Turbo Beanie/bag/blanket good or bad?

[92mr2paddy]

been trying to find out some 'real' facts about these for awhile now, what ive found is some people say yes they are good, some say no, some say mine caught on fire! some say it creates faster spool, but havent seen any proof of this no dyno plots etc.

any one have any experience with these?? if they do work and help spool i would love to get one but would stay away if they 'catch on fire'

[Dell'Orto]

I imagine they'd only catch fire if they were soaked in oil, or were just cheap shit made of plastic. Probably worth it for keeping engine bay temps down anyway.

[loudstealthGT-Four]

Yea i say its not the turbo beanies fault it caught fire in most cases, id say it was caused by the trapped oil that was leaking onto/into the beanie.

[gt4dude]

faster spool... really people say that?

[92mr2paddy]

yea almost every brand claims they trap hot air meaning faster exhaust gasses causing faster spool, sounds about right but i cant really see how it would actualy work in the real world, lol

some of the cheap $50 beanies are made of fibreglas that can only withstand 500C, my turbo is WHITE hot after a good thrashing at the track so i could imagine those being useless..

then some are made of ceramics etc that handle 1100c which is more like it

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =565371055

anyone ever used one?

[Stu-]

Oliver at Frantic makes some very very good quality turbo beanies. Slightly more expensive but support Kiwi made

[Mr Ree]

Yes, a turbo beanie isnt an area I would be trying to save a few dollars. Far too easy for it to all end in tears.

Stick to reputable brands like Garrett et al, and you should be right, but as has been mentioned, it comes down to how well maintained the rest of the turbo is, so make sure you have oil lines that dont leak, and check it periodically to ensure it isnt being slowly soaked in oil.

If you use your car for track work, then I would suggest that it would have more positives than negatives, but for a strictly street car, I think I would tend to go for a well made, formable heat shield, with a good air gap, to stop radiant heat melting wires and hoses in the vicinity.

I have a T4 beanie sitting in my office that will be getting fitted once I get my FFIM installed so will report back here if I find my turbo now spools from idle

[XSVWGN]

I bought my one from Bazda ages ago and does the trick. Makes the engine bay look tidier too

[92mr2paddy]

mr ree, well if it starts spooling that earlier you will be onto something. haha

yea price isnt really an issue that one was just one i found that claimed the earlier spool, haha will probably get one for the track car and my supra when its finished just to keep engine bay temps down, doubt spool will be affected as the steam pipe mani stays HOT far longer than stainless etc anyway, atleast noone on here seems to have had any problems with them.

[Bazda]

Most beanies on the market in NZ all work fine. Haven't come across one that doesnt work well.

The NZ made ones are nice and soft to start with. But after time they go hard and the material on the inside starts to perish away I found.

Maybe the lava rock ones would last longer.

[Mr Ree]

Indeed ^

When I next remove my manifold and downpipe etc, Im going to rewrap it in that "titanium" basalt rock heat wrap, and possibly a beanie out of the same material.

Hawwwt!!

[Distrb]

The NZ made ones are nice and soft to start with. But after time they go hard and the material on the inside starts to perish

I also found this with the frantik one I had. It is now in the bin

[Bazda]

I found the cheap chinese ones actually last quite long lol.
The Lava rock ones must be the go these days, yet to try one.