[Author Prev][Author Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Author Index][Thread Index] Re: How to drive a turbo
Alan Callery asked- >Al Powell said > >> [snip] >> >> Hey - if you can get a turbo, GET IT. It's a stronger car and those >> on THIS list know how to use synthetic lubes - and will instruct you >> in how to drive a turbo so as to extend its service life - if you >> don't already know. Enjoy. >> > >Could we create a "Top 10 List" on "How to drive a Turbo so as to extend its >service life"? > >Thanks > OK- lets start with a top 3 1- Let it run for a little while before you drive it hard. 2- Let it run for a little while after you drive it hard. 3- Watch your oil carefully. Turbos spin incredibly fast (the one in my Colt was spec'd to something like 130k RPM or so). The speed at which they operate requires the bearings to be well lubed. Letting the car run a while before hard driving (the kind that would 'spin-up' your turbo) ensures that oil will have had time to reach the bearings in the turbocharger. Letting the engine run a while _after_ the turbo has been in use allows it to 'spin-down' from those ridiculously high rpms with oil pressure maintained in the bearings. If you just shut off the engine, the oil flow would stop while the turbo spins on.....ouch. Also, the flowing oil removes some of the heat from the turbocharger. They also operate in the hottest portion of your engine, just downstream from where combustion takes place. Turbochargers can get _very_ hot. This heat can turn your oil into a goo that will clog up the passsages in the turbo, kinda like a stick of butter in an artery. This is bad, and will result in reduced oil flow. Turbos can be hard on oil. Running the engine gently after a hard run will keep oil from stagnating in the turbo while it's at its hottest. I think I saw a post that said that Audi turbos were water cooled. Even if this is the case, this does not affect the need to get oil into the turbo before spinning it up, nor the need to maintain oil pressure while the turbine spins down. _____________________________________________________________________________ Robert S. Cohen NewMedia Inc., 503 E 200th Street, Cleveland OH 44119-1545 voice 216.481.7900 fax 216.481.1570 The Lubrizol Corp., 29400 Lakeland Blvd MS 228, Wickliffe OH 44092 voice 216.943.1200 x 2012 fax 216.943.7215 Email: rsco@lubrizol.com rsc2@po.cwru.edu cohen@nmedia.com ____________________________________________________________________________
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