Excessive soot from exhaust

[Jerman_Jatt]

I have noticed recently that there is a lot of soot coming out of my exhaust. I know that these cars are known for having soot but I’m talking the whole trunk and rear bumper are caked on with soot. I will try to upload some pictures. What can be causing this?

[blackfunk]

Any smoke? Potentially burning oil.

[mahhdd]

Uh oh.

Mileage?
Mods?

Could a PCV be causing this? From what I understand, engine oil consumption goes up when a PCV is out.

Could be rings.

[Mfryman1]

We could all give better information if we had a look at what your are talking about. Is the "soot" black on the inside of your exhaust tips? Black Soot can be caused by a few things. Have you noticed any smoke and if so what color? Have a buddy try to follow you and do a short WOT and see what does the exhaust look like (take video if possible), is it consuming oil?

[Jerman_Jatt]

Car has 45k and is dual pulley with test pipes, there is very little oil consumption, about 1/4 a quart at 4K miles. The only thing I have noticed is some white smoke coming out when it is cold but it mostly disappears once the car is warm.

[Izzyz28]

Exact same setup I have, mods and mileage and no oil consumption. The exhaust tips look like shit after a few days, the back is covered in soot within a week or two, and it blows out all kinds of disgusting shit when I go WOT. Nail it from a dead stop and look in the rearview mirror, overfuel city. These are dirty cars with DP and without CATS.

[MSq5]

I have noticed recently that there is a lot of soot coming out of my exhaust. I know that these cars are known for having soot but I’m talking the whole trunk and rear bumper are caked on with soot. I will try to upload some pictures. What can be causing this?

No check engine light? Do you have access to a scan tool? Soft codes do not trigger a light but may be present. That could be useful.

Sounds like you are running rich. Our ECUs do seriously richen AFRs when you go full throttle. Some of that fuel is used for cylinder cooling to allow more aggressive timing at full throttle operating conditions.

Are you having any misfires? How many miles on your plugs? What gap? Is your air filter dirty? Could be a lot of causes, some minor, some perhaps not. Is this a new thing, how long? What else have you done to the car recently? Details matter.

The exhaust tips and rear valance will be covered with black soot. That comes with high boost direct injection. But not the entire trunk or rear of the car. Photos please.

White smoke only at startup is likely just normal condensation in cold weather.

[Jerman_Jatt]

image0.jpg

Here is a photo of the rear after about 3-4 weeks of driving after wash.

[MSq5]

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Here is a photo of the rear after about 3-4 weeks of driving after wash.

Can you answer any of the questions I asked? Details matter and more information would help.

[Jerman_Jatt]

I apologize, there is a check engine light but it is for the test pipes that I got installed about 6 months ago, I did use spacers but the light comes on about a day or two after clearing it. for now I am just waiting to get a 034 tune and flash the test pipe file, I currently am tuned by APR. There are no misfires as I checked with VCDS and I actually just recently replaced the plugs with NGK BKR9EIX at 0.028 gap. the car had these same plugs before. I also replaced the air filter recently. I have had the issue with excess soot for as long as I had the car which has been about a year. The car has not given me any problems otherwise, just curious why there is so much soot

[Jerman_Jatt]

Here is a picture that my friend recently got of my car spitting flames. It looks pretty cool but I am pretty sure that it is not running right as I have not seen many dual pulley ultracharged cars spitting flames without meth and e85CFD1E5B2-229E-4B47-A74A-C969D73F2D97.jpg.

[Izzyz28]

image0.jpg

Here is a photo of the rear after about 3-4 weeks of driving after wash.

My car looks worse than that after a week.

[BrokeBichB8]

Mines the same. Coat the trunk with meguiars ceramic and the clean lasts much longer. Dont trip its just racecar problems

[MSq5]

I apologize, there is a check engine light but it is for the test pipes that I got installed about 6 months ago, I did use spacers but the light comes on about a day or two after clearing it. for now I am just waiting to get a 034 tune and flash the test pipe file, I currently am tuned by APR. There are no misfires as I checked with VCDS and I actually just recently replaced the plugs with NGK BKR9EIX at 0.028 gap. the car had these same plugs before. I also replaced the air filter recently. I have had the issue with excess soot for as long as I had the car which has been about a year. The car has not given me any problems otherwise, just curious why there is so much soot

They run rich AFR under load by design, even OEM and more so when tuned. The nature of boosted direct injection engines. Your test pipes are probably contributing, as there are no cats to burn off some of the engine exhaust particulates. I'm in that same boat.

I think this is worsened by your light body color. Mine is . . . Brilliant Black and always looks dirty. 5 minutes after washing it!

Forgive me for suggesting this, but the range 9 plugs may be a step backward. They will likely foul in slow city cycle driving. Most tuners recommend range 8 plugs even for dual pulley stage 2. FWIW, I'm running BKR8EIX on EPL dual pulley stage 2. Generally you want to run the hottest plug you can that doesn't cause detonation and the coldest that doesn't foul. That means stock heat range unless you are very heavily modified. You'd need to be making well over 500 crank to justify a need for a colder plug on this engine unless your tuner specifies otherwise.

[Jerman_Jatt]

Yeah, I will probably switch the plugs out to see if it makes a difference. I only ran the bkr9eix because that is what apr recommended on their website but I don’t think that it is suitable for all climates, I live in Seattle and it is pretty cold here. What gap are you running on your plugs? Also, I just wanted to say thank you for being such an avid member of this forum and taking your time to answer my questions. Have a great day.

[MSq5]

.028". I tried .026" but did not see anything different on logs to suggest a benefit.

[Izzyz28]

Did you stand on it from a dead stop and see the cloud of coal shoot out behind you? There is no "fix", these engines are absolutely filthy without CATS.

