porterror

The 911 is still new to me. Is it normal to get some smells from the car after a good drive when getting out of the car? Can't put my finger on what in smelling. Car has no visible leaks in my driveway and everything looks clean in the engine bay.

larrytrk

Clutch or brakes after a spirited run.

PasPar2

Yes, normal. I know its happy, when I can smell it

GTSence

It's probably the cosomoline. Worried me at first too.

Rocco07

^ My M3 never smelled like that. Makes me think it's not Cosmoline. I'd wager it's either the clutch or the brakes, or a combination of both perhaps. Either way, it is expected post drive.

LexVan

Normal. Hot exhaust by BIG F A T tires. FYI, no moe cosmo on the 991 series. Still get the smell.

porterror

I mean...it's a good smell. I've smelt hot clutch disc before and doesn't have that smell. Thinking something exhaust or brake.

shammerman

Smell of success.

Sniff

By "good" smell do you mean sweet smell? If so, then it might be a bit of coolant leaking. Check your coolant reservoir level as well as the cap for any white crusty residue. If so, then it might be coming out there. Porsche redesigned the original caps some time ago (you want one where the serial # ends in a 4). Hopefully it's not that, but just throwing things out.

Sean

mattyf

Warm tires, delicious.

ATLDiver

Yes it's normal, as Charlie Sheen would say, it's the smell of 'winning.'

porterror

Definitely not that! I know that smell all too well from previous car.

chris.hanle

It worried me as well and when I stopped by my P-dealer the tech (who seems very knowledgeable) said cosmolene, appox 6 k was on the car at the time, 14 k now and the smell is less but still there. Could be exhaust ect but what ever it is, its normal.

Marine Blue

Agreed, cosmoline. Mine does it still at 8k miles although a bit less.

Macster

Your M3 has the engine at the front, of course, and as a result the engine and engine compartment receive better air flow and are cooler and smell less.

Because the engine is located at the front, in a cleaner location, BMW doesn't coat the engine with cosmoline.

I would hope that after a run one couldn't smell the clutch, as this is a sign one is slipping the clutch excessively. (The only time I have smelt a clutch is picking up my 06 GTO shortly after a GM tech took my 06 GTO out on a "test drive" on his lunch break and slipped the Hell out of the clutch.)

Same goes for the brakes. While they can be warm after a drive, make that too hot to touch without getting burned, one should not be able to pick out brake odor from the smells coming from the car.

Might mention here that after a hard run, high speed run, even just a run involving some high way speeds one should try to drive the car sedately enough after a hard run to give the car time to cool down some, kind of like a cool down lap.

What one should smell is hot tires, hot exhaust, hot engine, with with a hint of cosmoline.

Occasionally one can smell a burning smell, faint, but noticeable. This I believe comes from something on the road -- piece of plastic wrap -- getting blown up and contacting a hot exhaust pipe where the piece of plastic sticks and over time will char.

Driving in the rain can have the car smelling of what I think smells like ozone. This odor comes from road water splashing on the hot exhaust.