Does E85 produce more white smoke on cold starts?

General discussions about Solo

Moderator: Mike Simanyi

Post Reply
User avatar
Christos Adam
Posts: 374
Joined: Thu May 15, 2008 11:26 am
Club: CASOC
Car#: 550
Location: passing you up...
Contact:

Does E85 produce more white smoke on cold starts?

Post by Christos Adam »

I took the car out for a short (1-2mile) drive and I noticed that there was a lot of white smoke coming out of the exhaust }:)
I have seen this in the past too - I believe it's since I basically started running E85 - usually it happens on the cold starts at the idle and when there is cold and humid outside.
Now I do understand that all the cars produce visible smoke in these conditions but I'm talking about a cloud of smoke (to the point that I was afraid that the police will pull me over)

Usually white smoke-> coolant in the engine, but the car seems to drive fine and I haven't seen any coolant consumption... is this an E85 thing?
Anything else that I should be checking?

Thanks
Chris
If you can't fix it with a hammer, you've got an electrical problem
User avatar
Marshall Grice
Former CSCC Overall Champion
Posts: 1617
Joined: Thu May 15, 2008 11:27 am
Club: CASOC
Car#: 11

Re: Does E85 produce more white smoke on cold starts?

Post by Marshall Grice »

If by smoke you mean condensation (aka steam) maybe, but only at idle. e85 by itself shouldn't make any actual smoke.
User avatar
Mako Koiwai
Posts: 6490
Joined: Thu May 15, 2008 11:25 am
Club: SCNAX
Car#: 34
Location: South Pasadena, CA
Contact:

Re: Does E85 produce more white smoke on cold starts?

Post by Mako Koiwai »

Some Suby's ... especially with after market down pipes seem to blow a scary cloud of white smoke after they've been idling a while, especially when it's cool outside. ... I've got a photo of that ... somewhere
User avatar
Todd Victoria
Posts: 34
Joined: Thu May 15, 2008 11:25 am
Club: PSCC
Car#: 79
Location: Dana Point

Re: Does E85 produce more white smoke on cold starts?

Post by Todd Victoria »

Id definitely do a compression check.
User avatar
Christos Adam
Posts: 374
Joined: Thu May 15, 2008 11:26 am
Club: CASOC
Car#: 550
Location: passing you up...
Contact:

Re: Does E85 produce more white smoke on cold starts?

Post by Christos Adam »

Marchall - Yes, only at the idle and it looks like condensation.

Mako - Maybe it has to do with the turbo, big downpipe and the catless exhaust... the good thing is that today this afternoon (when it was warmer) I didn't see any smoke coming out of the tailpipes.
If you can't fix it with a hammer, you've got an electrical problem
Post Reply