need to regulary change your oil and filter, and not turn off the car immediately after HARD driving (a la open track driving). Oil temperatures don't get high enough to begin the "coking" process from your everyday drive down the road, or down the highway... A 10-15 second turbo cool at idle is always a good idea, and was suggested by Corky Bell for everyday usage.... 10-15 seconds? If you can't lay off the boost for 15 seconds before parking the car, then a timer is for you... for those of us who can control our turbo-impulses, and lay off as we pull into the parking lot, park the car, etc., then you really don't need it. It dosent help that much unless you are running really hard and in the boost. Turbo’s are water cooled, so one may suggest to drive gently, off boost, for last 60 seconds and let idle for 30 seconds. Thats probably overkill (again, quoted for Bell). If you stop after doing a track event or immediatly after flogging the car hard, let it idle for at least 1 minute, better would be 2 or 3 - this I agree with. This is where a turbo-timer may be necessary. On the track where you can't set the e-brake (pads will transfer to the rotor), and you obviously can't leave it in gear while it is at idle. Pay more attention to the oil as you creep over 3000 miles - even with synthetic (remember the oil filter was also designed for 3000 miles, even if synthetic oil may be able to "last" longer).

I had a 1990 Stage III Z that I drove "hard" for 5 years.. put 140k miles on it, still with original turbos. The car went into the shop because one of the actuators broke off - don't ask. My turbos were inspected at that time - all good. I never had a turbo-timer, I just made sure to drive easily that last mile before shutting the car down (I wasn't tracking back then). When I went to trade it in, some of the "younger" salesmen at the dealership said I should have replaced the turbos at 70 or 80k... They had no idea what they were talking about. Turbos don't just "go bad". If they do, "take some accountability on how frequently you change your oil, instead of blaming the turbos" (taken straight from Bell). Now, I have a 94 Stage-whatever Z that I track all the time. I still don't have a timer, but am only giving it some consideration because when I tracked a week ago and was letting the car idle, it was difficult to find a place where the car would not roll (again, not using the e-brake).

I hope this has been helpful...

SS

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