So my wonderful used 8 never ceases to surprise me, every time I pop the hood or get under the dash I am forced to imagine the previous owner had a decent amount of money, not much sense, but I could be wrong.

My most recent confounding discovery is a turbo timer hooked up under the dash which then drops me down the rabbit hole of why a turbo timer would be on an NA car. The easiest solution, probably being the correct one is that the car was once turbo'd but before I assume too much, I am curious is there any reason ever to install a turbo timer on an NA car

Thanks ahead of time
TLP

 

There is not really a reason unless it was installed to prevent flooding. Having a turbo timer on a NA car couldn't hurt but I bet you that car was once turbocharged.

 

I can't see any feasible reason for a turbo timer on an NA vehicle.
It's just a shut off timer at that point and would just waste gas.

 

The only reason on an na 8 would be like was said, a "shut-off timer." But I'd only see it being used the same as a turbo'd car, to let the engine idle after high rpms, like maybe n/a racing.?

 

or it could be there for "poser" status...

 

Could be. "Yeah my car's "boosted," yeah sure." But then wouldn't it be in view, & not under the dash? Unless its for the effect of "having a turbo" & leaving your car running for a few minutes.

 

lot's of guys on the 7 club put turbo timers on their n/a cars, of course there was lots of flaming involved and hopefully they eventually got enough sense that it made no sense.

even on turbo cars it is only practical for oil cooled turbos only, the stock cars all came with coolant cooled turbos which made it an unecessary modification. i run an oil only cooled turbo on my 7 and have never run a turbo timer with no ill effects.

i've had customers come in and inquire about turbo timers for their cars, once they said they had an n/a and a 1 minute explanation they of course did not end up pursuing it further. some people are quite simply ADHD and get an idea in their head for some modification even if it has no benefit. look at all these hummers with crash bars and chrome offroad accessories for example, yet almost none of them have a speck of dirt on them and have never been offroad in their lives.

 

"poser" status or previously turbo'd were my two guesses

the whole package kind of confuses me, he purchased really nice rims but the body kit fit isnt that great (gaps and poor fitment really show up when its hot out, and the material expands), the AM hood isnt terrible but the paint job on it is poor quality so when the car is nice and clean you can see the difference clear as day. adjustable coil overs all around but barely dropped, k&n intake, header, straight pipe, mid pipe and cat back all absurdly loud, and the cheapest battery you could possibly put in, guages poorly screwed into the A pillar, wire run under the dash but not hooked up, defi d-link in the trunk just floating around, turbo timer hooked up but not doing anything.....its like he had a ton of idea's, the funding for them but not the follow through

 

Even on liquid cooled cars it can serve a function. Having to do with giving the turbo time to spool back down to idle speed and having oil pressure to do so.

As apposed to killing the engine right away and the turbo is still spinning fast but now had no oil pressure while it comes down from off-idle. If that makes any sense.

 

ROFL

oh man please stop the madness !

 

It makes as much sense as bell bottom jeans and disco ...

 

who runs boost and shuts the car off before it returns to idle?

turbos don't take minutes to spool down, they take seconds. the issue is oil cooled turbos rely on oil flow to cool down the CHRA, if you shut down the engine while the turbo is still smoking hot after a pull then the oil in the cartridge will coke and leave deposits which can hurt the bearings. coolant cooled turbos run cooler on the CHRA, coolant still somewhat flows even with the engine off and the CHRA cools much quicker.

 

who? a lot of people does that **** and wonder why their turbo falls apart so fast, the turbo must be some piece of ****, right ?