5 Things That Kill Turbo Engines ⚠️ [WARNING]

[@24bellers20]

In the early 80s I bought an MG metro turbo. The instructions said “ do not drive away with a cold engine for 15 seconds. When you arrive home leave the engine idling for 15 seconds. Failure to follow these procedures will shorten turbo life”. I have followed this routine with every turbo car that I have owned and never had a turbo fail.

[@TommyTucker0]

same here with my 80's Renault 5GT Turbo

[@EscapeToVictoryNow]

@@TommyTucker0 just want to ask , with Morden turbos , how much idling time is required before I start driving ? should I idle every time before I start giving the accelerator? Even short trips like the supermarket or grocery stores ?

[@ethanwasme4307]

@@EscapeToVictoryNow it's not needed with modern turbos, that's why you never see turbo timer mods anymore...

[@keisuketakahasi4584]

@@EscapeToVictoryNow 10-15 secs is fine, you wont waste much fuel. there is no need for idling 30+ secs like some tell you to very interesting: i used to own a mazda 3 and after an oil change (with no oil in the filter pre filled) the oil light would stay on for only about 5-7 secs, so i guess you might also get away with 5 secs but if you want to be sure take 15 secs. in the handbook of a pulsar they tell you to wait for 30 secs however.

[@matthewnicholas6365]

@@ethanwasme4307 nonsense. Plenty of modern cars are seeing turbo failure within a few tens of thousands of miles. Every engine should be treated with mechanical sympathy, but a huge no no is to thrash a turbo with cold oil or shut off a turbo engine before the oil temp has levelled back out. If your turbo is really hot after a sesh and you turn the engine off, it'll suddenly have no oil or coolant flowing through and you will shorten the life of it. I actually feel the modern generation have lost the knowledge 80s and 90s turbo owners accrued.

[@Spanede]

One more tip if I may, change your engine filter or at least check it frequently and make sure it is clean. Turbos suck in a lot of air compared to naturally aspirated engines.

[@robertveronese4405]

Air filter

[@aribibakio1962]

Is it okay to use a turbo charged cars in temperate climate arears?

[@Doonie310]

Engine filter 😂😂

[@AJ56]

Air filter, or you meant oil filter?

[@markschneider3915]

@@aribibakio1962 Better than extremely cold climates. Between turbo chargers and direct injection, these engines need to be run until warm or you'll get gasoline contamination in your oil. The Honda 1.5 engines in Accords, and CR-V's have had a lot of issues in Canada, and the colder states with this. Short trips kill these engines.

[@peteramos6081]

Turn off stop start immediately.

[@sean.d7171]

@@peteramos6081 not if it's watercooled ball-bearing they new very little oil to avoid damage.

[@lihlesasa6236]

That is a Machanical feature. The System knows when to shut the engine and when not to. When driven fast it wont shut the engind because the preasure is high in the engine but when driven slow and economically it switches off because you were driving slow and the preasure is low in the engine

[@Maynardd]

I hate that feature! It should be in reverse. It should never be on unless I turn it on.

[@thosetwodudes]

No problem in a manual

[@dregonskreper7609]

All good got a manual

[@rockkstah2550]

With so many manufacturers putting turbos on small liter engines, educating the masses is needed cause this is where the industry is heading.

[@Bizmyurt]

Is? Has been there for a long time now.

[@acedikson2690]

@@Bizmyurthe meant to say it’s mostly heading there now as is. It’s been there but it was not in every car but now almost everything is coming with it. Even working trucks so

[@zdenekkindl2778]

Most drivers do not care about these things. They buy new car every couple of years. Cars and gasoline are cheap, tires are given away free. Just come to Calgary, Alberta and see it for yourself!

[@keisuketakahasi4584]

a lot of people just lease or buy cars for 3 years and buy a new (or almost new, like 1-3 years old) one after that

[@rogeruk4291]

At last someone who knows what they are talking about 👍🏻👏🇬🇧

[@WorthlessNickores]

I have a 2004 Passat 1.8T 4motion 5 speed manual. I always let it idle at cold start until the idle settles down to 840 rpm which usually takes about 45 seconds to a minute and a half or so. I always let it idle for a minute before turning it off after hard driving. I ALWAYS ALWAYS change my oil at 4000 miles NOT 5000 or at 6 months whichever comes first. I ONLY use Shell premium non ethanol gas. I make sure my PCV system is in good working order. I only use Castrol synthetic 5w40 oil for European cars. Make sure my air filter is clean and here's two other things everyone needs to do: Clean your MAF sensor and clean your throttle body. Yes of course I do ALL of my own work.

[@garyparker2262]

Sensible precautions on a VW engine. At least you might possibly delay the onset of problems

[@kevinhawley962]

5k miles aint going to hurt shit ive been doing 5k miles oil changes on my a4 b6 quattro and it does just fine ....... FYI 1,8T 20v

[@paultruesdale7680]

Beautiful engine and driveline. Just keep looking after it and you’ll see 300000 miles easy.

[@peterpanini96]

Yeah that is good you pay more for fuel long run... 😂

[@jmi5969]

@@garyparker2262 Are they really this bad in the US or is it just the price of petrol in place of diesel? The manual for my diesel VW prescribes oil changes once in 30,000 km - perhaps too optimistic, so I change it once a year and the flushed oil is still (almost) transparent. There injection units need a cleanup after 16 years, but otherwise the engine will outlive the car and myself. These ancient motors easily make 300,000 on much heavier LCVs with next-to-nothing maintenance.

