C130J

I am looking at buying my first Porsche, a 2003 911. I test drove the car and when I parked it and got out I smelled a burnt rubber odder. I did not peel out or even get on the car hard. I drove the car around town for 30 minutes. I found no leaks under the car. The seller said that it was the tires. That they are cambered and that causes them to be under constant friction. Is that a true statement Has anyone else had that issue?


Thanks for your help.


C130J

LexVan

Hopefully just normal:

Fast car smell
Cosmoline
Hot exhaust

996AE

If car has been tracked (PPI will confirm) rubber bits from track work get lodged around hot spots. May or may not have anything to do with alignment.

wildbilly32

IDK about burnt rubber, but I agree with LexVan these cars produce smells different from any car I have ever owned. I would take a hard look at the tires and definitely have the car inspected by someone qualified to look at a Porsche. Underneath look might reveal something knocked out of line. Maybe even consider taking to someone who could check alignment settings for a reasonable price. All before buying, of course.

mharrison

Mine smells like that when I heat it up good with a spirited drive. The mufflers are immediately behind the tires. Love the smell! Smells like a fast car.

JayG

Eau de Porsche

Macster

Not true exactly, unless the alignment is off. The alignment is intended to when the car is under way to allow the tires to roll with the least amount of friction due to misalignment of the tires relative to the direction of travel.

Still tires get hot as they are used. They are big, and soft, and close by cabin. Because the engine is in the back along with the exhaust, running gear, and tires everything back there runs hot, hotter than say a front engine rear wheel drive car.

One result of this is you smell odors more strongly you may not ever encounter with other cars.

If you tell me the tires are new that could contribute to the smell.

Also, I have to mention because of the engine location the hot exhaust manifolds are exposed to more trash that is kicked up by the front tires and the rear tires. The hot exhaust is constantly bombarded by debris, dirt, bits of paper, plastic, rubber dust, and the stuff that hits the hottest part of the exhaust can stick and char and smell.

Too bad after your test drive you didn't have the car put on a lift so you could check the underside for any leak sign. A 30 minute test drive is a good time to have the engine running and this can bring leak out of hiding, so to speak.

If the car checks out and if a PPI checks out and you like the car I don't see anything in your post to cause any concern about the car.

In short these cars stink. But it is a good stink.

fillzplace

I have experienced the same thing on my C4S, but seems to have appeared when I switched to my winter tires. I think it has to do with the softer rubber compound of the winter tires being so close to the nice hot engine and exhaust

I had the alignment done just after changing to the winter tires (needed to be done anyway) and nothing out of the ordinary was noted by the Porsche shop that did the alignment.

Oil_Slickrick

Could it be the cats hadn't warmed up and the smell was from them?

johneecatt

Exactly...!!!... +1

m54samrr

Saving this one...mine has the same perfume after driving in the heat...

DaMann

Mine does the exact same thing. I only just got it and wondered the same. Now I can stop wondering. Just a nice bonus smell the comes with a 911....

5CHN3LL

OP, our cars do get smelly sometimes, but not typically during the kind of driving you describe ("light easy driving") - could be nothing, probably is nothing, but still a good idea to pay attention for the next couple of weeks to ensure it doesn't get worse.

Editorial note: Nobody who uses the term "peel out" has peeled out since the 50's.
The previous owner who commented that negative camber causes the tires to get hot enough to smell during normal driving is...how to put this politely?...full of sh*t. If the tires got smoking hot from a casual drive around town, they'd burst into flame before the car got anywhere near top speed.

The fact that you smelled something strongly enough that it made you contact the previous owner makes me wonder if the smell is stronger than some of the original respondents are imagining. Yes, the 996 is a little stinky compared to, say, a Nissan SUV, but it's a modern car; mellow cruises around town shouldn't result in pronounced odors. If it continues and is strong enough to make you anxious, ask your friendly neighborhood independent mechanic to take a quick look the next time you're in for service. 99.99% chance it's nothing but tire debris as others commented, but it would suck to be that .01 percent...

Time4Porsche

I have a similar experience. Never worried about it. did the car have Michelin PS2s? Mine does and I attribute it to the tires getting hot and sticky...

Macster

Both of my cars get pretty warm in the general vicinity of the engine area as do the tires even when mellow driving, even if I drive in town. In fact this type of usage if it is done for a while can have the engine coolant hot enough to trigger the radiator fans, even the engine compartment fan in the Boxster. (The Turbo engine compartment fan runs all the time the engine is on.)

The cars do not stink too strongly although if the wind is just right I can get a snoot full of eau de Porsche when getting out of the car or even when walking back up to the car if it has been off just a few minutes while I dashed into a store or business to run a quick errand.

I sniff for the odor of anti-freeze or something else that is not part of the eau de Porsche but beyond that pretty just pay it no mind.