High altitude blues
05-31-2007, 02:00 AM
#1
1st Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location:
Posts: 73
High altitude blues
Just recently made the trip from Colorado to Chicagoland to visit my Mom, and I could not believe how much the Mustang woke up at the lower altitude. The mass air sensor must have gone nuts with all that dense air!I already knew previously about the HP change due to the dense air at lower altitude, and at the time(97) when I moved to Colorado, I was told I would need to changea chip that controlled the air/fuel mixture as the air is thinnnnnnnnn way up here, but never changed it. Now, with the Mustang, even if I put a CAI or a Supercharger on, it probably won't even be close to its potential due to the high altitudes thin air. I realize there will be an improvement by pulling in more air, but feel like the full HP advantage will be lost. Is there anyway to compensate for this problem?(besides moving to a lower altitude) LOL
05-31-2007, 01:43 PM
#2
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: On your six, 1.2nm... and I have tone!
Posts: 455
RE: High altitude blues
None that I've ever heard of. You might be able to get some improvement with a custom dyno tune, but I don't think there's any way to beat physics. I'm just over the mountains from you, in Salt Lake, and while we're not as high as you guys, we get hammered pretty badly with the thin air as well. Whenever I travel anywhere else with either of my cars I'm always amazed at how much more powerful they seem. I believe the NHRA says the altitude adds about .9 seconds to your quarter mile times in Denver. The only consolation is that F-body you pull up to at the tree is suffering the same effects. 
05-31-2007, 03:15 PM
#5
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Location:
Posts: 147
RE: High altitude blues
I live at ~7000' feet in Flagstaff, AZ.
When I go to the coast, Colorado River valley (Havasu,Laughlin) my car still scares me after a year!!!
I hear that at 7000' I lose about 11% of my power.
later
When I go to the coast, Colorado River valley (Havasu,Laughlin) my car still scares me after a year!!!
I hear that at 7000' I lose about 11% of my power.
later
05-31-2007, 03:26 PM
#6
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Dallas, TX area
Posts: 941
RE: High altitude blues
I was surprised this weekend when I visited my parents in El Paso. The altitude here in Dallas is about 700' and it's about 4700' in El Paso. I could tell the difference for sure.
05-31-2007, 04:42 PM
#8
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Colorado
Posts: 2,652
RE: High altitude blues
ORIGINAL: GidyupGo
I got you all beat. The GT goes up to Leadville everyday at 10,200'. Still runs like a scalded dog. It may run better down lower but cry me a river won't you.
I got you all beat. The GT goes up to Leadville everyday at 10,200'. Still runs like a scalded dog. It may run better down lower but cry me a river won't you.
05-31-2007, 04:56 PM
#9
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 339
RE: High altitude blues
I live onthe outskirts of Denver, not quite as bad a Leadville which I believe is above 10,000 feet in altitude compared to my 6,000 ft. in altitude. Also, not only does Colorado have less air, but we have to contend with less octane in ourfuel. Regular gas here is 85 octane, mid grade 87octane, and premium is only 91 octane. When I purchased my tuner from Brenspeed, they specifically set the tune for the lower octance and higher altitude, I am sure that my Stang would run much better a lower altitudes, but having a tune specifically set for high altitudes and our lower octane fuel helps quite a bit.
05-31-2007, 05:03 PM
#10
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: The Hinterlands of Minne-snow-ta
Posts: 401
RE: High altitude blues
Ahhhh..... altitude topics remind me of flying.... 
And, this one reminds me of my favorite airplane, the P-51 Mustang [8D]
When the Mustang was initially introduced into (WWII) military service, it was the British, not U.S. military, who adopted it first. Those Mustangs were running a rather mediocre engine (the same used in the P-38 and P-40). That worked fairly well, as long as the pilots stayed low enough. The P-51 was not particularly good at attacking ground targets, and wasn't good at intercepting enemy fighters at 30,000-40,000 feet.
But, it was a good airplane, and the British found a way to get more out of it - installing one of their Rolls-Royce "Merlin" engines. The Merlin had a two-stage supercharger, and a couple-hundred more horsepower. More power is welcome in any fighter plane, but it was the supercharger that helped produce more power at any altitude.
It was that supercharger whichmade a decent fighter plane into an excellent one. If you don't mind messing with your warranty, it's the only way to compensate for the thinner air at higher altitudes, and that goes for both piston-powered airplanes and cars.
And, this one reminds me of my favorite airplane, the P-51 Mustang [8D]
When the Mustang was initially introduced into (WWII) military service, it was the British, not U.S. military, who adopted it first. Those Mustangs were running a rather mediocre engine (the same used in the P-38 and P-40). That worked fairly well, as long as the pilots stayed low enough. The P-51 was not particularly good at attacking ground targets, and wasn't good at intercepting enemy fighters at 30,000-40,000 feet.
But, it was a good airplane, and the British found a way to get more out of it - installing one of their Rolls-Royce "Merlin" engines. The Merlin had a two-stage supercharger, and a couple-hundred more horsepower. More power is welcome in any fighter plane, but it was the supercharger that helped produce more power at any altitude.
It was that supercharger whichmade a decent fighter plane into an excellent one. If you don't mind messing with your warranty, it's the only way to compensate for the thinner air at higher altitudes, and that goes for both piston-powered airplanes and cars.