[@JusCals]

Also if you are cornering hard and do not have any oil sump modifications, it is possible the oil pick up can suck a little air due to the slosh of oil from side to side. Starving the turbo momentarily can cause failure or excessive bearing wear. Also do not leave the car at idle for cool down for too long, you will end up with the oppisite effect where the turbo starts heat sinking from the engine that now has zero air running over and around it. These thigs I mention are from experience only, I am not a mechanic but I did get 252,000 kms out of my 04 xt forester turbo because I look after it using pretty much what is mentioned in this vid and being mindfull of the things I mentioned.

[@gregorysmith177]

Yes. The silly stop start has been disconnected.

[@johnjackson2349]

@@gregorysmith177 modern engines have been designed with this in mind, when they shut off they are at top dead centre to easily start again, also in most cases the systems switch off on their own if its unsafe to do so, for example my mk4 focus st stops switching off if it's not warm or requires power for a/c. After a longer journey it's more keen to stop start because everything is as it should be

[@RaptorFPV]

@@johnjackson2349 If you would have oil pressure BEFORE the engine starts, it would help a lot... The other question is, how much gasoline do you really safe that way, and how much stress all the stops and starts put on the motor over the years? (equation: gasoline saving vs "maintenance" costs of the stop/start system over time [motor wear]). Cheers

[@PonderingOne]

@@johnjackson2349 What? There are 4 cylinders in your car. Which one is at TDC in your scenario? The auto start/stop control system may keep the engine running if the battery isn’t fully charged, but is not monitoring oil temp and determining that the turbo won’t cook if it shuts down to save a few cents.

[@spidergoose891]

Most people screw up the engine warm up. It doesn't need to idle for more than 30 seconds. Just take it easy on the throttle until you reach operating temperature.

[@edgefinesse4700]

Hi so 30 sec is good enough along with gentle easy driving starting out? What about the cool down do you think if you were driving normal is cool down neccassary

[@buckshotaaa]

Not really, if you've been taking it easy for the last mile or so after a spirited drive, that should have let the engine temp drop to a safe level negating the need to idle it prior to shutting it off.

[@scrambler69-xk3kv]

My problem is when I pull out in the morning, it never fails seems like I always get some ass in a pickup come flying up on me and they want to shove me down the road.so it makes it hard to drive gently until your vehicle warms up. Miss the days of people wanting space between their vehicle and yours, Now, they can't get close enough. Just assuming everything will be as it is supposed to be and then when the vehicle in front of you is forced to slow dramatically very quickly or even emergency stop it is a multi- vehicle accident.

[@markr.1984]

You are correct. My Honda Civic uses 0-20 weight oil and so it's like water even on a cold winter morning. I drive off with very little warm up but don't exactly drag race my car, I drive off and accelerate gently.

[@billcollins6705]

Oil changes are the key to engine longevity. Labouring an engine can do as much damage as revving the guts out of it. Drive the engine moderately until it has warmed up, and likewise if you've been using it hard and then pull in, let the engine tick over for a minute to let everything spool down and cool down. I'm driving 40+ years and these were all guidelines for turbo engines back then.

[@rambo4war]

I bought a 3.0L TDI @ 130k (miles) previous owner had the Turbo replaced at 95K. Been driving it for a while and I find that I need to add about 300 ML of oil a month w/ a mix of spirited/normal driving. I could see it starving for oil as the owner changed it @ 10K religiously. I have conducted the changes every 5k mile intervals thus far.....zero issues thus far and I always dump a high quality additive into the diesel fuel. They only sell one grade in the states and thats "crap" cant find anything useful at any gas station. Great info.

[@torquecars]

I've actually had an interesting issue with the newer 3.0 Tdi, the variable flow oil pump leads to poor lubrication if you keep the engine at low rpms for long periods, which leads to excessive wear. It's resulted in an engine seizing up and one burning oil. I think there is an ECU fix to run the oil at a higher pressure but when I've got to the bottom of it all I'll do a video on it. There are so many opinions and suggestions it's hard sifting through them all to get to the root of the matter.

[@sonofrobert]

I start rolling immediately unless freezing weather. Just drive slow with rpms low. This let's the engine and tranny warm up faster and oil getting warmed up, which prevents wear. '15 VW Sportwagon 1.8t auto at 72k and runs like new.

[@Stehan1258]

Ive been struggling to find good TDI videos for 2 years... Finally, now I found your channel.... Answers ALL my questions

[@hisownman]

Its an amazing channel. I also love it.

[@torquecars]

Cheers buddy, you've made my day with that comment, I'll be sure to drop some more diesel content for you.

[@kar4tube]

Exactly spot on tips! Thank you for breaking it down so elegantly.

[@intrepidone2796]

VERY important video - I guess many people have never thought about it. Another problem is driving with a cold engine: You should let the engine idle at least 30 seconds to allow the cold oil to reach every part of the engine. Also use low rpm until your engine reaches operating temperature (oil temp of 80-90 degrees Celsius will be reached a few minutes after the water temperature gauge shows the engine is ready to rev up fully. Also use your stop-and-go-system wisely: Let the (hot) engine idle some seconds before you accelerate since even a stop of only a few seconds will let the oil go down inside. So immediate acceleration after the engine starting will shorten your engine’s lifetime.

[@buckshotaaa]

My Mazda3 diesel 2.2 has a fast idle @ 1600 rpm for about 20 seconds from a cold start up. just enough time to fasten my seat belt. When the revs drop to normal tick-over i proceed to drive away changing up at around 1800 rpm for a couple of miles allowing the engine to warm up. I never give it a lot of loud pedal before the engine is up to operating temperature which can be up to 10 miles. When conditions allow i give it some send, (as you do). This regime has worked for me over the decades i have been driving. Modern engines are much better engineered than those of 40 years ago, just keep on top of the oil/filter changes.

