Goodbye little doggy

Our beautiful little doggy, Chloe (18yo), died peacefully in her sleep on the morning of the 19th of January. She was still warm so we only missed her by 20 minutes or so. We knew it was coming for a long time however we were devastated when she went and more so that we weren't right there with her. My wife and I have been very sad and it will be a very long time before we move on and we will never forget her.. rest in peace little doggy.

Turbo timers.. do you really need one?

A turbo timer is designed to keep the engine running for a predetermined time after the key is turned to off. The theory is that because turbochargers can reach temperatures of 1100 celsius or more and 10,000 - 15,000 rpm, if you just switch off your engine stopping the flow of water and oil running through the casing of the turbo for cooling and lubrication, it aint a good idea!

The reason manufacturers don't fit turbo timers from the factory is more to do with local licensing laws and liability issues. For example, in South Australia they don't allow the fitting of turbo timers to vehicles manufactured after 1 Jan 1972 citing ADR25 (anti theft steering locks) stating... "ADR 25 requires that the normal function of the engine only occurs when the ignition lock is in the engine on position" however I have read the ADR and I believe that they have misinterpreted clause 5.11 that states "when the protective device has been activated (locked) it is not possible to activate the motive power (start the engine) by normal means".. this means that it must not be possible to start the engine.. however if the engine is already running it isn't covered by the ADR requirement..... in my opinion.
With regards to liability issues, manufacturers don't want to be responsible for a situation where someone may jump into a car with the engine running, break the steering lock, take off and kill someone and hold them liable.This is also a concern for us so we offer our customers an alarm system with a built in turbo timer designed to cut the engine if the car is broken into. The great thing about turbo timers built into the alarm system is that there is nothing hanging down under the dash that looks crappy, comes unstuck and gets in the way. Also the Autowatch 446Rli alarms we fit will only run on if the engine has been running for 3 minutes or more because obviously you don't need the engine to run on if the turbo isn't very hot. If you don't want the engine to run on (eg when refuelling) just push a button twice on the remote control to shut it down.

So, should you have a turbo timer?.. my opinion is "yes" as my theory is why take the chance especially if you can have a system that is no hassle, doesn't look crappy and works well.

The secret of long turbo life is frequent oil changes (every 5000kms) and using a turbo timer.