They're all calling me Smokie

My '07 stock CS now smokes on start up after pretty much every session. Not a wisp like my dealer says I should expect (but I don't). Enough smoke to fog the car next to me. This started about 8 weeks ago when I got black flagged at an event (which I did not see and do not know at which corner it occured). It smoked after I packed up and went to leave. I drove 10min slowly, parked for 45min and then it belched a huge cloud when restarted. Since then I have done 3 hard lapping days, 3-5hrs on the track each day. And it smokes a lot everytime after it sits for 20-30 minutes on start up. I've tried driving in the paddock for 5min to cool down, letting it run for 5min to cool down, etc etc. Bottom line is something is wrong. No other Boxster or Cayman I have been with at these days does what my car does. It doesn't smoke around town or at home when it has sat a few days or a week. But it mostly just gets driven to the track and on the track. It is not a daily driver for me. So the car goes to the dealer this Friday. We have discussed the AOS (aka VOS) and they have offered to change it and see if that fixes the problem. But from what I have read hear the AOS upgrade is being doen to stop the on track belching. Does anyone think a new stock AOS will fix my start up problem? Or do I have a ring or seal problem? What should I be asking them to look at/check? What tests to run? btw, I have 4-6 more lapping days and one 3 day DE left this season. So whatever they find and change I should be able to give a could test to. I was going to change to R-comps for the first time ever for the rest of the season but I've given up on that thought as I am concerned my car is not up to the added speed and stress. My PS has gone once already and I have to top it up after pretty much every lapping day (Calabogie has lots of tight corners). I will be having the dealer check the PS too. Bottom line is my car is sick and I am going to seriously have to decide what to do about it this off season if my dealer cannot fix these issues to my satisfaction. Any ideas and thoughts would be most appreciated. Chris

What has been your oil consumption rate?

I have wondered for some time whether at least a part of this issue is due to a failure of the OEM AOS, and simply replacing it would fix the problem (at least until it fails again). I seem to recall reading an article online in the past where someone fixed the problem on their Boxster with a new AOS (the OEM version, not the upgrade). I would think that if you are just seeing the problem at start-up after, or during a hard track session, it is probably not a ring or seal problem. Keep us updated about the repair and follow-up experience.

Last oil change was done to spec leaving the on board gauge with the top bar clear. After the two track days I am down three bars but still have one bar above the bottom of the range. I decided not to top it up so the dealer could see how much has been burnt off for themselves. Chris

AOS (VOS) changed by dealer I haven't picked up my car yet but my dealer has changed the VOS for me under warranty. They test drove it, parked it, started it a couple of times and no smoke. Which is fine but the car only smokes after lapping sessions. So I hope to get it out a couple of times this week and give it a proper test. Does anyone know how the VOS works or why it fails? Does it get overhelmed due to too many hard driving sessions? ie does it get saturated and then can no longer function as it is designed? My car was fine the first 7-8 lapping days I did but smoked after each start up the last 3-4 days. Driving in slowly in the pit after coming off the track and letting it idle for 3-5 minutes didn't solve the problem. Hopefully the new VOS will. But I fear I will have it fail again. For those who have upgraded to the Motorsports VOS has a better/cheaper install been found or is it still a 10hr job? Has any dealer commented on whether the using the Motorsports part will void the warrranty? btw, no feedback yet on my power steering. I blew it up 2-3 lapping days ago. I had to top the resevoir after just two days. I asked them to look at it again on this service visit as I had done 2 more days since the last top up. I suspect it was likely down again. I'm really frustrated by these two issues. I find myself short shifting and running far shorter sessions than I would otherwise because of the PS and the oil issues. This not what I expected when I bought my CS. :cheers: Chris

What is the difference between a lapping day and a DE? My Canadian isn't very good. I have not seen any burning of oil at the track. I do a moderate cool down before shut down, but nowhere near what you do and I get zero smoke at start-up...or not enough to notice, anyway.

The only other fix is install an oil return restrictor. Take the vacuum line that runs between the intake and the oil separator. Insert a fender washer into the hose and re-attach the hose. This reduces the flow of oil, which reduces the smoke. I know several boxster guys that have done this. As well as one Porsche Tech that does it all the time.

I definitely share Chris's sentiments... I wasn't a happy camper either when my shifter disassembled itself at five laps in on my last driving event, and watching a caravan of late model Porsches leave on rollbacks from the same place certainly didn't ease my disappointment. Honestly, I'm starting to think Porches in general have gotten more than a little fragile. Before I get barbecued, lemme say that yes, I understand there's plenty of people here who've tracked Porsches time and again with no problem. But fact is there is a large segment of us who are having issues like this, and it's not just Cayman related. It's particularly galling when your expensive German sports car gets sorely beaten in the reliability department by its crude American stablemate with 100,000 miles on the odometer. (Said Corvette has had its own share of stupid problems, but all were fairly minor and required only a relatively small infusion of cash) I've gone through one complete engine, and suffered a clutch and shifter disassembly in my Cayman. That's on a car with roughly 8,000 miles on the clock, that I've owned less than a year. Of course, could be worse, I could be dealing with Ferrari reliability. 2003 Porsche 911 C4S - Long-Term Update - European Car Magaizne

I only mention my experience as a point of reference. Not trying to take away anything from folks who have had this issue. :cheers: I would be curious to see if someone could induce the on-track smoke effect in my car. I am on PS2s.

Dave, have you switched to the Motorsports AOS and now have no smoke/consumption issues or just no oil smoke or oil burn issues with your stock setup? For me a DE is a PCA event. In our region they are typically 3 days with 4 20min sessions a day. Total of 4hrs of track time over 3 days. The lapping days I do I get 3.5hrs minimum to a theoretical maximum of 7hrs each day. So that is why I qualify my days as lapping and DE. On lapping days I run longer and more often which I figure is much harder on the car. I'm frustrated that I can't enjoy the lapping days like I would like to (ie run longer/more often, not short shift etc). Chris

Sorted out for MY 2010? Man I hope Porsche sorts out this problem with their MY 2010 CS models. It's ridiculous to pay pay $65K on an optioned CS and have this smoking problem occur, on what is supposedly a trackable sports car?

This is the same problem when tracking the 996 or 997. The Cayman is as trackable as any other Porsche street car. All have this weakness. The new Porsche engine 'fixes' the problem by putting 4 oil scavenging pickups in the engine to remove more oil before it can be burned.

AOS changed by my dealer So as I wrote earlier, my dealer offered to try changing the AOS for me and send me back to the track to see if that solves my post lapping startup smoking issues. Lo and behold the AOS had a small crack in it. Not sure how the darn thing works but I'm pretty sure the crack is part if not all of my issue. Now as to why it cracked I and they have no idea. Too much heat anyone? They also checked my PS fluid and system. It had to be topped up again after just two lapping days. But no signs of leaks or anything melting at least. So I guess topping it up after every couple of days out is one possible solution. But if I keep the car I think a cooler or the insulation is an easier solution! Oh, and my Tech Inspection was free! Thank you Mark Motors! A no money fix at their suggestion and no grief about driving the car hard. A very positive and supportive experience. :banana: Chris

My car has not had these problems. I think it smoked once at the Streets of Willow track that Krokodil mentioned, but since then it has never happened. On the other hand, it seems to be that I am usually between a few tenths to a few seconds behind my favorite competitors. Here is my conclusion: My Cayman S is a LEMON! So, if you are lucky enough NOT to have the oil ingestion issues, you are like me and have a lemon cayman which is just a little less competitive than others. Just one possibility!