Originally Posted by Astro14
Originally Posted by JustVehicleInq1
Anybody have experience with vehicles in high-altitude regions such as Colorado?
Any newer technological developments which attempt to readdress vehicle performance at altitudes where oxygen is more limited than in regions closer to sea-level?
Are the fuel blends sold in states such as Colorado differ from fuel-blends sold elsewhere?
Thank-you
Lived there.
The best tech for high altitude is old tech - turbocharging. As you climb up to, say, 11,000' in the Eisenhower Tunnel, normally aspirated engines lose over half of the HP that they had at sea level. My old Turbo Volvo would develop full boost and full manifold pressure at the same elevation, thus giving it all of the sea level horsepower. It was great. My old wagon was faster than any NA high performance car up there. Porsches, Corvettes, and the like were all left behind when passing a truck or other slow moving vehicle.
Fuel blends sold in high-altitude states are lower octane. The lower air pressure, when compressed, yields lower cylinder pressure, and a lower octane requirement for a normal engine. Regular is usually 85 octane, mid grade 87, in Colorado.
The rule of thumb is that at 18000' half the atmosphere is below you. A quick check on an online calculator shows you'd lose about 33% air density at 11000 feet and therefore about 33% power, not more than half.
Originally Posted by JustVehicleInq1
Anybody have experience with vehicles in high-altitude regions such as Colorado?
Any newer technological developments which attempt to readdress vehicle performance at altitudes where oxygen is more limited than in regions closer to sea-level?
Are the fuel blends sold in states such as Colorado differ from fuel-blends sold elsewhere?
Thank-you
Lived there.
The best tech for high altitude is old tech - turbocharging. As you climb up to, say, 11,000' in the Eisenhower Tunnel, normally aspirated engines lose over half of the HP that they had at sea level. My old Turbo Volvo would develop full boost and full manifold pressure at the same elevation, thus giving it all of the sea level horsepower. It was great. My old wagon was faster than any NA high performance car up there. Porsches, Corvettes, and the like were all left behind when passing a truck or other slow moving vehicle.
Fuel blends sold in high-altitude states are lower octane. The lower air pressure, when compressed, yields lower cylinder pressure, and a lower octane requirement for a normal engine. Regular is usually 85 octane, mid grade 87, in Colorado.
The rule of thumb is that at 18000' half the atmosphere is below you. A quick check on an online calculator shows you'd lose about 33% air density at 11000 feet and therefore about 33% power, not more than half.
