water lines for turbos - a must?

[vr6]

i came across some readings that its a must to have water lines on ball bearing turbos.

some say that if its not a ball bearing turbo then oil lines would be enough. just make sure to do cool down before shutting off the engine.

some say regardless of kind of turbo, water lines are needed.
without the water lines, its like running an engine with no water in the radiator.

so whats the deal?

aside from my oil lines, i have water lines on my td05-16g and i set my turbo timer at 2mins for peace of mind.

[Fishboy55]

Rex, I find myself drooling everytime I see that car. :) Now I can't speak for the Galant, but when I had my MX6 turbo'd, the turbo had fittings for oil and water lines. The mechanic tapped off the TB water lines to supply the turbo, and told me it was essential to use both and watch my coolant level to keep the turbo from blowing up. Since I was paying him as opposed to doing it myself, I trusted his opinion. My opinion is similar to yours. I like the extra piece of mind, and running an extra line PLUS a turbo timer certainly isn't going to hurt anything. Just my two cents.

[vr6]

Rex, I find myself drooling everytime I see that car. :) Now I can't speak for the Galant, but when I had my MX6 turbo'd, the turbo had fittings for oil and water lines. The mechanic tapped off the TB water lines to supply the turbo, and told me it was essential to use both and watch my coolant level to keep the turbo from blowing up. Since I was paying him as opposed to doing it myself, I trusted his opinion. My opinion is similar to yours. I like the extra piece of mind, and running an extra line PLUS a turbo timer certainly isn't going to hurt anything. Just my two cents.

thanks chip! we have the same opinion.

btw, i read this article from garrett -

http://www.turbobygarrett.com/turbob...r/faqs.html#o8

"Should I run a Turbo Timer?
A turbo timer enables the engine to run at idle for a specified time after the ignition has been turned off. The purpose is to allow the turbo to cool down thus avoiding "coking" ("coking" is burned oil that deposits on surfaces and can lead to blocked passages).
The need for a turbo timer depends on how hard the turbo and engine is used. Running at full speed and full load then immediately shutting down (heat soak) can be extremely hard on a turbo. Water-cooling of the turbocharger's center housing has essentially eliminated the need for turbo timers or extended idling periods."

wow! so this means that since i have water lines on my td-05 16g, i dont have to run my turbo timer at all for everyday normal driving? i just turn off the engine immediately just like a stock non turbo economy car? that would save me some gas. hehe!

i dont know. i am just old fashioned.

[guynlidia2006]

i would set the turbo timmer for 1 min just just be a little safer... well maybe safer in my own mind....

[Stewi]

Pretty much you wont find a turbo that has water lines that is not ball bearing aside from a STOCK turbo, like a Mitsu 16g, or any turbo that came OEM from another vehicle. For a regular oil cooled/lubnicated turbo, the most important thing is where you source your oil from. It needs to be ideally above 60psi for a non-ball bearing unit, and for a ball bearing unit it typically needs to be below 30psi and typically they recommend unsing a restrictor fitting to achieve this. I personally like the idea of a oil lubricated and water cooled turbo, as it lets the oil do its job lubricating and lets the water cool it, this way the oil isnt overheating, plus it helps the turbo itself run cooler which extends bearing life.

[seth98esT]

Ive seen the Haan Racecraft Super 16g turbo run without water lines ... I have also seen that same Super 16g explode whilst going down the track haha. If the turbo is capable of running water lines, Id run them. Its not hard to do since your car already has water lines for your turbo. It would be harder to block off those lines then to re-attach them to your turbo :P

[vr6]

thanks for the inputs bros :D

yeah. if the turbo came with water lines aside from oil lines, re-attach all the lines. besides, its not difficult getting banjo bolts and fittings etc.