Ok so the few times ive actually WOT past 5k i get a weird burning smell like hot exhaust/oil smell for like a few seconds then goes away when i get back to normal speeds. The clutch engages fine, shifts fine, not slipping, accelerates great.... I read around and theres like a million different things about what it could be.

It has 32k miles on it. Only thing i can think of is the exhaust is just dumping cuz of WOT and CATS are getting hot causing the smell since they are right under the seats. I know what a bad clutch smell and buring oil smells like and its only on HARD accelerations. Thanks!

 

my 04 burns oil when i do a cold start and then get on it in the first 5 minutes or so. make sure its warmed up and watch your oil pressure gauge.

 

warm up your car

 

This is when the car is fully warm like sitting in traffic, driving normally like 20-25 minutes after its warm. The oil gauge reads bout 20-25 at idle like it should

 

Do you have OEM Cats? What year is your Z?

I have a feeling you might be burning oil otherwise and you're just making your situation worse by going WOT all the time

 

Spilled oil on the motor?

 

Bought the car 2 weeks ago from my dealer oil was changed there and i detailed the car b4 i bought it so i pressure washed and degreased the motor after the safety inspection.

Yes the exhaust is stock still only 32k miles and its a 2004. My buddy at work has a 2003 and he said to keep an eye on the oil gauge and from what hes seen and ive told him said doesnt sound like its burning oil....but i really cant afford anything with the engine even tho i have a 3 year warranty when i bought it. I dont have any residue or dark smoke coming from the exhaust either.

 

Went out to my car to look at some stuff and popped the hood real quick. Oil level is spot on still, golden fresh color, no leaks or signs of oil leaks in car or on ground, muffler tips are shiney no residue...

Only other thing is the exhaust heating up at WOT or clutch burning but the clutch is deff NOT slipping or feeling sloppy at all only has 32k and i know what a shitty clutch feels like my other car has 120k on stock clutch and i beat it more than the Z.

 

It depends on what the smell is. Probably not oil since you said you checked it. Only so many things that can burn. If it's rubber, you'll know what that smells like. Check tires obviously. Check your ebrake and make sure you're not engaged or it's not completely disengaged. Check brake pads.

Get out of the car immediately after and sniff around to see where its coming from. Physical location will help you figure it out at least to narrow it down.
Take a laser temp reader and shoot the cat and you'll see if it's busted. but if the cat's busted soon enough your CEL will come on. And you would know because it would smell more like fuel and smog than something burning.

 

My old S14 when driven at reasonable speeds was fine but when I stepped on it I got a weird burning smell that smelt oily and it was only when I went round it and felt heat coming from the front N/S hub that I realised that I had a worn wheel bearing. I couldn't feel it through the steering wheel, even when turning left I couldn't feel any grinding. Its probably unrelated but perhaps just worth checking.

 

dont mean to be thread jacker but i get the same thing. Would test pipes cause this more.

 

If you're not losing any oil, then I'm pretty sure that's normal. A lot of cars leave a scent in and out of the cabin when you go WOT or even climb very steep inclines over an extended period of time, even brand new cars.

 

I had a rotten egg smell triggered only when I revved my engine beyond 3k rpms. I took it to the dealer and they recommended the fuel decarb service which involves cleaning the fuel injectors, throttle body and adding fuel additives. Was skeptical at first but decided to give it a try. I haven't had the smell since the fuel decarb service. I have a 08 with 25K miles.

 

I purchased it used and it's likely the prior owners used it mostly for city driving as I do the same. The service dept explained that the fuel isn't getting burned out completely due to the stop and go traffic.

I doubt it's the cats since your mileage is so low. Our cats are usually good for about 100k from what the service dept told me.

 

It does it alot of times goin up hill. My other car does the same thing up hill too has a weird smell when goin up an incline. Everything is checking out ok as far as what everybody is sayin to look at or check. It does shake around 80mph+ tho slight shake nothing crazy tho.

 

Revisiting this. My service engine soon light came on within the past two weeks. Today, I went to another dealership that performs diagnostics on weekends and they determined the catalytic converters are bad. Fortunately, they are under warranty 8 year/100K miles. The 2008 Z has about 29,500 miles. So glad the rotten egg smell mystery is solved. It's been doing it for about 2 years. I just couldn't prove they were bad. It even passed smog last year. lol