Heat up turbo

[adaxo]

Hi everybody, I got one question, VR4 is my first turbo car and I am a bit in the dark abut it so the question is:

How long/far you drive your vr4 (or other turbo car) or leave running stationary, before you can fairy safely floor it? I know its much easier to judge if you got gauges (oil/water temp) installed, and this will be fitted in my car later but till this happen please fill below chart and leave you comments (adjust chart) if you wish.

temp outside, how long run engine in minutes, how many miles you drive
-10 to -5
- 5 to 0
0 to 5
5 to 10
10 and above

[foxdie]

I've applied a loose rule of thumb, take the time it takes for the engine coolant temp to get from 0 to operating (a fraction under halfway) and then double it, so if it takes 10 mins to get to halfway, add another 10 mins on before giving it serious beans.

[adaxo]

I've applied a loose rule of thumb, take the time it takes for the engine coolant temp to get from 0 to operating (a fraction under halfway) and then double it, so if it takes 10 mins to get to halfway, add another 10 mins on before giving it serious beans.

Oh this bad for me because I drive 10 mins to work, need to find longer way or never will be able to floor it

[Humpty's Revenge]

Talking from experience & having a oil temp gauge in one of my legnums Jason`s almost spot on!

Ive found if you just weight for the oil to reach temp by just letting it tick over can take up to approx 30 - 40 minutes in very cold whether to 25 - 30 minutes in warm.

As Jas says wait till you get the temp gauge around halfway of its normal working water temp then drive reserved for around 10 - 15 minutes after it reaches full working temperature.

Also depends on the type of oil you are using as well.

[Wobble]

i always give it at least 10 mins nearer 20

[Wodjno]

I've never bothered waiting for engine to warm up before i boot it.. I've never had any issues with any VR4 engines.. i have owned various 1's now for over 7 years..

Like Adam.. 99% of my journeys are less than 10mins

[Turbo_Steve]

If your car is completely standard, it'll take abuse from cold - the ECU is going to limit things anyway.
If you've overidden stuff like boost control, it's better to avoid driving it too hard at least until the water jacket has started heating up.

All you're doing, though, is shortening the life of components. How much you shorten them varies depending on many many factors, including their existing wear, quality of oil etc etc.
Bearing in mind that the turbos are probably designed for 300,000miles of normal usage, it takes a fair bit of cold-abuse to halve their lifespan. However, 1Bar of boost every morning from stone cold is likely to cause the seals to go. Camshaft wear is unlikely to make it go bang, but regular wear is likely affect the engines performance over time (again, how many 10,000's of miles, though?)


If it's non-standard, and you're in doubt - set the heater to 26 degrees when you start the car. Once the whole cabin is nice and warm (not just the air coming out of the vents) then the whole engine is likely to be nice and warm too.

[adaxo]

Ok, thanks all for input, what I remember from every day use of my v6, is the water temp needle move at roughly (after approx 2 miles,+ -500m of drive) the same time regardless of out side temp and in comparison with vr4 water temp needle move a lot quicker so I am right thinking vr4 is heat up quicker?

[Turbo_Steve]

The turbos will recover some heat from the exhaust and from their own rotational friction into the water jacket and oil, which will help to heat things up quicker.
The main thing you're concerned with is the oil temp, which can (and often is, on a cold day) lower than the water temp.
Cold oil is less likely to be where you need it when you need it, and possibly to offer less protection (and generate more friction).