Mazda RX-7 Turbo Timer Installation
This document details the installation of my GReddy Turbo Timer, and also gives a brief set of instructions that explains how the device is used (since the instructions are in Japanese.)
Tools Necessary:
• Phillips Screwdriver
• 10 mm socket wrench
• Coat Hanger - Only if installing Parking Brake security
• Electrical Tape
• Nylon cable-ties
• GReddy Turbo Timer (Surprise!)
• Bracket and wire-splicers provided with Turbo Timer
• Turbo Timer Wiring Harness (specific to RX-7) - Optional
Background:
After having to sit through idle down periods for more than a year, I decided that it was time to get a Turbo Timer. The idea behind a Turbo Timer is that after hard driving, or other conditions under which the turbo is active, the turbos (predictably enough) get very, very hot. If the engine is shut down under these circumstances, the engine oil stops circulating, and the oil in the turbo bearings ‘cokes,’ shortening the life of the bearing (basically, the oil sits in the bearings, cooks, and turns to gritty sludge.)
Leaving the engine sit at idle for a minute or so after the car’s shut off allows the engine to circulate through the bearings enough to cool them down to sub-fusion temperatures, preventing (or at least reducing) bearing wear.
Unfortunately, it’s often a big pain in the butt to sit in the car for a couple of minutes after a session of driving. Thus, the good people of HKS and GReddy have invented “Turbo Timers” which idle your engine for a specific amount of time after you remove the key from the ignition, allowing you to leave the car, while the engine idles for a while, and then shuts off.
I select the GReddy device instead of the HKS device because the GReddy unit is significantly cheaper, and the HKS device has features which I probably will never use (stopwatch, etc.)
Get pdf Mazda RX-7 Turbo Timer Installation
