Im just curious how many miles some of you high mileage folks have on your original turbos. Anyone have a factory turbo go bad that was not run at higher then stock boost?

 

I have a R56 N14 and did a turbo replacement around 98,000 miles. Wasn't completely dead but did find that the seals were starting to leak.

 

We've done plenty of turbos but the mileage varies all over the place from as few as 60k and as high as 180k. And 90% of them were all stock cars. Keep in mind we work on MINIs every day so many of our customers don't ever get on a forum or even do performance mods as it's just a car to them, or something they found cute. So the boost levels on them were mostly stock and most the failures were not from boost, they are usually from the waste gate and bushing just physically wearing out and becoming floppy.

I think the biggest thing that kills turbos is lack of oil changes, and customers that don't let their car warm up before taking off, or idle down before shutting it off.

 

around 107k, no leaks no play in shaft , waste gate housing was very loose (wore out) .
on manic tune for 50k miles

 

I do that with all my cars turbo or otherwise. Im hopeing I get to 110-115k miles (currently 89K) without needing a replacement turbo. At that point or maybe even sooner I may upgrade to a 2018 or 2019 model. This is a second car for me but I like it a lot and my primary reason I got it was something to play around with and see if I like a car this size. I dont know how well the previous owners took care of it so I have done a lot of maintenance items preemptively myself so the costs are really just the parts cost for me. I am just trying to get a guage from owners how long the turbo tends to last. I over maintain all my cars. The only thing that failed was the HPFP thus far but even that didnt strand it, it drove to a dealer fine. SO far: new brake pads and rotors and I flushed the brake lines, oil change every 5K, new filters, new spark plugs, new struts, new serpentine belt, HPFP by dealer for free, new coolant. What I worry about now is the turbo and the timing chain. I guess I will keep my fingers crossed.

 

I have been under the impression that allowing a turbo mini to warm up before taking off greatly increases the carbon buildup on intake valves issue. Although its counter intuitive to do so, I had instructed my daughter to take off soon after startup.


Which way is best, Way?

 

Let the turbo warm up and both cool down about 5 minutes min. Carbon cleaning at least every few years. Consider it regular maintenance.

 

133,600 miles original...Tranny is testy but other than the usual PITA stuff that breaks..Turbo still sounds great

 

All 145,000 of them.

 

129K miles, Oil changes every 5K, use toque app and do not shut engine down unil turbo temp is below 1050 degrees F