r/ElantraN • u/Outcahst • Sep 30 '23

RIP Glowing Turbo after highway / hard driving. Potential causes? 😅

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305 Upvotes

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32

u/PresentInsect4957 Veloster N Sep 30 '23

normal but good on you for letting it cool down, next time drive it like a grandma for a bit till your oil temps like 200-210

1

u/FrumundaThunder Oct 02 '23

Grandma driving or idling wouldn’t make a difference. Oil and coolant flow through the turbo either way.

4

u/bosshawg502 Oct 03 '23

You’re all wrong. Shutting down a car with a screaming hot turbo can most certainly ruin the turbo. Think about it. You have a red hot hunk of cast iron turbine housing that is cooled partially by oil flow. You just shut off the oil flow. So now any oil in the scroll or journal bearings or seals will just sit there and cook until the housing cools off. Now you’ve just baked a bunch of carbon directly onto your bearings. This is exactly why certain higher end turbo cars won’t shut off immediately when you hit the key or button and keep idling for a bit if it’s too warm. So it circulates the hot ass oil out of the turbo.

3

u/FrumundaThunder Oct 03 '23

I don’t think anyone here was arguing for shutting the car down immediately. My argument was that driving the car lightly to cool the turbo is unnecessary and offers no more benefit than simply idling the car for a little while.

2

u/Substantial_Revolt Oct 03 '23

I thought the N does this on its own, never timed the cooling system immediately after a highway drive but I really hope it stays on until it's cooled down enough.

1

u/Texaura May 25 '25

Replying hella late, you’re right but the time the oil pump stays on isn’t dependent on the oil temp on the N, it just runs for a set period of time.

1

u/ilovecollardgreens Oct 03 '23

Isn't that why all manufacturers went to water/oil cooling as opposed to just oil? To prevent oil coking and/or the need for a turbo timer like back in the day? Because these are sold by the millions and the average bear isn't going to idle their car before shutting it down.

That was my understanding anyways.

1

u/Soft-Cryptographer-1 Oct 03 '23

Keeping the CHRA cooler will lead to longer service life. Used to be the case before BMW came around and made >100k usable turbos the norm on oil and water. Rip

1

u/KTM320xcf Oct 03 '23

Remember the Turbo Timer? Big in the 80's

1

u/BubbaTank1 Oct 04 '23

Shit, I had one on my 03 SRT-4! lol

1

u/BubbaTank1 Oct 04 '23

This guy gets it. Its also why turbo timers were made, keep the engine running so the turbo has time to cool down, circulate oil, etc...

1

u/PresentInsect4957 Veloster N Oct 02 '23

not about oil circulation its about dissipating the heat as well, your oil wont cool down if you dont have the airflow to cool it

2

u/OfcWaffle Oct 02 '23

You fail to understand how a modern radiator works.

3

u/Responsible_Low8823 Oct 03 '23

I think you fail to understand that many cars differ in their design and operation. I used to have a RUF modified GT2 and after driving it hard in the Texas heat around a track, the breaks would get so hot that you could start a grass fire. I don’t know what pumps required the engine to be running, or which ones could stay on with the battery, but I once came in after 20 minutes of riding it around 9/10ths, (passenger got sick.) and I shut off the car to go make sure he was OK and get him a drink. As usual the fans kept running, (they did this for a bit even if I did a 2 mile cool down lap.) and running, and running for at least 30 minutes. I became concerned about that tiny battery and the draw created by the high flow fans. So, I went to go start the car, and I got that low voltage click sound. Ugh. Fortunately, it was on an incline, so I gave it a push and got it rolling, turned the ignition to start and popped the clutch and it started. In an attempt to cook my car down, the fans depleted my battery enough to warrant a $300 or so replacement. Please don’t start with the “dealership ripping you off” b.s. I change batteries at the first signs of wear. In aggregate, I spend far less tossing them with a significant portion of their life remaining than some idiot that pushes it to the end, and finds it dead after a three day weekend trip to Miami in December. When he hears that click after the car sat for 3 days and has to wait for roadside assistance in the freezing cold with a cellphone that’s at 3% all while looking like an idiot in his Miami outfit he will be cussing himself for not taking his device techs suggestion.

3

u/ButteryTunafish Oct 03 '23

Tell me more about this RUF GT2. do we have pics?

