[Soft99ES]

How long do you let your engine cool down/idle after driving before turning off? Just curious

 

[R1600Turbo]

On a daily basis, none. Water cooled turbo makes it unnecessary. Now, if I am at an autocross and just did a run I will let it idle for 15-20 seconds before shutting it off.

 

[KyleBrown]

I do at least 30 seconds after my trip to or from work, when driving on the highway the car is in boost constantly.

I owned a 1987 Toyota supra that had a water cooled turbo and there was a cool down warning on the drivers door. Water cooled or not fresh oil should pass through the bearings after driving before shutting the engine down.

 

[R1600Turbo]

I do at least 30 seconds after my trip to or from work, when driving on the highway the car is in boost constantly.

Unless you are constantly flooring it on the highway or live in the mountains, the car is not in boost at highway cruising speeds.

 

[Alex]

Unless you are constantly flooring it on the highway or live in the mountains, the car is not in boost at highway cruising speeds.

Agreed, I have an hour drive to my parents house on highway and unless I am accelerating to pass someone, cruising speed does not engage the turbo to my knowledge as the RPMs are usually lower than 3000.

But in terms of cool down, if I have driven it longer than 20-30 minutes I'll let it cool down for 30 seconds or so before shutting it off. But if I am just driving the mile to work or just around the city, no highway, I don't idle it.

 

[KyleBrown]

Unless you are constantly flooring it on the highway or live in the mountains, the car is not in boost at highway cruising speeds.

Well I guess my boost gauge is broken then because at 110 km/h, cruise set, the gauge is showing 2-3 psi which would then put the turbo in boost, but again my boost gauge must be broken.

Anyways it never hurts to let the turbo cool down before turning the engine off.

 

[R1600Turbo]

On a car that can hit 18psi peak depending on conditions, 2-3psi is definitely not working the turbo hard enough to warrant a "cool down".

 

[Feared#87]

Your cooling fan kicks on when needed to help with cool down.

 

[KyleBrown]

The Choice is completely yours, I prefer to let my turbos have a "cool down" period. I have done this for over 17 years and it has never done any damage to any of my engines.

Everyone has there own will preference and own way of doing things this is just mine.

 

[GsiTurbo]

When I drive my car hard, I will do 2-3 minutes of 'civilised' driving before shutting off. Other than that, I just shut if off. The turbo is water and oil cooled, if you are using synthetic motor oil it will be just fine. I had two other turbocharged cars in the past, one also had turbo timer (kept motor running for 2 minutes after removing the key from the ignition switch). Over the years design of turbochargers improved so did the oil. These days modern quality turbochargers rarely die on their own. Usually it is caused by other factors.

 

[R1600Turbo]

The Choice is completely yours, I prefer to let my turbos have a "cool down" period. I have done this for over 17 years and it has never done any damage to any of my engines.

Everyone has there own will preference and own way of doing things this is just mine.

Cars today are not the same as they were 17 years ago. Not saying it's doing damage, it's just not preventing any like you think it is. Completely understand if you want to let it idle for 20-30 seconds after pushing the car hard (I always do after an autocross run) but for just driving around normal on the streets, completely unnecessary. But you do you I guess.