[@dylyo1]

Low R's last few minutes makes much more sense than hot idling to "cool" the engine. It's never made sense to me how parking a really hot engine bay can cool anything. But low R's coming home or into work makes much more sense.

[@HeliosX33]

My neighbour always said that keeping it running for a few seconds keeps the oil flowing therefore cooling

[@Billy97ify]

The idea is to low idle for a period of time to let the turbo speed coast down before shutdown. You are right that driving at low load before shutdown will have the turbo spinning not so fast.

[@d47000]

The worry is oil coking in the bearing, although this is not much of a concern with modern oils, water cooled turbos, and electric water pumps. If you've just come off the race track, yes, let it run for a minute - the oil and coolant are much colder than the turbocharger itself

[@user-gl2eq2ly4g]

Do both

[@stanthesteelguitarman8228]

This is just good, old fashioned driving, like we used to do in the old days! Be gentle until the engine warms up and use the gears - that's what they are there for, and never let the engine labour, especially on a gradient, even though the turbo will give added power at lower revs. Great video, showing how any vehicle should be driven, as well as with a turbo engine.

[@niallntaz]

Stop start is one of the biggest engine killers.

[@steveolive9991]

1. Oil change intervals. 2. Gradual acceleration instead of flooring the accelerator. 3. Allow engine oil to warm up before driving. 4. Avoid lugging the engine (a load at low RPMS). 5. Allow the engine to cool down before turning it off.

[@bpb5541]

I have a 2011 VW GTI. I love it. It is stock .. no mods and I change the oil every 3k miles. It has 103k miles on it and while I have done maitenance on it that normal folks wouldn't do like changing out the manual transmission oil every 50k, I have done the normal stuff like spark plugs, coil packs, etc. The only issue I have ever had with the cars engine is the high pressure fuel pump. The factory one was designed poorly. I put an after market one that was much better and have had no issues. My real issue with it being a 13 year car is all the body stuff like switches and door latches etc that are going to wear out. I just replace or fix them as they come. The car is pretty much like new. Biggest thing I would recommend is to change your oil at half of what the manufacturer says. If you get a new car. Change your oil at 1000 then 3000 miles and every 3000 (if you drive hard) or 5000 miles if you drive normal. If you live in a cold area or do a lot of short drives (anything under 15 min) you should change your oil at 3000k. This is because of water in the oil does not have time to get out on those short drives. If you do all this there is no reason not to get over 200k or even 300k out of your car. Last thing clay your car every 6 months and wax it. That will keep the pain looking great.

[@EdMcF1]

Got a turbo Diesel, needed a new turbo at c. 110,000 miles. Started with a high-pitched whine that tracked with throttle movements. Cost over £1k. Live on top of a steep hill and have now made sure that the engine has a wind-down before shutting down.

[@srirachasauce8430]

Good bits of info! Pops showed me the ropes when it came to the turbo engine life. Let it warm up, don't be erratic with the throttle, and let it cool down after a rip. Oil changes at 5k kms, with a filter change/dissection halfway through. 0w40 in cool months, 5w50 for summer in my 09 Dodge Caliber SRT4. Engine is squeaky clean at 217k kms, and brings me joy every day.

[@timothylanders3189]

Especially with DI engines that harm timing chains etc if not having their oils changed very frequently ;)

[@fastinradfordable]

Injection type and timing drive are 100% unrelated

[@Davido50]

5k mi OCI w/full synthetic is perfectly fine.

[@rickydub6950]

Great advice, recently had to educate in laws that 6th gear is 70ish on motorway not 35mph lol

[@fastinradfordable]

I rode with someone with a diesel and they drove around at 4000rpm I educated her to shift damnit She said why I said because every mile you’re spinning the engine 120,000 times extra. She act like it was a personal attack I was explaining that miles Don’t tell the whole story and someone may have the same miles as you but some ass hat spun the engine has spun around twice as many times on yours. She didn’t like me saying that 😬

[@ghoulbuster1]

@@fastinradfordable Women. ☕

[@keisuketakahasi4584]

my pulsar tells me to shift in 6th at about 60 kmh when i m really just tingling the throttle. at that load its okay. it tells to downshift when you re trying to hammer the throttle at 2000 rpm (max torque is already reached at 1800 rpm)

[@Luke-ym7hd]

My car sits quite comfortably at 30mph in 5th gear. If there was too much of a load on the engine, you’d feel it. This video was decent but this bloke fails to explain that every car is different. I’m not claiming my car to be an Aston Martin, but it has enough power under the bonnet to drive around in 5th. And I’ll continue to do so as well - bollocks is it damaging my turbo what nonsense 😂

[@yinyangsaladgang8789]

​@@Luke-ym7hd It's not about the power your engine makes. No matter which engine, driving 30mph at 1000rpm is too low and you are putting more stress on the bearings compared to the same speed at 2000rpm because every power stroke now has to do twice the work to maintain that speed. And he never said it was the turbo you'd ruin by lugging it, rather your turbo engine.

[@minigunner1218]

Regarding point 4: If you have an automatic turbocharged vehicle and it's lugging at any point, tap down on the accelerator; that should give the ECU the message that you want to speed up, thus it will downshift. It may be finicky at first, but the computer should learn this habit over time.

[@MultiVicky1122]

Very good and important points. I agree with you on last point.

[@torquecars]

Thanks for the support my friend.