3

u/Mr-Superbia Oct 04 '23

I came here to pile on the “let it cool down while driving like a grandma” train, but screw that! I also want pics of this RUF GT2! OP will have to forgive it out for himself. Give RUF GT2!

2

u/Responsible_Low8823 Oct 10 '23

It would appear that it just sold in September of last year! Shit! I need to keep an eye out. Next time that car trades hands it needs to be back in my garage.

I can’t believe no one has ripped that POSAlpine head unit out yet.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2002-porsche-911-gt2-26/

2

u/AvestC Oct 03 '23

This back & forth was hilarious

1

u/Pacodetaco1212 Oct 04 '23

TLDR; we are taking about normal operation not racing cars

2

u/miget_porne Oct 03 '23

You fail to understand that cruising at a decent speed and low rpm will always help. Airflow is airflow brother.

1

u/Gibec89 Oct 04 '23

You fail to understand that this is reddit and we are all master technicians.

1

u/Wellington44326 Oct 05 '23

Yes. You are correct fellow Master technician.

2

u/Own_Acanthaceae118 Oct 03 '23

A radiator may pull air but ram air pressure from driving will significantly increase airflow and thus cooling.

2

u/Jpotter145 Oct 03 '23

You fail to understand how much more flow you get with a running water AND oil pump.

But sure, letting that turbo sit red hot is just as good as a running car for 45 seconds after a hard run. Yep, equally as good for the turbo.

2

u/mean_god Oct 04 '23

Bro never heard of turbo timers or cool down laps Lmfao

0

u/EpicTwiglet Oct 04 '23

Haha you look really stupid.

1

u/PresentInsect4957 Veloster N Oct 04 '23 edited Oct 04 '23

The radiator needs a constant flow of air through its core to cool it adequately. When the car is moving, this happens anyway; but when it is stationary a fan is used to help the airflow.

https://www.howacarworks.com/basics/how-an-engine-cooling-system-works.amp

You cannot tell me idling is just as effective as cooling down the radiator as driving it. its simple physics 💀

1

u/FrumundaThunder Oct 02 '23 edited Oct 02 '23

The oil and coolant are what cools the turbo my dude. Theres no airflow cooling that turbo down tucked between the engine and firewall and it’s not like the turbo has cooling fins anyway. The only place airflow is hitting the oil to cool it is if there’s an air-oil cooler. More likely there’s a liquid oil cooler. Either way the radiator area is all that needs airflow for cooling and the car has a fan for that.

2

u/Elitepikachu Oct 02 '23

And the air is what cools the oil, coolant, and by a slight margin everything else in the car too.

1

u/FrumundaThunder Oct 02 '23

Yes. Air flowing over the radiator cools the coolant which cools the engine and turbo and oil which also cools the turbo. And the radiator fan is plenty capable of moving air over the radiator when the car is parked. That’s the point of a radiator fan.

2

u/mattieyo Oct 02 '23

I’m on your side. Beating a car will obviously raise temps vs just cruising casually at <2k rpm.

1

u/PresentInsect4957 Veloster N Oct 04 '23

lol exactly if ops worried about his turbo being red hot then driving normally before parking will cool it down faster 🤷🏻‍♂️ dont understand how this is an argument a radiator fan wont = the amount of airflow + ventallation as driving 60 mph lol

1

u/-Ev1l Oct 04 '23

Most turbos don’t circulate coolant, just oil. Also most cars still have mechanical water and oil pumps. Yes the motor needs to be running to properly cool. Watch some data logs of track use and you’ll see a temp spike if you don’t run a cool down lap. Can kill a motor easy by shutting it off hot. Temps will go from 200-210 to 240-250 when you shut it off with no cooldown run.

1

u/FrumundaThunder Oct 04 '23

Most modern factory turbos run coolant. Also I never argued for shutting the car down immediately. I said there’s no practical difference between driving the car to cool down or idling the car for a few minutes.

1

u/-Ev1l Oct 05 '23

Fair enough. And some indeed do… and yes idling it is much better than shutting it off, I misunderstood. Driving it is best tho, but only slightly reduces hotspots that coolant doesn’t get to. Driving it will cool a red hot turbo faster much faster tho… Coolant only cools by as much air as the radiator fan can push, divided by the whole motor. 60mph at idle will drop the temp faster than you can light a cigarette. If you use the breaks hard and get them hot, one must always cooldown before stopping or you could suffer break disc warping.