I have some soot around the edge of the pipe, but not up the pipe and onto the bumper (from what I can see, it's dirty). I don't think I have as much as the OP though. My driving consists mostly of 13mile trip to/from work with 50/50 city/hwy. I'm heavy on the throttle alot of times but I do give it a few minutes to warm up in the morning before I head out.