[fixedreality]

So, my 07 is finally FBO. VRSF FMIC, BMS DCI, Active Autowerke Exhaust, AR Design Catless DPs and COBB AP for tuning.

Car hauls serious ass with the Stg2+ map even with shitty CA 91 octane.

Question is, I'm getting plumes of white smoke when coming to a stop. Not all the time, but often enough to notice. Enough where it comes to the front of my car and into my cabin through the windows if they are down.

Blown turbo seals? common problem? i'll monitor coolant level in the mean time. Car is incredibly fast regardless. Before the DP's and exhaust I had zero smoke.

Any input would is awesome, thanks

[Ænema]

Yep, the seals are letting some oil past. I suspect A LOT more N54s have this issue than are reporting it but the cats are masking it.

If you can live with the smoke then you'll be fine. If you want to cut down on it you'll need to put some cats in the midpipes... or go with new turbos.

[fixedreality]

Originally Posted by Ænema

Yep, the seals are letting some oil past. I suspect A LOT more N54s have this issue than are reporting it but the cats are masking it.

If you can live with the smoke then you'll be fine. If you want to cut down on it you'll need to put some cats in the midpipes... or go with new turbos.

Do you mean coolant? I believe are turbos aren't oil cooled? and I know oil doesn't burn white.

[E90Company]

Originally Posted by fixedreality

Do you mean coolant? I believe are turbos aren't oil cooled? and I know oil doesn't burn white.

All turbos are lubricated by oil. These turbos also have a water jacket that cools them.

[neilvosko]

+1, need to get some magnaflow cats in the midpipes

[135Pats]

FBO with no cats anywhere, coming to a full stop I get some grey/off white smoke but it’s not like a thick plume, and it’s not the sort of bleach white you see when coolant is burning off. I was under the impression that going full catless would lead to a bit of smoke no matter what, and my turbos looked to be in excellent shape when I last pulled the downpipes off to check ‘em out (under 1K miles ago). It wouldn’t shock me if my seals were starting to go bad, but I was of the impression that the little bit of smoke was just the name of the game when one goes full catless.

[fixedreality]

Originally Posted by 135Pats

FBO with no cats anywhere, coming to a full stop I get some grey/off white smoke but it’s not like a thick plume, and it’s not the sort of bleach white you see when coolant is burning off. I was under the impression that going full catless would lead to a bit of smoke no matter what, and my turbos looked to be in excellent shape when I last pulled the downpipes off to check ‘em out (under 1K miles ago). It wouldn’t shock me if my seals were starting to go bad, but I was of the impression that the little bit of smoke was just the name of the game when one goes full catless.

Will the turbo's still operate fully even if the seals are going? besides the smoke what other side effects should we see from leaking seals?

[qubansailor]

Same issue for a while full catless

[BMWM.D.]

I feel some smoke at idle is fairly normal without any cats. Whether it is from the turbos or the PCV system, I'm not sure -- but I've seen it on a bunch of catless cars.

[135Pats]

Originally Posted by BMWM.D.

I feel some smoke at idle is fairly normal without any cats. Whether it is from the turbos or the PCV system, I'm not sure -- but I've seen it on a bunch of catless cars.

Just to clarify, when I say my car smokes at idle, I mean there’s a small stream that you can see when you first stop, and then maybe a few occasional puffs of smoke depending on how long the car sits still. At least in my case, we’re not talking about a giant plume of white smoke, you def. notice it, but it’s not like a diesel rolling coal or anything like that. I had always thought when you removed all cats, that was going to happen regardless of the car’s condition. My turbos looked like they were in excellent shape when I checked them out so I doubt my seals are on the way out, but I am very interested to see where this thread goes….How many people are full catless and have zero smoke at all times?

[ASAP]

definitely smoke here but i consistenly smell oil in and around the car... not sure if this is dp related. how is everyone elses smell?

[135Pats]

Originally Posted by ASAP

definitely smoke here but i consistenly smell oil in and around the car... not sure if this is dp related. how is everyone elses smell?

Literally smells like combusted gas for me lol. No distinct oil or coolant smell, it just smells like noxious emissions and combusted gas. Clem on e90post and I were under the car a week ago, and it was leaking zero oil from what we could tell, also the car has never eaten much oil. The turbos were in excellent shape with no obvious issues. The smell when I put the windows down at idle reminds me of go-karts or two stroke motors. FWIW i've been tuned since 32k, i'm now closing in on 43K, mods in signature.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by 135Pats

Literally smells like combusted gas for me lol. No distinct oil or coolant smell, it just smells like noxious emissions and combusted gas. Clem on e90post and I were under the car a week ago, and it was leaking zero oil from what we could tell, also the car has never eaten much oil. The turbos were in excellent shape with no obvious issues. The smell when I put the windows down at idle reminds me of go-karts or two stroke motors. FWIW i've been tuned since 32k, i'm now closing in on 43K, mods in signature.

well my car eats oil by the gallons and i have checked nearly everything lol...

[cleex024]

So when I had the hpf gen 2 exhaust there was not smoke but when I switched to the are exhaust there was white smoke...but then when I changed over to the ets exhaust again there is no smoke.