[Jerman_Jatt]

Yeah, I saw a puff of black smoke on shifts

[Nelson G]

I use LIQUI MOLY Jectron Fuel Injection Cleaner to clean the engine. I find once every six months works, I out the Liqui Moly before I fill the tanka and then take it for a highway drive. These engines have always been known to be dirty. I clean the exhaust tips with a wheel cleaner and wet 4000 steel wool it works great.

[mahhdd]

I use it too; but, I'm not sure if it works though. It's only a small amount; but, additives are always an 'unknown' octane. From what I understand, the longer it sits in the tank/system, the more it cleans.

One fuel injector cleaning expert said that it won't hurt; but, probably won't restore... It'll likely just slow down build-up progress.

Javad@034 says just log your car periodically and go WOT when you drive it. The high pressure will blast deposits some. He also said, "by the time you use enough of that stuff, you can probably buy new injectors..." lol

My trusted mechanic agrees that the DI injectors tend to be clogged on people who baby it.

Just FYI from various sources.

[doughboy17]

image0.jpg

Here is a photo of the rear after about 3-4 weeks of driving after wash.

3-4 weeks??! Wow, the only time I wait that long between washes is in the dead of Illinois winter.

[Jerman_Jatt]

Lol, where I live it rains pretty much everyday during the winter so I dont bother washing it as much, in the summer however I wash every week or 2. I did paint correct and ceramic coat the car recently and that helps a lot keeping it cleaner but the soot still sticks like glue. I am wondering now if it is because of the placement of the exhaust tips.

[Izzyz28]

3-4 weeks??! Wow, the only time I wait that long between washes is in the dead of Illinois winter.

Mine gets ran through an automatic car wash about 4 times a year.

[mys4.org]

That is just road grime. My S4 and the wifes Q5 looks like that after a few days of PNW winter weather. The way the car's aero works there is a low pressure vortex of air behind the trunk lip so dirt just get thrown back onto the rear end of the trunk and bumper.

[Jerman_Jatt]

I am going to switch to 034 tune soon and will see if there is going to be any changes in the amounts of soot coming from exhaust, I have heard that apr tunes run rich. Will 034 be having any sort of sale for spring?

[mahhdd]

Read this post.

https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...1#post14695597

This may change your answer depending on your goals, wants, needs.

[Jerman_Jatt]

Thank you for taking your time and comprehensively comparing the two tunes, but one of the main reasons that I want to switch to 034 is because I want to get rid of the test pipe CEL, I currently have 90 degree spacers in the test pipes, will 034 tune work with the spacers or will i have to pull them out and put the 02 sensors back in?

[mahhdd]

Thank you for taking your time and comprehensively comparing the two tunes, but one of the main reasons that I want to switch to 034 is because I want to get rid of the test pipe CEL, I currently have 90 degree spacers in the test pipes, will 034 tune work with the spacers or will i have to pull them out and put the 02 sensors back in?

From what I've been told, the Test Pipe tune will solve your problems. 034 does NOT recommend running spacers because it throws off fuel trims. From what I understand, the majority pass.

That said, there's a guy who posted on Facebook who can't pass MA emissions (MAC center emisssions?). Not sure if he was running the test pipe tune; but, he had spacers on and still couldn't pass emissions. So I think results may vary.

[Izzyz28]

I am going to switch to 034 tune soon and will see if there is going to be any changes in the amounts of soot coming from exhaust, I have heard that apr tunes run rich. Will 034 be having any sort of sale for spring?

I have 034 and roll coal, its not going to change the soot.

[jtroger2212]

Reviving this to confirm: Went APR DP, ECU stage 2 tune, TCU tune, Merc HX recently. The car still has cats, a CTS Turbo intake, an ECS x-pipe, stock mufflers, and aftermarket tips. Before the upgrades the transmission and sport diff were serviced as well as installing new valve cover gaskets. The car has 100k miles and the PCV system, carbon cleaning, spark plugs, ignition coils, coolant changed, supercharger oil flushed, and supercharger belt was done 2 years ago. The thermostat and water pump was done 4 years ago.

I've been driving like a grandpa all week just to see what the MPG is like with the upgrades. The tips are covered in soot and a puff of dark smoke will come out when I go WOT (which I have not done this wk). It is just the tips filled with soot and is not up the back bumper/trunk area as others have shown above. There are no dashboard lights, no codes, no misfires, and the car runs great. Just confirming the soot and dark puff of smoke at WOT is "normal" given the upgrades. Thanks for the help.

[Izzyz28]

Reviving this to confirm: Went APR DP, ECU stage 2 tune, TCU tune, Merc HX recently. The car still has cats, a CTS Turbo intake, an ECS x-pipe, stock mufflers, and aftermarket tips. Before the upgrades the transmission and sport diff were serviced as well as installing new valve cover gaskets. The car has 100k miles and the PCV system, carbon cleaning, spark plugs, ignition coils, coolant changed, supercharger oil flushed, and supercharger belt was done 2 years ago. The thermostat and water pump was done 4 years ago.

I've been driving like a grandpa all week just to see what the MPG is like with the upgrades. The tips are covered in soot and a puff of dark smoke will come out when I go WOT (which I have not done this wk). It is just the tips filled with soot and is not up the back bumper/trunk area as others have shown above. There are no dashboard lights, no codes, no misfires, and the car runs great. Just confirming the soot and dark puff of smoke at WOT is "normal" given the upgrades. Thanks for the help.

Perfectly normal for pretty much any car. I mean, you're combusting 10-30 gallons of fossil fuel per week in an oil-filled engine. My Kia has filthy tips, my Lincoln has filthy tips, and even my catted BMW motorcycle has soot at the exhaust outlet.