So, if its wet out and I spin the tires a burning smell follows. As if I were cutting steel on a lathe without coolant, somewhat synthetic. I have a 2K S4...Is it the brakes trying to prevent the wheels from spinning? Im almost certain its not the clutch, similar in smell to burning up my OEM but my new RS4 holds strong.

 

if you have a 2000, its not the brakes because there is no restriction on the drivetrain (esp, etc) you can just spin away! My guess is its just the tires...what kind are you running, if you have any oil build up or spin in oil on the road it will smell like burning oil. could also be the type of rubber the tires are.

 

Most likely clutch or your tires. Your clutch will still produce a burning smell even if its holding the power.

 

Yeah, Damn! It doesnt smell like rubber, (Toyo Proxes4) it does smell like the clutch....But it only smells if the wheels spin. If I go full throttle, high rev, gear to gear, on dry road with no wheel spin, I dont get the smell.

 

what rpm are you launching at to spin the tires enough to get them hot enough to smell??? i have personally launched a stg 3 at 4000 rpm with very very minimal tire spin.... maybe your tires aren't that great... yea i must say it wasn't WET out but it was damp.... so idk try some new tires i guess... i personally run BFG g-force KDW 2's

 

actually i wouldn't doubt your not spinning at all... i would put my money on the fact that you think your spinnin cause the car is not takin off as quickly as normal... but in fact you are actually slipping the **** outta your clutch and killin it.... may wanna upgrade to a clutch master or launch at a lower rpm....

 

Yep that's your clutch melting away. I drive my car as if I'm in a race for my life everytime I fire it up, so I run it strong and I'm hard on the clutch.

I did some nice burn-outs (four or five) in my ride resulting in that chemical smell and in about two months of that hard driving my clutch was nothing but dust!

 

check your valve gasket for leaking oil, i thought i had a similar issue but i just have a major leak. not cool

 

Oil leak would smell anytime, not just WOT launches.

99% sure it's your clutch like evertone else mentioned.

 

i agree red .. but higher rpm means more oil pressure means more oil possibly squirting out on those manifolds.. we are going on what he says.. the smell may well be there at all times...just not as noticeable as when he revs past a certain rpm.. my average blood sugar was over 250 the last three months but i only felt bad when it was over 330.. so.. cover all bases..