[@tonystewardson1119]

It’s not specifically about the oil cooling at the end of the journey, it’s about allowing the turbo to slow down whilst still receiving a constant supply of oil to keep the bearings and bearing surfaces lubricated with the engine running.

[@michau_12]

Was told some years ago, to let oil through the turbo before stopping engine, I always do that when I have driven on the country roads. Always try to reach 2000 rpm no matter what speed I drive in my diesel engine. Modern engines do the same with 1500 rpm, that's why they drive longer pr.litre than older engines. I upgraded my exaust all the way from the engine with thicker pipes and better muffler/better sound, also got more power and drive 2 km longer pr.litre diesel at the same time.

[@airmax90_king93]

This guy knows what he's talking about.....subscribed 👍🏾

[@torquecars]

Thanks for your kind words, I'm pleased this early video of mine is still proving useful to people.

[@jimmy5634]

Most of today’s turbos are designed to run on 87 octane fuel and top tier gasoline is common in the U.S. Top tier fuels contain detergents and additives to keep the fuel system clean and carbon deposits to a minimum. All the major oil companies produce and sell top tier fuel.

[@hisownman]

But the top tier fuels are quite expensive.

[@Nishimachi_Photography]

87? Wow that's low. 91 is the lowest we get in Aus, 98 is normal. Is 87 common where you are?

[@torquecars]

We have to bear in mind that the octane numbers do vary from region to region, kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmTcdniqpN2KqdU

[@DavidReagle-z1i]

@@hisownman Not in the US

[@DavidReagle-z1i]

My 2016 Passat 1.8l runs fine on 87 in Central Texas. Heat (and its hot here) and all

[@My_man_G_UK]

As my first TDI, this is gold!!

[@torquecars]

Thanks for the kind words of support my friend, and the comments do really help this channel.

[@My_man_G_UK]

@@torquecars for sure! 😊

[@mouselt1]

I agree with your assessment of turbo engines. I’ve not yet figured out why the manufacturers went down this path with more complexity and higher repair costs. The idea that they get better mileage is a myth. I drive a lot of different cars and the normally aspirated engines are as efficient if not more so and there is a smother transition into the throttle which makes for an easier vehicle to control and drive. Just not a fan of hair dryer engines for daily driver. Leave them for racing.

[@robertheinkel6225]

EPA sets requirements, and the turbo is an easy way to meet those specs.

[@peterhunter3656]

Excellent site and comments. Just what I needed to hear for my G8 2.0TDI bi turbo.

[@kayneashby9346]

Exactly what i needed to hear mate thankyou

[@ursirius4878]

For some premature acceleration has been a problem since puberty. Seriously though your advice works for any engine. You can use all the power an engine has to offer without slamming the go pedal. It's why dragsters have to be torn down after so many runs, each full power run beats the crap out of the motor. Of course that doesn't mean you can't hit it once in awhile.

[@alanschmidt3460]

Never bought a turbo charged engine vehicle and so glad I didn’t. Too many issues to deal with.

[@alastair9894]

@@alanschmidt3460 Not true

[@ACURACALABAR11]

@@alanschmidt3460 life is short. Stop worrying too much.

[@louisvl10]

about the throttle, i get that in a somewhat decently powerful car and up. but what about my renault kangoo that barely has 60hp? i usually floor it when leaving roundabouts and such...

[@marksaunderson3042]

Simple rule, start the engine, do not press the accelerator, then put your seat belt on. Lets the oil pressure build up. Then drive off. Rule 2. Arrive at your destination, take your belt off and then turn the engine off. Allows the turbo to spool down. Never ever rev the engine to ‘prime the carburettors for a cold start the following morning’ before turning it off, that never worked when cars had carbs, and diesel cars never had carbs, but it does kill turbo’s. As a neighbour found out when he killed his company car in under a year… it was painful to see him arrive home, and rev the engine and then turn in off.

[@chrisb7161]

My bmw M340 has water cooled turbo and continues to circulate water after the engine is shut off to cool the turbos if it was driven hard. The fan stays on and runs high as well. This prevents oil from being cooked off. I avoid this by just driving slow to cool it down after a hard drive anyway but nice to know the designers thought of it. Same thing happens with stop/start where the coolant continues flowing or the car won’t shut off if it’s still hot.

[@Thelategreatjohnnybratton]

Best to always be in the power band when hard driving so no sudden boast. I have had turbo cars since 1978. Great progress has been made to reduce boast lag but it’s important to keep in the power band when hard accelerating

[@Scotford_Maconochie]

My turbo engine is approaching 120k mi and still pulls hard. The key is 5k mi oil changes, no tracking, gradually allowing to warm up fully and the highest octane rating money can buy

[@pantysnifer927]

Don't forget 0W30 oil

[@Jack-lo1uc]

Modern engines will go 10-15k between services

[@Scotford_Maconochie]

@@Jack-lo1uc if you don't half the oil service interval you can potentially half the useful life of the engine

[@GoldRaven-oe4by]

Most turbos only last 150k

[@Scotford_Maconochie]

@@GoldRaven-oe4by theres turbos with 300k mi out there

[@Sympatiko85]

Great! Really enjoyed your video. hey, I have a Mercedes w204 C-class with M271-Evo, 7G-tronic optioned with dynamic handling package. wish you could explain the M271-Evo engine in a video! minimal lag, just a great high toque engine. Keep making videos. Your point of view is by far the best I've seen. Will subscribe and keep watch more of your channel. Thank you for driving and turbo car tips. my previous car was Ford Fusion Plug-in, so I've forgotten how to properly drive a RWD turbo car. sincerely FG

[@ericmcclelland4776]

Very informative.

