rennsource

my 88 does not smoke but i notice that my grand prix white paint takes on a slight blackish dust near the exhaust. i wipe it off with a california duster. i am using 0-40W Mobil 1 Synthetic and it's not burning oil or smoking, so since i've only owned it for two years and only recently started using it as a daily driver, i was wondering if this was normal. currently has 88K on the odo.

vr/

Pete

old man neri

Mine does the same thing.....on both sides. I was wondering the same. Actually I was even wondering if it was coming from my car or the other cars. I have a whale tail, I don't know if that would effect the weird aerodynamics back there.

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Hi Pete,

Without seeing what you are looking at, its difficult to me say for sure but I'd guess that its exhaust residue of some kind.

Unleaded fuels do leave a black carbon deposit on everything and one should not discount oil just because there is no visible smoke. The cat takes care of the majority of that.,...

If your oil consumption is 1qt/1500 miles or better, you are likely seeing the effects of using today's unleaded street gasolines.

BMWDavid

I have the same thing on both sides of my '89 SA. I'm thinking its brake dust. As it is the same coating I get on my rear wheels.

David

rennsource

Thanks! i never thought of simple brake dust because now that you mention it, it is on both sides and all over all four wheels all the time, and I'm not burning oil at 1qt/1500. it seems to be more like 1qt/5000. i guess it could be a combination of both. the perils of a white car i guess.

GothingNC

My 05 Jetta leaves the same residue in the rear bumper.

John

gerrygug

Should we be using some kind of a gasoline additive?

old man neri

Not brake dust in my case. I will see it after a couple hundred miles of freeway and I might only use the brakes once or twice.

Mike Murphy

I don't think there is anything you can do about today's quality of gas at the regular gas stations, even if you run the best they offer. From what I understand, gas quality and content has changed quite a bit over the years and it's not for the better.

old man neri

It even changes from season to season. Up here in the winter they stick all sorts of extra stuff in it to keep it from freezing.