smoke from the exhaust

Hi all, 2 times up to now, my car when i do start the engine have white fumes coming out of the exhaust.... i have to tell that only these two times happend because previously i have driven the car really-really hard...... OPC said this is the reason and it is normal any suggestions? thanks

Most likely is normal. Does it go away right away? If so, it most likely is not a problem and is just oil that has collected as a result of the flat six configuration burning off at startup. This ocassionally (twice in one year) happens to me at the track.

yes it does go away right away... but what seems unexplained to me is that why this should happend when the car is driven really hard

Certain circumstances tend to make the oil collect more than others. I am not sure what about the hard driving does this, but it could be related to oil temp, cool down time, etc. . . I don't know enough to pinpoint the exact cause, I am just happy that it does not signal a problem.

i am happy too....

After a hard drive, if it is sitting for a while, on restart, out will come big clouds of smoke at startup, then it goes away. Funny thought, the smoke only comes from the right bank. It might be 6 months with no smoke at startup, then it will be there for every startup for about a week, and then disappear again. I would not worry about it.

My BMW motorcycle does the same thing. It is also a horizontally opposed(2 cylinder) oil collects above the valves and it burns off in an instant

What color is the smoke you are talking about?

It's a common problem, but it is not normal. IMO this is a symptom of oil starvation on these 996 motors. If the oil cannot be properly scavenged during high G loads it will accumulate on one side, and then you see the cloud of smoke at the next startup.

I have never heard anything suggesting that the occasional puff of white smoke indicates any problem of any sort, until your post. Of course, I am not an expert, but, unless you are using race slicks AND driving very well, I do not think that oil starvation is a problem at all with 996s. I do not use race slicks or drive well, so my puffs of white smoke are not caused by high G loads causing oil to accumulate on one side. Besides, I go to real tracks not NASCAR For those of you who take everything too seriously, I am only joking. I have the number three shaved into my back hair right now.

If it is occasional, then I would say it is normal. Although I have a 996 now, my previous 911 was air cooled. I kept detailed records of each time it puffed the white smoke in a 5 year period. I could find no correlation in any of the data, time, temp, oil temp, incline, engine warm, engine cold, run hard, run easy, etc. etc. etc. The only thing I could find for certain was that the car liked to give a cloud of white smoke whenever a crowd of people were present to witness the event! This phenomenon is well document int the Up Fixin der Porsche series I believe. My 996 has puffed only twice over 3+ years, both times with an audience present. Having owned a 911 of some sort or the other for 10 years now, I just don't worry about the occasional puff when it happens.

I would agree with the "occasional" comment. My 1999 C2 Cab was doing this several times a week when I started the car in the morning (warm days, very cool nights). It turned out that this was not "normal". I took the car in and they found a problem (forget what it was, it was two years ago). I have not seen a puff of smoke since (at least not from my car!).

My car has done the exact same thing. I have taken it to the track exactly once and after each run it does this. Never does it otherwise. Most people I ask say its normal, no big deal, and related to hard cornering in the horizontal engine.

I agree with Doug, the harder you drive these cars, the more I think you will see it. I've seen it on rare occasions on my car, usually after a hard run. BTW, Doug uses race tires and drives in the advanced run group, so I imagine he may have seen some oil starvation.

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Its normal, if you want to prevent the smoke after a hard run, run a half a quart of oil short, or the middle of the add mark on the dip stick..

I am not sure I would do that just to avoid a harmless puff of white smoke. In light of the potential for oil starvation (which I honestly think that most people will never experience), it is better to have more oil in our cars rather than less (although overfilling is not good either). I try to keep my car topped off, especially at the track.