What Is Wrong With My Porsche Piston Rings?

Open up any Porsche engine and you will most likely see piston rings before any other components. The series of rings create a conspicuous pattern which is not aesthetic but purely mechanical. They are arranged in such a way that they make it easy for the engine to regulate oil pressure as well as the amount of oil the engine consumes.  Like you are about to find out though, piston rings sometimes develop glitches that make it hard for the engine and the car as a whole to function.  You then have to take your car to a mechanic or ignore the faulty piston ring problem and end up with a damaged engine. Fortunately, piston ring failure issues come along with the following symptoms which should prompt you to take action before things get out of hand.

Too Much Smoke Coming From The Exhaust

This is usually the first common sign that there is something wrong with your Porsche engine’s piston rings. The smoke, which is usually thick with white and gray colors will worsen as you accelerate. This happens because engine oil leaks into the combustion chamber. It then burns and creates thick smoke with traces of white and gray colors.

Too Much Oil Consumption

It is also a common symptom with exactly the same outcome as the aforementioned one. You’ll then quickly notice that you have to change engine oil every so often as opposed to the usual change which should be done after every 3000 or 5000 miles. The culprit behind the sudden increase in oil consumption is usually a set of worn out piston rings. The solution is as simple as replacing the faulty piston rings.

Poor Acceleration

Porsche engines are strong. Chances are, your Porsche car engine is the strongest you have ever seen. This means issues like acceleration should never worry you. So when your Porsche takes time accelerate, you know for sure there something wrong. More often than not, the problem has everything to do with damaged piston rings. The damage simply compromised compression, so there is very little compression taking place. There is no shortcut here other than getting a new set of piston rings.

General Poor Performance

Think about all the aforementioned symptoms as some form of a clarion call to have your engine inspected. Ignore the signs and before you know it, you will end up with a car that slugs when it comes to accelerating. Its performance will suddenly plummet southwards. Eventually, the engine will stop working altogether.

Replacement Costs

Porsche piston rings are not expensive. They sell for less than $100. This is of course, minus the labor that comes along with replacement. Either way, it is better to spend less than $500 to replace piston rings than end up spending thousands of dollars purchasing a new engine simply because it failed because you ignored early signs of piston ring failure till it was too late.