All the exhausts were catless

[Randomaccess335]

Just had my car at the dealer for same thing, first time it happened my oil filter gasket seal was bad allowing coolant to burn off in the cylinders and was filling my over flow tank once a week. Dealer did pressure check on my coolant system and that's how they found the bad gasket. My car would leave a trail of smoke, smelled like coolant - I could actually taste it, at stop lights after coming to a stop a huge cloud would fill the intersection. I felt bad for people with open windows or on motorcycles. Recent dealer visit I told the them I refilled the overflow once and every so often I would get a cloud of smoke, so I figured it was the oil filter gasket again. Dealer had the car for three weeks and couldn't duplicate the smoking, but this morning it happened again after driving 35-40 mph for @ half mile when coming to a stop big cloud of smoke. Now I'm waiting to see if the coolant get low again, if not I don't know what's causing it. Dealer thinks its cause I'm cattless and I have a single manga flow muffler condensation building up in the muffler and eventually puffing out.
O well That's my story,
R

[135Pats]

Originally Posted by Randomaccess335

Just had my car at the dealer for same thing, first time it happened my oil filter gasket seal was bad allowing coolant to burn off in the cylinders and was filling my over flow tank once a week. Dealer did pressure check on my coolant system and that's how they found the bad gasket. My car would leave a trail of smoke, smelled like coolant - I could actually taste it, at stop lights after coming to a stop a huge cloud would fill the intersection. I felt bad for people with open windows or on motorcycles. Recent dealer visit I told the them I refilled the overflow once and every so often I would get a cloud of smoke, so I figured it was the oil filter gasket again. Dealer had the car for three weeks and couldn't duplicate the smoking, but this morning it happened again after driving 35-40 mph for @ half mile when coming to a stop big cloud of smoke. Now I'm waiting to see if the coolant get low again, if not I don't know what's causing it. Dealer thinks its cause I'm cattless and I have a single manga flow muffler condensation building up in the muffler and eventually puffing out.
O well That's my story,
R

We're quickly reaching the limits of my modest engine knowledge, but coolant burns a pale white and smells sweet right? The smoke that my car puffs out when I come to a stop is a dull grey-ish color, when you think "smoke" picture that color. It does NOT smell sweet at all, it truly smells like combustion, with a slightly noxious odor. I'll check coolant levels on the drive home tonight, but to my knowledge my car has never had a coolant issue, and as of last week it was not leaking oil to a degree that was visible with the downpipes off. I'd love to hear from a member who is 100% catless and has zero smoke at all, because I had thought that wasn't possible without cats.

[longliven54]

it may also be a fact that certain dps or exhaust are letting too much vibrations reach the turbo with absence of the flex section
i had raceland dps and i smoked occasionally with them.
since then, i gutted my oem downpipes to retain the flex and all smoke stopped. been 6months without any smoke or smell. i believe hpf and ets exhausts both have flex sections.
flex can be bought from vibrant for about 60/piece.
you can still opt for installing cats or resonators above and beyond.

[boostaholic786]

I have similar issues as to what your having but the weird thing is that it will only do it if the car is fairly cold and it will occasionally do it ONLY coming to a stop. I put my secondaries back on and problem solved. your secondaries are maybe 5 horsepower...maybe..

[135Pats]

Originally Posted by boostaholic786

I have similar issues as to what your having but the weird thing is that it will only do it if the car is fairly cold and it will occasionally do it ONLY coming to a stop. I put my secondaries back on and problem solved. your secondaries are maybe 5 horsepower...maybe..

My car only smokes when fully stopped, driving along there is zero smoke from what I can tell. And I don’t doubt the secondaries would cover it up unless your seals are totally fried and/or the car is blowing through oil, but if there is a problem I'd prefer to fix it as opposed to masking it (though i'm fairly confident my car is OK). Oh and my N54 mids are looong gone. If I can conclude that the smoke whisps when stopping are normal, I may weld in some HFCs into the midpipes down the road. The smell I really don't care about, but having people tell you "your car is smoking a bit" at red lights gets old in a hurry.

[Randomaccess335]

I gutted my stock dps also....... The first time it was definitely coolant, sweat taste white smoke. Now it is more what you describe, grayish and combustion smell, maybe it is condensation carrying the combustion smell making it more noticeable.
R

[135Pats]

Originally Posted by Randomaccess335

I gutted my stock dps also....... The first time it was definitely coolant, sweat taste white smoke. Now it is more what you describe, grayish and combustion smell, maybe it is condensation carrying the combustion smell making it more noticeable.
R

I suppose it could be condensation, but it sure looks like smoke. It's not like a choking giant plume of the stuff, it's a few whisps, but it looks more substantial and lingers in the air in a way that condensation normally doesn't. And yea, it sounds like the coolant burning is different than what i'm experiencing. My smoke is a dull grey, not a sweet bleach white that you get with coolant burn.

[fixedreality]

Originally Posted by 135Pats

I suppose it could be condensation, but it sure looks like smoke. It's not like a choking giant plume of the stuff, it's a few whisps, but it looks more substantial and lingers in the air in a way that condensation normally doesn't. And yea, it sounds like the coolant burning is different than what i'm experiencing. My smoke is a dull grey, not a sweet bleach white that you get with coolant burn.

Our symptoms are identical, 100% and if it was condensation, it wouldn't linger like our grey/white smoke does.

Thanks for elaborating on it. We do need someone who is fully catless that has zero smoke to chim in. As well as what exhaust and DPs they are running.

Hope this thread grows so we can get to the bottom of this.