[@ferrari5409]

How about start - stop systems in turbo charched engines? There is no cooling time fot the turbo in that case. I hope for a answer. Thx

[@torquecars]

Start stop can be manually turned off. I rarely find I go from spirited drive to a dead stop in most areas I've driven traffic tends to slow up, hence allowing the turbo to cool a little. Many stop start systems only cut in when the engine temp is right and prevent a continual stop start in traffic, some however do not it depends how clever they are and how well setup they are. Being aware of the potential issue at least gives us a chance as a driver to make an informed decision with regards to using stop start. Personally I switch off stop start unless I'm driving in urban areas with heavy traffic because I feel it is an annoying pain.

[@AconcernedUKcitizen]

I've got an ACT 1.5 tsi, I drive mostly in City conditions and dual carriageways, I've turn off my start stop and never select 6 gear and try keep it at 2000 rpm, to avoid clogging. It's really annoying the engine oil temperature only reaches 50 sometimes 60, so occasionally I'll take it down the motorway for an hour. I also change the engine oil every 3000 miles, basically which I do every year.

[@eponymous7910]

Good idea to give it a flogging every so often (when oil hits 90°c) A spirited drive in the hills really helps the engine loosen up and will also burn off any fuel that may have seeped into the oil

[@richardsimms251]

Excellent talk.

[@torquecars]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for the support and encouragement my friend.

[@EricJennings91]

Thanks mate from the USA! Subscribed

[@torquecars]

Thanks for the sub and thanks for the support my friend.!

[@markr.1984]

Turbos don't spin all that fast unless you're boosting them a lot by driving hard. At low RPMs and driving gently, the RPM of a turbo is not nearly 200,000 or 300,000 like he says.

[@jlchausse909]

First thing that kill a turbo engine car is the turbo itself. See how the new generation of engines using smaller engine with a turbo are failing after 5-10 years when the bigger older version with no turbo were bullet proof and last well over 20 years.

[@antonybarrett789]

That is a very good point regarding stop/start. It's sold as reducing pollution, but makes you wonder if its a way of wearing out things prematurely, £££ In the same way as individual pencil coils. They have a short life and are a costly service item. Old engines had one coil, would last the life of the car !! Regards cool down. The fact the car is in motion is beneficial to cool air flowing over and through the engine.

[@sunilayya8948]

Superb discussion. Many thanks.

[@torquecars]

Thanks for the support my friend and welcome to the channel.

[@andrewwmacfadyen6958]

Driving gently for the last half mile or do before before parking up also prevents brake vibration issues caused by disc warping or baked on deposits on the brake discs

[@bellini2535]

Great info. The last piece especially.

[@dj_paultuk7052]

RE 4. This is simply not the case with modern Petrol turbo cars. Essentially anything after about 2012 since they now all use Direct Injection into the Cylinder. Thus knock simply cannot occur because there is no fuel present until its precisely required. Older Port injection cars, Yes and No. Saabs for instance use Direct Ignition and Ionisation measurement for each cylinder since 1993. Knock is caught within Milliseconds and adjusted for. Massively quicker than many other cars with standard block knock sensors.

[@torquecars]

Whilst things have certainly improved the modern direct injection engines will struggle with LSPI low speed pre ignition, so although things have moved on there are still things we need to be aware of as drivers. It's good to meet a Saab enthusiast, the 900 Turbo was a favourite of mine - they seemed to over engineer everything.

[@stephenwall9036]

...ah, so that's what I've been doing wrong all this time. Great points you make. Thanks

[@torquecars]

I think we've all done these at some points, hopefully by passing on my experiences others can avoid those big bills I could have avoided.

[@rahulddeshmukh]

Really nice and informative video Would like to know more on what will be impact - with auto start and stop feature Is it good to have feature or it can kill transmission or engine?

[@Soh90]

I think the three most IMPORTANT things to remember is to never immediately drive off after a cold start, always allow a cool down after a spirited drive, and change your damn oil after 3,500 - 5,000 miles. I don’t care what the manufacturer says, do not extend your oil changes to 10,000 miles. I treat both my 2000 Saab 9-5 (2.3 turbo) and my 2014 BMW 328d (2.0 turbo diesel) the same way.

[@torquecars]

They are also my top tips based on years of experience as these videos show... kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZ2zdGmwadCnsNk kzbin.info/www/bejne/gHjbmoysiNNnf5Y

[@GrahamHumphreys-e4l]

I have always hammered my turbos hard..and always keep the revs above the turbo power kick off.But do agree about the oil though..

[@drewdevon2009]

frequent oil changes are very important on turbo engines

[@Davido50]

5k mis on modern full synthetic oils are perfectly fine.

[@BadBoiFX]

@@Davido50 if you drive like crazy yes. otherwise 7-9k miles will be fine for most cars. No need to change oil every 3 business days

[@sunilayya8948]

Is it possible to lug a car engine with an automatic transmission? Also aren't synthetic oils a must for turbo gdi engines ?

[@torquecars]

It depends very much on the car. If you can select a gear manually and there are no safeguards or fall backs then probably but most autos will just take over when you try to do something silly. Yes a good quality synthetic is a must on those, oil sludge build up can happen with the wrong oil.

[@ar12.]

Thanks for the great content, this helps me understand what I’m doing wrong I remember after driving hard on my Volvo s60 t6 the fan was still running after stopping obviously it was cooling everything still I think computers have helped a lot with some of these issues but I always warm up and drive lightly for the first 4-5 minutes seems to serve well.

[@davidgriggs3967]

I like hearing my neighbourhood fart box dct's giving it stink straight out of their driveway not only thrashing their cold engine but their expensive to fix also cold gearbox that takes alot longer than the engine to warm up.

