HP boost from the smog.. all those hydrocarbons combust pretty well

 

Went out West last summer, in our Toyota D Cab, pulling a 25ft travel trailer. Got as high as 9000 ft elevation or so. The truck was having some difficulty breathing, and so was I. The elevation was high, and so was the temperature.

It makes a difference.

 

I guess I'm confused. With a screen name like that, I would have assumed some sort of forced aspiration setup, in which case you wouldn't notice a difference between Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

Anyway, on NA vehicles, modern fuel injection and computers notwithstanding, elevation does indeed make something of a difference, although not nearly as much as it did in the old days of carbs. I bought my S when I lived in Santa Fe (7000') and was sorely disappointed -- I griped about it here and got flamed for my complaints. Of course, I was coming off an STi, but, still...

Then, when we drove the S across country, I was a little disappointed that there were no miracles as the elevation decreased. Here at sea level, it does have somewhat more punch than it did in Santa Fe, and the VTEC kick is stronger, but it's still a relatively low-torque engine.

Where FA really comes into play in in the real mountains -- for example, I-70 west of Denver. Vail Pass and the Eisenhower Tunnel (both above 10,000') are a lot more fun with a turbo. I used to love cruising past BMWs in our Forester XT, watching their expressions of frustration. HPH

 

don't you mean "smug" ?