I just installed a 1-Bar ECU in my 99.5 1.8TQm.. Tonight I took it for a reasonably hard run (several acceleration runs, not going to red line at all though).. . It mostly back road runs (a few stop signs, but no high speed). I got home and it smelled a little funny, so I opened the hood.. Since it was dark I could easily notice to faint orange glow coming from the passenger side of the engine bay, just to the left of the engine (isn't the turbo there?)..

Is this normal? Could this be damaging? I used to have a 300ZX Twin Turbo, and I was told (and always followed) allowing the engine to idle for at least 90 seconds before I shut off the car to allow oil to continue to flow through the turbo. Should I do this on the 1.8T? Would a .8Bar chip be better, and prevent this from occuring in the first place?? Help!

Brian,

The glow you are seeing is indeed the turbo. It is quite common for it to glow red after a hard run, even in stock form. Increasing the boost pressure through chipping just increases this tendency. Which brings me to the next point: the importance of an idle down period after a spirited drive. As the owner's manual states, a 2-3 minute idle down is recommended after aggressive driving to allow the turbo to cool (or at least not be glowing bright red). This is important because the oil lines which lubricate the turbo impeller are relatively small, and killing the oil circulation by shuting off the motor can cause the oil to "boil off" in the turbo passages, so to speak, leaving behind a gunk that clogs the these passages. This process is called "coking" and is not unlike what happens in the coronary vessels leading to a heart attack.
Once the passages begin to get clogged it is a downward spiral with respect to turbo life.

Coking can be prevented by letting the turbo cool after hard runs as discussed above. Many people also try to stay out of the boost for the last few miles before parking, as this will reduce the time you need to sit in the car and wait out the 2-3 minutes with the car idling. Another popular thing to do to help prevent coking is to switch to a synthetic oil, which is much nore resistent to boil off and less likely to coke in the first place.

So, in summary, enjoy your chip but make sure to idle down the turbo (and maybe give synthetic oil a try!)

Jim DeVries
99.5 1.8TQTS stock but glowing

How exactly must one drive the car to avoid boost in the last 3 minutes or so. If I shift prior to hitting 3000 rpms with lite throttle ok? thanks for further how to info.