[@Tiberius_I]

LOL can you splain to me something? What is a "fart box dct" ?

[@ghoulbuster1]

It's their problem when the engines blows up 😂

[@jimn.9990]

Great video!

[@mikeosborne7185]

Great information and really helpful for Engine and Gearbox, at lot of Drivers haven't got a clue how to drive just abuse and hammer them.

[@sky1army423]

Does diesels suffer from low speed preignition?

[@leeruffle6542]

I must be doing something right as I’m on the original turbo from 2006 in my Saab 9-3 💁

[@abhinavdeepsinha3036]

@@leeruffle6542 turbo diesel or petrol? How many kms done?

[@alastair9894]

I should hope so. My 95 Aero has done 182000 miles. Turbo perfect.

[@RaptorFPV]

Short: Treat the car as yourself (treat yourself well ;-))! When getting out of bed nobody wants to go to a sprint RIGHT AWAY. Get up, stabilize your blood pressure, drink your tea/coffee/cocoa drink, warm up, run gently, faster and faster till you´re sprinting. After that, slowly lower the speed, go back to walking, stop. Stopping right after a sprint, isn´t too healthy either! When knowing and doing it that way, the body/car/relationship will thank it, easy ;-) Cheers

[@drlove891]

I typically run it for 3-5 minutes is that long enough?

[@torquecars]

That is probably a little longer than I would but it doesn't do any harm but it does depend on the car really, some with small turbos and an oil cooler will cool down quite fast. 120 seconds is generally enough time for the turbo to spool down and cool off, at least that avoids the hottest duration.

[@stemun4084]

Best way would to have a Turbo car that's reliable in the first place, unfortunately GM killed SAAB so everyone's screwed now, except me with lots of spares.

[@torquecars]

Ah you've just sent me on a nostalgia trip, the SAAB 900 Turbo was a bedroom poster car of mine back in the 80s 90s. Great cars, it sounds like you made some good decisions and have a stockpile of parts to use. Didn't Saab just take a GM car and fit it with the highest quality parts and accessories they could perhaps GM were jealous and it was making them look bad?

[@dunnowatimdooin9230]

Wow I forgot about Saab... Vw Tdi pretty good I think

[@Grimwriggler]

my 24 year old Rover L diesel is still on its original turbo and engine is untouched.. now on 220 thousand miles, the key is, as you say, good oil and frequent changes. 4 to 6 thousand miles, and let the car warm up for a minute or two before driving from cold . I also think Diesels can last a lot longer than Petrols , not sure why.

[@torquecars]

The fuel acts as a lubricant as it is closer to being an oil and they are built to withstand much higher pressures and greater torque. The way they deliver the power through a narrow RPM range also helps keep them reliable. I did a videos that went into some of these points if you are interested. kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2bJY4yIl5Won80 But yes those older pre DPF diesels seem to last forever

[@HomeGrownPyro1]

Totally underrated video. Lots of good info thanks

[@torquecars]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the kind words of support.

[@dn059]

That shoe/Sock combo is criminal my man 😂 but good advice cheers

[@fluffycotton4683]

Always if possible, drive very gently for 5-10 miles before reaching your destination, followed by 1min idle, works for me.

[@ryanwatterson4038]

@@fluffycotton4683 ott

[@Finglesham]

My Focus 150 TDCI indicate which gear I should be using so as not to labour the engine. However, these devices cannot see the road ahead so I often change down well before we reach a hill or point where a lower gear is needed. Also sixth gear is really only useful to me on the motorway.

[@Altair885]

There's only really two things that kill a turbo. One is too much heat, the second is insufficient or contaminated oil. Everything else is pretty much just old wives tales! Take the common misconception that you should let the Turbo spin down before turning the engine off. If you think about it carefully, why would you need to? People state that the turbo will continue to spin even after the engine has stopped and that it will run dry of oil. Both of these statements are incorrect, the turbo is basically a very efficient fan/pump, however once there is no expanding exhaust gas to drive it the inertia it has very rapidly gets depleted by the resistance of the air on the induction side, the free-wheeling effect is at best momentary. The second point is that even if the turbo were to spin after the the engine is turned off it will not run dry. Turbos are designed with an inbuilt reservoir that encompasses the bearing area of the turbo, the idea being that during startup or shutdown the turbo has a ready supply of lubrication to avoid a run dry situation. During normal operation the turbo should receive no I'll effects from either stopping or starting the engine, which is why stop start technology is available on turbo petrol/diesel engines.

[@MrDaveB123]

Nice to read a comment that actually makes sense Im so friggen stressed about picking up my turbo Mazda CX 50 I just purchased. Almost wanting to cancel the sale and get the NA

[@torquecars]

The new turbo designs are indeed perfectly reliable so you have nothing to worry about. Taking these precautions will help but many will argue they are not even necessary but even on non turbo engines following a good warm up/cool down will prolong engine life. I will do a video discussing the reliability of modern turbos for you though.

[@torquecars]

The video about turbo reliability will be going live on Aug 10th. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6DYpHiwe9qSZpI

[@dh1380]

Bug bear of mine: The R in RPM stands for Revolutions. PLURAL. RevolutionS per minute. Not revolution per minutes. RPMs do not exist. RPM does.

[@briankress9997]

I have an Infiniti Q 60 21 and it has water cooled turbos on it. Does this apply to those also to let it run before you shut it off?

[@maxgomila8209]

'This causes Low Speed Premature Ignition which involved dramatic and sudden changes in pressures inside the engine, and cannot be easily mitigated,' API SP engine oil can help to reduce the risk of LSPI events within the engine.

