Helimini

hi I recently acquired a 2010 997.2 gt3....I read up about the smoking before hand ... had the car checked out .....as I read. in all these posts and talked to mechanics it's. normal..I accept it, no problem. it is what it is......my car smokes just about every other time I start it no rhyme or reason.....it is a awesome machine and loving it!!...... so. last week I went over to this huge cruze night 1,000. plus cars of all types...mostly American muscle. I did park near a bunch of exotic Euro cars. so long story short I go to start up to go home and a nice cloud of smoke emerge... I hear "wow glad I don't have to rebuild that engine".
.....I know it's normal....but 99% of these other non gt owners don't .....what do you say to these people.?????? they immediately think your engine is toast...... interesting quandary...:O it's like a badge of honor.......

also is there something I can do to minimize the smoking on startup?

deutschmick

Congratulations on your new acquisition. In answer to your question, not really. It will simply smoke certain times.

Alternatives would be wait until everyone else leaves, or do as most do, and not worry about it.

JB911

Shouldn't happen that much-mine rarely does, can't even remember the last time. I switched to Mobil 5W-50 instead of 0W-40 right when I got it, maybe that helps-
Also, total oil capacity with filter is 9.5 quarts, try not to go over it. And accurate level is attained after reaching full hot temperature, don't rely on a reading when the engine isn't fully warm. Just in case yours might have been slightly overfilled-

ilko

I think what you're describing is a bit excessive, if accurate. It shouldn't smoke that much. Both my GT3 and the RS would sometimes smoke if left sitting for a few days, but not within several hours of shutting the car down. FWIW I switched to Liqui Moly High Tech 5W-40 this year and have not noticed much smoke on cold start ups. YMMV.

Helimini

interesting I'll check levels, and ask the last owner what his mechanic used for oil and weight ....

Helimini

did you guys change oil weight to try to minimize smoking on cold startup, or did you change oil weight for other reasons?

thanks in advance
Jeremy

Fritz Flynn

Yep. I think I'm running some 50w at this time and it still smokes sometimes (if it's been sitting for a week or more) so I don't think the oil weight will make much if any difference.

I think most people go with a heavier weight to help with higher oil temps during severe use like track days.

JB911

I went with 5W-50 since it offers the widest viscosity for the conditions in FL and is Porsche approved.
Depending on where you live, if up North, the 0-40 viscosity might be better suited but how many people drive their GT3 in the snow/extreme freezing conditions?

At full operating temp and in a level surface, does your oil level indicate normal full level? The last little rectangle shouldn't show, if it does it's over filled-

JB911

Also, if you recently acquired the car, hopefully it had an oil change before delivered. If you can't be sure how many miles since it was changed, have it done right away. If the previous owner did short drives where the engine never really reaches operating temperature, the oil can get diluted with blow by gases which never get to evaporate because the engine didn't get a chance to really get hot-
So short trips not a good thing, also after starting the car should be driven instead of parked idling-

Rick-A-Shay

^^^ This, so true! Even more so with air cooled!

Macster

My experience with both of my cars running 0w-40 then 5w-50 is the tendency for the engine to smoke or not smoke upon start up is unaffected.

Primarily whether the engine smokes are not depends upon the previous use. A short trip where the engine didn't get fully up to temperature -- which is rare for my me -- will have the engine more likely to smoke upon the next cold start.

Also, regardless of whether the engine got fully up to temperature or not if the oil has some miles on it the engine is more likely to smoke. As my cars get close to their 5K mile oil/filter service interval either engine is more likely to smoke. Not every time though.

About all you can do is run an approved oil with a viscosity suitable for your area's coldest temperature. Porsche says to run 0w-40 if the temperature gets to -25C or colder. Frankly I'd be running 0w-40 if the winter temperatures get below 0F.

Don't overfill the engine. If you can check the oil level with the engine cold (with my Boxster I can do this but not with my Turbo) the level wants to be down a bar or two from max. The oil level will go up when the engine/oil is fully up to temperature. If you check the oil hot the level can be at the max line but not above.

Don't run the oil too long. As the oil accumulates miles it accumulates contamination which increases the oil's tendency to foam and generate vapor. It is the vapor that eventually leads to smoking upon cold start.

With my cars and my usage I find 5K miles to be a good point to change the oil/filter.

About the oil vapor: The vapor is passed through the AOS and where the vapor enters the engine some of the vapor can't make the sharp turn and hits the intake wall where it collects and turns back into liquid. If the engine is shut off this oil runs down into an open cylinder or collects on top of the closed intake valves. When the cold engine is started this oil does not burn nor is it processed by the cold converters and smoking is what you see.

VPD255M

Heard this before, do you know why?

runet

FLT6SPD

Why you post a video to remind us about winter, hearing the ice being scraped from the windshield gave me chills

Jono809

yep, mine's parked in an underground car park and usually a huge cloud of smoke comes out the back and lingers around...