Turbo cool down period

[crazie.eddie]

I know after some hard driving to let your car sit at idle for a few minutes. I was planning to install a remote start system on my n'04 PT GT. Will it be just as affective if I stop the vehicle, then restart it using the remote start and let the engine shutdown that way? Or will it be pointless?

[MichaelDay]

The idea is to not shut down the engine until the turbo has cooled down. There are turbo timers available that do just that. Without an exhaust manifold temperature gauge you are really just guessing at the correct time anyway.

My motorhome has a Cummins diesel with an exhaust manifold temperature gauge and I was surprised how hot the exhaust temperature is after driving on the highway at 60 mph with no hills and no rapid acceleration. It takes about 3 minutes for it to cool from about 600 degrees to 350 degrees. Waiting for it to cool below 350 degrees is an exercise in futility. If I accelerate hard or climb grades, the exhaust temperature will rise to 1150 degrees but it will drop back to about 800-900 very quickly.

[hoopdiewagon]

I think its one of the Greddy ones that will actually use mathmatics to automatically figure out hte cool-down period for you.

[retroman715]

Eddie,

I just let it cool down for about 3-5 mins. per the manual. I let the cooling fan cycle twice. After the second fan cycle you can actually see the temp gauge move slightly less than the half way tick mark. By then it should be alright. Giving your PT's turbo a cool down is ALWAYS a good idea for preventative turbo maintenance.

My 2 cents

retroman[?]

[lip]

Unless you rocket into your driveway, and turn your engine off straight away, you will be fine without a cool down period (manual even says as much). This assumes no towing, etc...
Talked with mechanics who have worked on turbos for years and they said turbo timers are a waste of money...same thing was said by one of the DC engineers who made our engineers at a meet and greet last year...

Just my two cents.

LIP

[Mike-in-Orange]

I have to drive a couple of blocks through my neighborhood to get home, and I do so very slowly, maybe 1500rpm or so, definitely under 20mph. Helps cool things down and given the number of dogs and small children in my neighborhood it's just the right thing to do.

[crazie.eddie]

I let it sit and cool down as well, from 3-5 minutes. At times, when my minds busy, I forget to let it cool down and just shut it off. Luckily, it's not the times I'm not driving it hard (Playing "Catch me if you can" on the highway"). I know I have done that several times on my '89 Supra Turbo and the turbo has outlasted the engine. Being my PT is still a newborn (a little over 1K), I want to make sure I treat it well.

Thanks for the info.

[lip]

You really have nothing to worry about...you have to remember that your car has a 7 year warranty, Chrysler has been making turbos in more vehicles than all other manufacturers combined (quantity anyway)...the average person doesn't even know what a turbo is and does not read the manual. This is what D-C designs the car for...manuals are OVERLY cautious and if the manual says no cool down is necessary for normal driving, it is not then...
Better yet, having one of the designers of the engine from D-C state that turbo timers are a waste of money and as long as you don't run a 1/4 mile race and then shut the engine off, you are ok, is good enough for me.

Enjoy driving![8)]
LIP

[Mr.Barton]

My dealer told me that it could void some warranty if I installed one

I was like. "You wont let me install a part to help stop engine damage for fear of engine damage?"[:I]

[lip]

It cannot void your warranty unless it causes a problem...however, since you probably have to do some wire splicing, it's possible that you could screw something up...

However...don't waste your money on a TT...this has been discussed on SRT forums for ages and the concensus from everyone (for the most part, not all) and the MOPAR engineers is that a TT is a waste of money.

Cheers,
LIP