[@20VA]

I purchased a 2020 subaru wrx back in June of 2020 ... have NEVER dumped the throttle and have ALWAYS waited until the idle dropped to normal operating idle before I started driving ... YES the engine is still cold so NO I'm not going crazy with it ... once that idle drops to normal I take off very smoothly and I shift every 2.5k RPM's when there is no traffic behind me and not more than 3k RPM'S when there is traffic behind me just so I don't hinder it ... and even after everything is at fully operational conditions I still NEVER shift any higher than 3k RPM's ... I turn very smoothly in corners ... accelerate very smoothly in corners and once I get to my desired speed I enage cruise control ... no matter where I am at ... no matter what the speed is ... I LIVE off cruise control ... that is how I pull the most out of my fuel economy and Im telling you guys I can EASILY pull 500 miles on a full tank with this car and that is with highway / city COMBINED ... I HAVE modified this vehicle throughout the 4 years I have owned it nothing too serious ... suspension is FULLY upgraded and I attacked that first because lets face it ... factory suspension is FUCKING GARBAGE on wrx's ... and you can't even adjust camber in the rear nor caster in the front so I took care of that IMMEDIATELY ...I mean how the fuck you NOT going to allow those adjustments ??? ... how INEPT does a so-called ENGINEER have to be ??? ... but I have fully upgraded sway bars ... end links ... lower control arms ( ADJUSTABLE lower AND upper control arms in the rear ) ... upgraded turbo inlet and charge pipe from the PLASTIC PIECE OF SHIT factory garbage to what it SHOULD HAVE BEEN FROM THE FACTORY TO BEGIN WITH ... front and rear strut tower bars ... upgraded pitch mount ... transmission/engine mount ... upgraded black zinc coated drilled and slotted rotors with ceramic premium brake pads ... upgraded stainless steel braided brake lines ... I mean I can go ON and ON ... I have upgraded so much on this vehicle it actually IS funny ... all parts installed by yours truly as well I will add ... because I don't anyone else to get the job done RIGHT ... but I take well care of this vehicle even with all the modifications ... I change the oil and filter every 5k Miles ON THE MARK and I even perform a full GDi service on it as well ... entire fuel injection system gets cleaned and I even clean the valves ... I now have just short of 55k on her and she sounds and drives and even handles better than 99% of every other wrx out there on the road ... I guaran-damn-tee it

[@Davido50]

@@20VA My Ford Focus RS is far superior to any other turbo AWD performance car I've owned. Facts. Never sell it!

[@Baman21]

1.starting the car 2 driving the car 3 stopping the car 4turning off the engine 5 not driving the car

[@chriswalker4272]

Although most average cars don't, Defenders do run the turbo optimally at low rpm and produce lots of low down torque. But many average cars are over geared making it necessary to drive in 3rd sometimes too

[@torquecars]

Thats a useful tip to know, was this in all the turbo engines they used?

[@ivanhribernik3418]

What do you think about QMI motor treatment, when you add QMI treatment when you change the oil, QMI stays on the walls of motor and turbo for about 100.000 km and it is like driving wet ice on ice, I add it in many cars till now and it works very good.

[@E38kabelo]

Hi there. Very informative video. My engine light went on due to my faulty turbo. So, I stopped driving my car (audi A3 8p mileage on 200k) until i could find a mechanic to recon the turbo. About 2 weeks later, i started the car again to move the car, and the orange engine light was gone. I still haven't repaired it. Does this mean i have to get turbo cleaner for the turbo or completely replace it?

[@fastinradfordable]

Turning key on off resets some engine lights But scanning the computer will reveal the code

[@klazzera]

octane isn't related to quality, using a fuel of octane higher than the manufacturers recommendation isn't gonna increase power or longevity in your mint stock car. it's only viable when there is so much carbon deposit in the combustion chamber that your compression ratio is increased, so you don't get knock by using a higher octane fuel. but at this point there are more proper fixes like getting the deposits cleaned.

[@sixstringedthing]

Carbon buildup would have to get pretty extreme to significantly alter the compression ratio, you've probably got bigger problems than knock by that point. The main issue with carbon deposits is that they can cause "hot spots" in the combustion chamber (especially on or around the sparkplug electrodes) which increases the likelihood of pre-ignition/detonation. This is why it's important to always use correctly specified plugs and follow the manufacturer's recommendations for octane rating.

[@michaelmyers8931]

This may sound a little Bizzarre Ione a European turbo charged car after a drive I open the hood of my car and help the cooling process a little more than just relying on the cooling fan petroleum products breakdown with excessive heat so I dispose of the heat by opening my hood for 10 to 20 minutes not a big deal but what do you think of that

[@ridehead8771]

What about cars with START STOP system? How is this affect the cooling down of the turbo??

[@torquecars]

Does start stop matter that much? It depends on your journey and traffic levels really. I rarely find I go from spirited drive to a dead stop in most areas I've driven traffic tends to slow up, hence allowing the turbo to cool a little. The other factor is that your engine will start again shortly after so the oil circulation and cooling can continue so this is not the same as switching off the engine for good. Start stop can be manually turned off in most cars and if you regularly go from spirited drive to stop often I would recommend doing this. Being aware of the potential issue at least gives us a chance as a driver to make an informed decision with regards to using stop start. Personally I switch off stop start unless I'm driving in urban areas with heavy traffic because I feel it is an annoying pain.

[@aspecreviews]

Turbo hybrids exist. In your sort of situation, a turbo hybrid would have gone pure EV when you've lifted off the throttle to slow down, therefore potentially damaging the turbo, although manufacturers would likely implement safeguards to prevent this sort of damage in a hybrid application.

