Why does my car smell like ass?

[C_McCabe]

'Ello,

I'm having a bit of a problem with my N15 S2 SSS auto. If I give it a bit of a squirt (and I don't mean booting it to redline or anything just to around 5K rpm) it stinks when I get out of the car. The smell is hard to describe ... its not exactly that smell you get when you put the wrong sort of petrol in (i.e rotten egg) but does smell petrol related I guess. I was under the impression these cars were designed to run between 3.5K - 5K rpm (though the auto prefers you run up to about 3K) so I'm surprised this is happening. Anyone have any ideas why its doing it (yeah vague question I know :))?. Its only run on Optimax if thats relevant and as a rule of thumb is not driven hard.

The car will be having its 30K service next week so if I could get some sort of idea of possible causes that'd be helpful and probably save me a packet.

Clinton

[jdm_vr4]

my old auto (gemini) had a pretty faul smell as well after driving it with abit of grunt, but i think that it was off the brakes (coz the small was coming from the front wheels) which were pretty dodgy anyway:Poke:

[C_McCabe]

I'm pretty sure this is coming from the exhaust ...

I'm not entirely sure of the history of this car other than it has had one previous lady owner. Is it possible (hypothetically) that if the car were driven sedately for 3 years that it still needs some 'breaking in'? ... or is there a sensor or something that might be faulty? I'm just stabbing in the dark really...

Clinton

[cargle]

it sounds or smells ;) like your cat converter.

I'm not sure but I think the smell is normal

[dan]

there shouldnt be a problem with having your car up to the redline (even the rev limiter) on an occasional basis.. regardless of transmission

my suggestion for the smell..

cat converter (but would smell like rotten eggs/sulphur)
auto trans fluid (smells really bad, especially after its been in there a while)
optimax (smells different to normal petrol - perhaps its that? try running normal fuel and see if the smell goes away - if so it was just the different smell of the optimax)
carbon buildup (if you give your car a bit of a thrashing after being driven gently for a while all the carbon in your zauhst will get blown out - will smell a bit odd)

[C_McCabe]

Some helpful suggestions there ... thanks! Forgive my ignorance but if it were the cat converter whats the fix? Does it simply need replacement?

[Sam]

My car smells like rotten eggs sometimes too, i am pretty sure it is the cat.

The cat is usually the first big thing in your exhaust system after your exhaust maifold. Replacing it may fix it but it may come back, but i am not sure, i just put up with a stinky exhaust :D

[Longrod von Hugendong]

Originally posted by C_McCabe
Some helpful suggestions there ... thanks! Forgive my ignorance but if it were the cat converter whats the fix? Does it simply need replacement?

If it is the rotton egg/sulphur type smell then there is nothing wrong with the cat......it's doing it's job of turning the bad exhaust gases into sulphur which is less harmful to the environment. This smell is especially present after you've gone for a fang. I went for a blast thorugh the Nasho on Sunday and when I got to Stanwell Tops and stopped it smelt a little of sulphur......

Ryan

[C_McCabe]

Alright that makes sense ... thanks :). I'm still at a loss to explain why its doing it when the car isn't being driven particularly hard though (i.e between 4K and 5K rpm). Sure thats not the normal rev range when driving an auto, but should it be straining the engine that much that its producing this bad (or too much?) gas? Having read a few people saying this engine should be run normally between 3.5 - 5K i'm just surprised this is happening. Any more suggestions cos I'd hate to think this will always happen when I drive it a little harder than normal ...

Clinton

[Longrod von Hugendong]

It can also be a sign that the car hasn't been given a good workout for a while. You'd find that if you went for a good solid fang along a nice windy road that the smell wouldn't be as bad when you drive the car around town and such. It's just build up of crud in the engine and exhaust system that gets blown out with a good drive.

Ryan