burning rubber smell

[porsche986spyder]

I had this same smell happen to me right before my clutch went bye-bye. Make sure you are shifting properly. The car should not smell like burning rubber at all. If you do drive your car hard the clutch will give off this oder. If the smell last longer than 3 minutes I would think it may be time to replace your clutch or change your driving style.

Don't forget the hot mufflers are right there behind the rear tires. Very close proximity.

I have read that small bits of rubber from our tires gets kick back onto the mufflers (not to mention all kinds of other road debris) and this helps to contribute to that odor we notice. Don't know if it is true, but makes a lot of sense to me.

[FTD]

good post. I had wondered about that burning smell, too. It seems intermittent for me, and I have been watching the forum for answers.

[dmcutter]

That sounds reasonable. I smell that too, from time to time, and when I've had the car worked (including RMS at 15k miles) no one has ever said anything was amiss. I vote for rubber on the muffler!

[turbo23dog]

I've noticed the smell on my 00 S too. I pulled the engine cover off to take a look in there and noticed that the foam pad that is glued to the firewall is split and pulling free in few places. I thought that some of these hanging pad pieces could be the source of the smell but was not able to confirm this.

[RandallNeighbour]

And I thought that burning smell was the simple fact that I am one hot driver tearing up the pavement with my mid-engine curve carving machine

Went for a 2 hour drive in the countryside outside of Houston yesterday and the car smelled a LOT because I was running through the gears to 6000 rpm the whole time.

I likened it my boxster's version of one of those satisfying belches or farts after a great meal. :dance:

[Kirk]

I have this smell too. Loren who runs Renntech told me what it was one time at one of our tech sessions. I can't recall exactly what he said though, but I just kind of shrugged it off as not being important then. I think he said it was either oil burning (I do have a little seeping oil but no drips) or from heavy use of the brakes. Why the brakes would give off a burnt rubber smell though I do not understand. I do notice this more after driving 100+ mph and then having to use the brakes heavily to slow down...

Kirk

[Topless]

Originally Posted by bmussatti

Don't forget the hot mufflers are right there behind the rear tires. Very close proximity.

I have read that small bits of rubber from our tires gets kick back onto the mufflers (not to mention all kinds of other road debris) and this helps to contribute to that odor we notice. Don't know if it is true, but makes a lot of sense to me.

I think this happens often and we just don't notice. I was coming down from a spirited canyon run once and a plastic trash bag drifted in front of me. I went right over it and noticed it never came out the back. It got sucked up onto the exhaust and just melted in. I took a stick and tried to scrape it off but couldn't get it all. The car smelled like burning plastic for weeks. Finally I got the car hot and put it up on a rack so I could clean it completely with a putty knife. I still get some burning smells when I park the car hot.