I noticed on cold starts my car tends to make small sputtering/popping noises almost like hiccups in the exhaust system. Is this normal? When the car warms up it goes away. AFR shows fluctuating readings between 14.5 and 15.5. I also noticed the slight smell of exhaust fumes in the engine bay. Only mods I have are AEM intake and Turbo XS TBE (stock o2 housing) running Cobb Stage 2 AEM 93 map.

Mine makes the same noises when warming up...always assumed it was just a normal cold start thing?

Yep, my RA has always done that.

Rich

make sure your connections are tightened. shouldnt really smell exhaust/fuel fumes up in the engine bay.

Sounds to me to be an issue with the doughnut connection between the cast housing on the side of the turbo and the downpipe. If you hadn't mentioned the fumes, I would have said it's just the heatshields, which always make these noises as they heat up and cool down, but the fumes need attention.

the popping / hiccups coming out of the exhaust are not heatshield noises. it's a cold start thing. his fumes smell is a different issue however, and might be related to that gasket

Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of the design of the downpipe connection with the doughnut gasket and spring loaded screws but are they typically prone to leaking? Only reason I even put it on was for better fitment with the rest of the exhaust but I'm thinking of upgrading to the AMS widemouth downpipe soon.