My friend has recommended that I wrap the turbo on my Mini. Says it will help spool and be better for the turbo, as well as reducing under hood temps.

I just wanted a little feedback. Any problems or is it all good? Has anyone done this? i was thinking of one of the "lava" wraps. Do I need the "T3" turbo size wrap?

Lots of questions I know but would like a little first hand feedback, and turbo size!

Thanks
Jonny

 

It will help keep the thermal energy inside the turbo and cool down your engine bay a little bit. Performance wise you probably won't notice any difference.

 

Your turbo is already all of 6" from the engine. I doubt you're going to be able to do anything to help spool. If you want to then go for it. But your turbo already has a heatshield.

 

In fairness to the friend he did mention the "performance" aspect would be negligible. He was implying that it is better for the turbo in the long run to retain as much heat as possible within the turbo. I have no idea as to the merit of this idea! It may help with the temp under the bonnet though.

I take it that nobody/very few people have bothered with a heat wrap. I see Way Motor Works selling some...but I guess that doesn't mean they are good, just "sellable"! Sorry, no disrespect to Way intended.

It would seem that wrapping turbo and downpipe is popular with other turboed cars. Why wouldn't it make a difference to the Mini? Just askin'!

 

I'm not sure this the right track to take.
Your turbo is lubricated with engine oil and that oil gets very hot thanks to the fact that the catalytic converter is right next to the turbo. The oil is cooking in the turbo. The turbine shaft floats in a journal bearing soaked in oil. Over time coking of the oil wears out these parts.

I just went thru a failed turbo and when you look at it you can see that the seals around the turbine shaft were leaking. That means oil was being pushed out both sides. The exhaust and the intercooler. I ended up replacing the cat and the inter cooler because of oil saturation.

So, in my opinion you want to extract heat from the turbo not hold it in.
The auxiliary water pump for the turbo only runs for a few minutes after you turn off the car. Use a infrared thermometer on your turbo and cat housing after you turn it off. It will be way hotter than you think.

The turbo wrap will certainly help reduce the heat in the engine bay.

 

Probably not necessary. Shouldn't cause any long term damage to the bearings, but can never be sure.

Alternative view: This may be a stretch--especially since I haven't heard of a lot of people having issues--but I would think theoretically that having one of these would be most beneficial if you had one of the afermarket heat shields that sits above the turbo/DP (M7, AEM, etc). The reason I say this is because these types of shields are designed primarily to decrease under-bonnet temps, mainly for protection of the hood scoop or for preventing hot air from tracking back to an aftermarket open filter intake. The problem I could possibly see with these heat shields is that they could deflect turbine heat onto the center bearing cartridge and compressor snail. This seems a little scary to me, and I would think bad for turbo longevity.

With that said, I have an AEM heat shield...

 

Yes wrapping your turbo will help spool as it will make the turbo hotter, therefore the hot air from the hotside will move out of the exhaust faster. It's definitely not better for your turbo. Your turbo will wear out faster and fail at an earlier age due too all that excess heat it can't get rid of(think of why it's water/oil cooled) . It's not worth the 300 dollars for a turbo blanket. Take the 300 dollars and buy a heat shield. Keep the motor and the IAT's down and you'll see better performance.

 

Yeah, I'm on the fence about a heat shield. I just bought a 2011 clubman S/auto. It's a fun as hell daily driver, but notta racer unfortunately. I've read there was a factory fix for the hood melting, but under mine is empty space. It gets kinda hot here and you can sit in traffic a bit. I don't want my hood to melt..
The more I read this forum, the more I'm scared to drive it, lol.

 

Hey beach, You should have some kind of cloth like material protecting your hood from heat. Your turbo shouldn't be able to heat your hood up enough to melt it. If you want to play just be safe and get a turbo heat shield to protect your hood and motor from excess heat.

 

Thanks, there's nothing there. I bought it certified from a dealer, maybe I'll have to check with them.

 

Cheers everyone.

Methinks a turbo wrap will do more harm than good.

 

I just got a 2013 MCS and the hood is bare, no insulation or anything.

 

Interesting timing of this post. I ordered the Turbo Wrap from Way yesterday. I want to cool the under hood temps and I thought the turbo wrap would be the best option. I need to replace the turbo oil line and I thought while I had things apart, this would be best time to install the wrap.

I really don't know that the wrap is detrimental to the turbo, it should be designed for the heat. Here is a link to an article that discusses the benefits of the wrap: http://www.importtuner.com/tech/impp..._fact_fiction/.

 

I have something installed, black fabric looking stuff connected to the hood around the scoop. I'm not sure when it was installed, but I have a warped scoop (bought car used).
Mini sells turbo heat shields for about 100 bucks, but I'm thinking of going the AEM intake route and it comes with one.