10 More Smells that Turn Petrolheads On

If you’re a seasoned Car Throttle fan, you might remember the December 2015 video “10 Smells that Turn Petrolheads On.” If not, here it is:

Now, this is a pretty good list, but I thought I could add a little to it. As any petrolhead will tell you, there are a number of olfactory system-stimulating objects that make car guys feel right at home. If you’re like me, you probably will remember these scents better than you can remember most people at a party. Have some of the chemical fumes fried out some of my brain cells? I’ll let you decide. Either way, here’s a list of 10 smells that you have to tell non-petrolheads aren’t odors, but aromas.

DISCLAIMER: DO NOT DIRECTLY INHALE CHEMICAL FUMES. THEY CAN BE TOXIC.

Brake Cleaner/Carb Cleaner

Solvents are meant to clean, and some of the strong cleaners out there actually have a pretty nice aroma to them. After all, wouldn’t you want a cleaning product to smell good? A lot of solvents that I have used, particularly brake cleaners, have somewhat of a citrusy smell to them. In other words, they smell like clean. But if they can get the crud off of your brakes and carbs, you probably don’t want to know what too many solvent fumes can do to your airways.

Methanol Fuel

Now, this one comes with a disclaimer: if you smell methanol, you should probably get the hell out of dodge. Methanol is highly toxic and can lead to blindness or even death. Anyone who’s drank bad moonshine and lived to tell about it will confirm this. Therefore, for safety’s sake, if you’re putting methanol in your race car, you should know what methanol smells like.

Surprisingly, it’s not an offensive odor. It’s somewhat sweet-smelling and has a slight similarity to ethanol (the alcohol you can drink). In fact, a lot of petrolheads (myself included) actually like the smell of methanol. However, it is a warning scent, and the concentration levels in the air are already unsafe if you can smell it, so you should crack open some windows and doors in the shop if you smell it. Or run away. Your call. Either way, that smell also tells you that you are about to go fast…

Two-Cycle Exhaust

The next few smells are different kinds of engine exhaust; and if you are a petrolhead, they are distinct and stimulating. Here’s the first one.

As a young child, I would spend many days out fishing with my dad. Our little boat had a very loud, smoky, two-cycle outboard motor with about as much power as U.S. Congress. Obviously, I quickly became conditioned to the smell of rich, smoky exhaust. That smell comes from the fuel/oil mixture that two-cycle engines burn. That same smell is nowhere near as satisfying when it comes from a modern four-stroke engine, however…

Exhaust from a Carbureted Engine

There’s a reason why carburetors have gone the way of the American Motors Corporation. Injecting fuel into the cylinders creates a far more efficient burn than a carburetor could ever hope to achieve. However, the smell of rich-burning carbureted engines is one that makes petrolheads happy. Personally, after having gone hooning in a 1969 Camaro Z/28 convertible, I couldn’t have asked for a better comedown than having my clothes smell like poorly-combusted gasoline. It just lingers around to remind you that there’s still fun to be had in this world.

Freshly Rolled Coal

Yeah, I know that rolling coal is pretty much the automotive equivalent of vaping. It’s cringey, irresponsible, and just plain buffoonish (it puts the noxious in obnoxious). But I’d be lying if I said that I don’t like the smell of black diesel exhaust. Smells like ‘Murica.

Red Diesel

Today, all diesel (on-road and off-road) is ultra-low sulfur diesel. However, when ULSD was introduced for highway use in North America, there were a few years where off-road diesel (commonly known as red diesel) had a higher sulfur content than road diesel. This gave red diesel an odor that was more similar to kerosene than diesel fuel. This smell appealed to the more rebellious dieselheads of the world who would run red diesel in their trucks. Why? Because red diesel is intended for off-road usage (tractors, for example), it has no road tax applied to it, and is therefore considerably cheaper. That is, until the cops check your tank (that’s what the red dye is for), and smack you with a huge fine.

Coffee

I like cars. I like coffee. I like Cars and Coffee. And I like Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee. There is an inextricable link between my favourite caffeinated beverage and cars. Whether it be a road trip, a car meet, or a cold day in the shop, coffee seems to find a way into car culture as a part of the experience, so to speak. And, of course, fresh coffee is an aroma of the gods.

Windshield Washer Fluid/Antifreeze

Windshield washer fluid usually contains ethylene glycol, which is the main ingredient in most antifreezes and coolants. If you’ve ever noticed a somewhat sweet smell when you spray wiper fluid on your windshield, that’s the ethylene glycol. This isn’t really surprising, since ethylene glycol is little more than just a sugar alcohol, albeit a highly toxic one.

Fast Orange

Forget Bath and Body Works, this is the hand soap of petrolheads. Forget about pumpkin spice, lavender and cinnamon-scented Starbucks for hands, if you will. I’d much rather have my hands smelling like Fast Orange. Plus, do you think that foamy hipster soap will remove a second skin of grease from the hard-working hands of a devoted car lover? Oh, and one more thing—despite all that pumice grit, I’ve noticed that Fast Orange works like a damn to keep my hands nice and smooth. There’s a fashion tip for all you car girls out there.

And last, but certainly not least…

The Black Ice Tree

For all of you literal people out there, I’m pretty sure that actual black ice doesn’t have a whole lot of scent to it. However, the distinctively masculine-smelling car freshener is the best smelling tree out there. Accept no substitutes. And, yes, it probably smells better than Vanilla Ice, no matter how much he rolls in his 5.0, with the rag top down so his hair can blow.