[@michaeljohnson4975]

Keep an eye on your oil temperature ( about 4 miles in summer and more in the winter ).

[@daveblock4061]

!) Octane and quality of fuel are mutually independent. 2) The computer will not allow overboosting. 3) Your everyday car's turbo spins at half that RPM. 4)

[@tonyclarke7044]

My Peugeot turbo has a factory fitted oil temp. guage. A great idea.

[@Mr6384]

Listening to the first part of this about the better grated fuel raises a question for me. I recently bought a 2024 Nissan rogue with the 1.5 turbo three cylinder. We now have about 2700 miles on it and I ran regular fuel through it for the first three tanks and got about 32 miles to the gallon average then I tried running high test through it and it dropped to 29 miles to the gallon and then I went to midgrade twice and it dropped to 30 miles to the gallon . My question is the owners manual says use the 87 octane, which makes me wonder is the timing set for that lower octane?

[@kidplan5577]

What's the advice when stuck in traffic with engine idling for long periods.

[@svenschwingel8632]

LSPI has been linked to high concentration of calcium-based additives in the engine oil, mostly detergents and dispersants. Using API SP oils can mitigate the problem of LSPI. The calcium-based additives have been substituted by magnesium-based additives which seemed to have done the trick. It's still advisable to avoid lugging the engine, though.

[@torquecars]

That is really interesting I'll be looking into this more now you've pointed me in this direction, thanks for the heads up.

[@svenschwingel8632]

@@torquecars you are very welcome 😉

[@paveljelinek772]

You reach maximum efficiency of the engine at the point when you get maximum torque, it's usually around 2300-3500revs, anything lower/higher just does not make sense..

[@kevinpedersen5290]

Step 5 is not true for all cars. Some cars keep the circulation going while the car is hot, even when switched off

[@mclaren122]

maby so,, and that's good---but do you know what car who has that..or the ovner maby not even know it. so it is just a good rule to have for any car.

[@efraimuusiku6376]

Thank you for the information boss, but i have question about the idling when you start the engine and shutting it off after stopping. Do I have to do all that each and every time in a day?

[@torquecars]

If you are starting an engine again, it will be fairly warm already and will typically still have some oil. I wait just 10-20 seconds or so whilst I put my belt on before I pull away if it's not the first trip of the day. When you stop if you've been doing high rpms then you should let it cool IMHO, but in reality whilst you are parking up and doing the last bit of your journey you'll probably find things have cooled down again and the risk is much lower. The problem comes when you have a big change in heat on the engine, starting from cold and revving hard, or driving hard then shutting off.

[@efraimuusiku6376]

@@torquecars Arlight, now I get it. Thank you very much once again 🙏.

[@marswrld2489]

I have a turbo mustang and I always warm it up before I drive and my friends always think I’m weird for doing that and a waste of time

[@ckhound1]

The Fuel argument isn't really relevant unless the Manufacturer specifies that. Most VW for example recommend normal Fuels now. Fuel isn't a "worse quality" because its not a higher octane, it just has a higher octane. Yes, some engines require it as there will be backfires, but that would be specified by the manufacturer.

[@stevenfoleyuk9404]

New Engines have a small oil tank that carries on suppling oil when the Engine had been switched off and the Turbo is still spinning .

[@soloflexmaricruz6702]

I'm just curious about the turbo timer and affecting the immobilizer. It this your opinion, or has it been proven? Please respond!

[@torquecars]

If you switch off the engine and remove the key the engine is still running so it is not immobilized, you are effectively walking away leaving the car switched on. Insurance companies would not approve of a car which is normally immobilized and protected from running happily without the immobilizer. It would be possible to get the immobilizer circuit to switch on after the turbo timer has run, but most that I've seen just bypass the immobilizer and make it easy to hot wire the car.

[@soloflexmaricruz6702]

@@torquecars I wasn't looking at it from insurance stand point. I thought it causes issue for the immobilizer.

[@torquecars]

Ah I see. The immobilizer is completely bypassed in most cases so the car will start without the unlock happening, and in the best case scenario is that it is only disabled when you shut the engine off for the cooldown period.

[@AconcernedUKcitizen]

The problem with turbo's, people think the have a performance car under their ass and over rev which causes oil to be pushed past the rings due to high pressures. Depending on and who changes your oil, I bet its filled to its max. It'll push oil past the piston rings, depending how much abuse you've caused over the years , it'll enter into the combustion chamber and out into the system which will cake everything in carbon. This means it'll cake your turbo and valves which will definitely effect performance and fuel efficiency. Top tip change oil every 5000 miles with high quality oil and change gear at the appropriate speed, and don't just turn off the engine after a drive, just wait a minute.

[@scrambler69-xk3kv]

When you arrive at your destination, do not just immediately shut off the engine. Sit there and allow the engine to run for a couple of minutes to allow oil to circulate to the turbo to cool it off some.

[@Wayne-yo6ej]

Thanks for this quick and precise video! I have a 2014 Fiat 500L Trekking, 1.4 litre turbo. Got a P0299 code, recently. Changed to higher octane gas. Is there an additive that will help as well?

[@torquecars]

Underboost codes are hard to track down, it could be a simple boost leak, or clogged exhaust, actuator or diverter valve problems, intake problems or even a dirty air filter. These seem quite sensitive, I know some guys have tweaked the threshold for lower RPM's to avoid this. BG do a nice range of additives that will help clear up soot from inside the engine and can help improve the EGR flow too. What is the mileage it might just need a walnut blast on the intake.