cold start exhaust smoke
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 14,553
Likes: 1,548
From: Supporting the Corvette Community at Abel Chevrolet in Rio Vista, CA 707-374-6317 Ext.123
St. Jude Donor '08
It's completely normal to have a puff of smoke at cold start. The warm up strategy of modern cars adds additional fuel when cold started to help warm the cats up and get the car up to operating temps. Most of the modern direct injected vehicles have a little smoke at start up.
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 1,089
Likes: 668
From: Orange County, CA
You should not have any oil smoke at startup. None.
I would find a way to so the dealer can see it. The risk is that it gets worse. Carbon deposits will get heavy if you have a valve seal leak or something.
I would find a way to so the dealer can see it. The risk is that it gets worse. Carbon deposits will get heavy if you have a valve seal leak or something.
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,320
Likes: 20
From: New York and Florida
A very brief small puff of blue smoke is completely normal on startup when the car has been sitting for a more than a day. Most GM cars have been doing this for decades. It’s not caused by a richer fuel starting mixture, but by tiny amounts of oil that seep down the valve guides and drip into the cylinder. When the valves cool off, they contract slightly and minuscule amounts of oil will weep past the seals. Completely normal. Look at it this way, it’s extra cylinder lubrication on startup. : )
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 60
Likes: 22
From: Pittsboro NC
The puff of smoke on start up has stopped. It has been a couple of weeks and it has gone away. So not sure what happened but I appreciate the feedback and suggestions from everyone.
I track the car and thought it might have something to do with that, but I just did another track day on Saturday and no smoke today.
I track the car and thought it might have something to do with that, but I just did another track day on Saturday and no smoke today.