Just had to pay for car wash for car behind!

[corned]

Last night I had a bit of a race with my B-I-L but was slightly shocked at how much crap I was blowing out of the back of the old motor.

OK, we were 7-up and with fairly big people (therefore on the wrong side of 2.5 tonnes AUW no doubt), and I was having a quick drag against the B-I-L's Mazda 3 Turbo Nutter B*stard, which was 4-up.

Obviously he could keep up with me, but the thing I noticed was the clouds of smoke coming out of the back of my car which he was having to drive through! Yes, it was dusk, so the cloud is much more noticeable, but the persistent nature of the cloud surprised me.

I am used to seeing a bit of a cloud behind me, say if I have arrived at the end of a motorway off-ramp and see a gap in the traffic on the roundabout. A quick squirt and I leave behind a little cloud, but never anything like this!

Should I be worried, or is it merely the accumulated debris from my usual gentle meanderings being unceremoniously ejected out of the rear?

It's a non-DPF car, btw.

 

[RAG]

It might just be the fuel you are using, I have noticed huge differences on non DPF cars when using cheaper fuel, generally supermarket fuel is bad for smoking IMO.

 

[wemorgan]

Under heavy load and acceleration I've also noticed more gray/black soot come out of my Audi. I think this is more noticeable since the Angle Tuning remap. Over fuelling maybe? IIRC Angle will restore your ECU settings if you're not happy.

I'm not too concerned since as I rarely drive in this manner.

Worth keeping an eye on none the less. Have you tried any Millers or similar additive?

 

[Ted]

Italian tune up is what you need.

 

[silver_star]

Yup, if your diesel engine has been "pottering about" on idle being driven in an economical manner,, then all of a sudden you give it death it will smoke like a trooper.

Just give it some stick every couple of weeks to clear it's lungs.

 

[corned]

Yeah, I am pretty sure that's all it is, it's just that it was a long and sustained foot-flat-to-the-floor period under some considerable load and the smoke never let up. That I have not seen before.

Maybe I won't now as the exhaust system boxes are now squeaky-clean!

For the record, and in answer to a couple of questions posted above, yes it was Tesco fuel and not BP/Shell brand, and yes I do use Millers although this tankful I have not treated.

 

[npuk]

Can of this and it will clean out the system nicely. BG 244 for Diesel | Power Enhancer News

 

[silver_star]

Thing is at night when you give it some stick and a car is behind you, you will notice the smoke a lot more. I know I do. Yet I can give it the same stick in daylight and can't notice anything out of my rear view mirror.

 

[st13phil]

Supermarket fuel and gentle driving has been a great recipe for all my non-DPF diesel cars to belch huge quantities of soot when finally flooring the throttle. In fact, I always found it a great technique to encourage an erstwhile tailgater to leave just a little more distance between the rear of my car and the front of his

If the smoke doesn't subside after giving the car an "Italian Tuneup" then it would be worth getting it checked for overfuelling. For example, a sticky wastegate on a VAG PD engined car I had a few years ago caused lots of full-throttle smoke

 

[corned]

I'm sure you're right. It was dusk and my B-I-L had his lights on, so that would make it seem worse.

My main gripe is that, unlike a petrol car, in a diesel you give the game away that you are trying - the smoke gives everyone in the area a clear statement - "I'm flooring it"!

 

[wemorgan]

My main gripe is that, unlike a petrol car, in a diesel you give the game away that you are trying - the smoke gives everyone in the area a clear statement - "I'm flooring it"!

I bet you can't wait for electric cars to become more mainstream

 

[BillyW124]

you sure you not mistaking it for the volcanic ash clouds?

 

[ringway]

Can of this and it will clean out the system nicely. BG 244 for Diesel | Power Enhancer News

+1 for BG244. It's good stuff. I think Kwikfit sell it for around £20 a can.

Drop the whole can into the tank (I added a whole can in to half a tank in my Sprinter) and it has made a difference to performance - not that it smoked excessively, although as already mentioned, you'll always see smoke in the evening when lights are shining behind and you push-on.