Hello all ,

Having previously driven a vw treg I was informed to leave it idleling for 2 minutes before switching off and to let it idle for a minute on start up before driving away ?

Any thought on this would be appreciated
Thanks

You shouldn't really leave a cold engine idling but there are certain trains of thought that recommend letting your engine/turbo cool down when you've been on a long journey.

I've never done either of what you've suggested and had no problems either way.

Thanks for quick reply iirc it is due to fuel carbonising or something along those lines .. I think the start up was to gradually warm up the turbo,
Thanks

You want to give the oil system time to get oil to the turbo before you get the turbo hot. Driving the vehicle gently for a few minutes should facilitate this. You also want to allow the turbo to cool a bit and spin down before turning off the oil flow (i.e. the engine) so allowing it to idle for a minute before turning off is a "good thing".

Modern synthetic oils have probably reduced the issue a bit however. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

I have always had mechanical sympathy for all my motors, a gentle warm up off boost, from cold, and always an idle time of 2 minutes after a long journey or after any motorway journeys. Ive never had any turbo problems, but know quite a few that have.

I was advised by a LAndrover approved Indie to do exactly that .... give it a short while before hurtling off up the road and before switching off just to allow the turbo's to stay lubricated. 2010 RRS, TDV8
bali Blue / colour coded
side steps / flappy paddles
black perforated leather
22" overfinch
heated everything, TV,fridge ...... now with gold calipers and mud flaps !( black mud flaps that is) !!
Many years ago,,,,, 1955 series 1 landie , sometimes wish I had kept it

I've always done this with anything I've had with a turbo fitte. You can get turbo timer which I used to fit to my jap sport cars. It allowed you to remove the keys from the ignition, lock and alarm the car but leave the engine running for how long you set the timer.

With the sport I only really do it when I've been blowing the turbos clear

I think you should bring your oil up to about 70c before you start giving the beans. I have always warmed the oil on all my cars. Letting the car run for a while depends on whether you have just come from a spirited drive, normally if driven at a lower speed for a while there is no problem in turning it off. Oils, bearings and how the feed pipes work have improved hugely over the years.
Terry

Its a good idea, when refuelling mid-trip on a Motorway/Autobahn when temperatures may be high, to allow to engine to tick-over for a few moments before shutting it down.

Other than that, basic engineering principles say don't use the full performance until the engines etc. are at normal operating temperatures.

The 'cool-down' is, with the exception mentioned at the beginning, not quite so critical, but never-the-less is a prudent measure.

a long haul truckie gave me this advice - the best way to warm up your engine is to drive it (as opposed to idling). Obviously not to thrash it tho. Re cool down, I have found that EGT's drop dramatically with only a couple of minutes idle before turn off. I dont know about in the UK but down here it is illegal to walk away from a car and leave it running - so even with a turbo timer you should really sit in the car until it turns off..... Regards, Marty

Now: 2008 RRS TDV8; 1975 Rangie ute

Then: 2010 Defender Puma TdCi 110; 1996 Defender 300Tdi; 1997 Disco V8 on vsi gas; 1976 Rangie 4.4l; 20 yrs of back breaking Tojos

I was always told that the oil in a turbo drains off when the engine is off.

When you first start the engine, the turbo is dry of oil, oil has to be pumped back into it.

High revs when you first start it can cause bearing damage.

A 30 second cool down helps prolong its life. 2006 RRS SC Bonatti Grey (the 55th car/van I have owned)
2005 GSX 1400 K5

As above

There is no oil in the turbo at first start up. You should leave the car to idle for at least 15 seconds before driving off, to ensure oil has made it around the whole engine

Likewise, when switching off, especially after a high speed/motorway drive, the oil is very hot, as are all the engine components. If it is switched off straight away, the heat in the turbo can vaporize the oil in the turbo bearings, leaving carbon deposits on them. These deposits can then start wearing the bearings

By letting it idle for a short while, everything has a chance to cool down, preventing this

Do you have to do this with a supercharger ?............TT

And now they have stop / start on them... cue all the turbo problems in a couple of years, or less!

Still drive a supercharger gently for a few miles to let everything warm up, should never thrash a cold engine, and petrol engine warms up so much quicker, but supercharger runs at no where near the temperature of a turbo so shut down idle time not necessary. 5.0 Ltr Superchrged RRS2, Chile Red, Sideways out of junctions!
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Thats great cheers Andrew, I thought that was the case but i have never seen it written anywhere.....TT