After driving my 911S, there is a burnt rubber smell that comes fromt he back of my car (engine). Definitely more noticeable when I drive it hard. I smell it at stop lights at times and when I park. Wondering if that is normal?

I am a newbie at driving a manual, but don't think I been riding the clutch. Could it be an oil leak everyone is talking about?

I bought the car used with 9100k miles on it so I doubt its that protective coating under the car. Thoughts?

 

i experience the same smell from my car when driven hard, i have 18,000 miles on my 05 carrera s.i wanna know what it is also
-jason

 

I just got a 911S, new to manual as well.

I was getting the same smell, and realized I was letting the clutch slip too much in stop & go traffic. Friend showed me some tips, I practiced, and I haven't noticed it since (unless I'm being stupid and dump the clutch for fun).

Could be something else but that's been my experience.

 

if it is not the cosmoline coating it could be when you had an oil change they left some oil on the motor...make sure your tires aren't rubbing anywhere...not rms if you haven't found a puddle in your garage...make sure it isn't the power steering fluid cuz that stuff will burn your car to the ground

 

Care to share those tips???

 

It helps if you release the clutch "a little quicker" and not ride it during gear changes. Dumping the clutch "too quick" is also not good for the components. Smooth and consistent clutches are better for the transmission. Try to use the E-brake on hills and not sit on the clutch engaged.

 

These are pretty basic, but maybe they'll help. And I may have misunderstood some of them, so perhaps others can educate me as well.

One thing is to realize that the 911 has so much low-end torque that if you release the clutch slowly enough, it doesn't even need gas to move w/o stalling. With that in mind, it's all about getting the muscle memory for the point where the clutch begins to "catch" - in the 911 it was a extraordinarily high point vs. the Civic that I had been taught on beforehand. You also don't need to give it much gas (~1k rpm). Depending on how fast/far you want to go, release the clutch accordingly - I admit I'm still getting the hang of control at low RPMs and probably let the clutch slip more than I need to.

In terms of upshifting past that, as someone else here posted, you only need to be on the clutch for the instant you're switching gears. You can let the clutch slip a little between 1st/2nd, because the ratio jump is pretty significant there, but beyond that you'll get minimal jerking as you shift.

On hills and at other stops, you can keep the clutch engaged while sitting on the brakes if you'd like. That being said you'll wear down the throw-out bearing and your brakepads by doing so, though my understanding is that's not a disastrous outcome.

You can work on downshifting/mechanical braking, but frankly I'm not sure it's worth it. Heel/toe downshifting sounds like a great skill to learn, but it's a little dangerous to be learning that w/ other cars around. General tip for downshifting is to blip the throttle a little while you shift to rev-match.

As for dumping the clutch off the line, it's a little fun but the smell/jerkiness/transmission wear really aren't worth it ... just rev it up and let go of the clutch. You'll probably get some tire squeal.

 

Is it ok to have a small jerk between gears? The gear changes are more smooth if I release the clutch slowly, but sometimes I get a small jerk. Is that bad for the car. If get a smooth gear change, I fear that I might be riding the clutch.

 

From a standing start, minimal(<1000 rpm) throttle and nearly no clutch slippage is needed. Between gears, just let the clutch up smoothly. Almost always, the clutch should be either in or out. If it is making a smell, you are killing it.

If you do cook the clutch, it is not that big a deal to put right. About $2000 in parts & labor. They drop the transmission, rather than the motor. About a day in the shop.

 

I have this issue with my 16K mile 2005 911S. I have been driving stick shift cars, including many pcars, for the last 30 plus years and never had a problem with the clutch in any of them. I asked the dealer what could be causing the smell and was advised it was the cosmoline mentioned above. While I thought it would have been all burned off after 4 years and 16K miles, is was told the dealer sees cars with upwards of 30k miles still smelling from burning cosmoline. John

 

Thanks John! I didn't think I was riding the clutch that bad. It would also make sense that the harder I drive it, the hotter the engine parts get thus emitting a stronger smell.