Altitude vs. Performance

[Adam]

All good things must come to an end. It is with great reluctance that I will soon be leaving the great state of Alaska bound for Colorado Springs, with a one year detour to the Republic of Korea.



Now for the question... I'm used to running at altitudes ranging from sea level to no more than 3500ft. What kind of performance/mileage loss can I expect from running around in CO at twice the elevation? Will it be noticeable enough that I can use it as an excuse to convince the wife I need an EZ and RV's?



Thanks all,



-Adam

 

[Cummins4Life]

I dont notice any difference when going from OSU 200'elv, back home to eastern Oregon 5000'elv. just more smoke.

 

[BarryG]

My truck has lived its whole life at 5000' and up with a few trips to 4000 and a few down to KC at 800'. Have never had a complaint about power or mileage but does seem to smoke less in KC. Although if you can get that excuse to fly to get an ez I sure would use it.

 

[willyslover]

those of us that live at altitude get used to a lower performance level... well you will have plenty of reason to give your wife going the other way. . from low to high you'll see plenty of loss... still better than the gassers, way better



but the big issue is the air or lack of it... the more fuel the more smoke you will see. . 275's aren't bad though



when we go down to flatlandville our rigs run oh so much better. . at 4/5 k ft it's isn't to bad but at 7/8/9 k ft there is a big difference again all air related



all IMHO [but I drive an 8800 lb rig also]

 

[DHRA]

I have raced at ~3500 and saw a . 1 drop in my time. Of course it was 95F outside and probably 120F on the track. I didn't really notice a big difference in performance until Estes Park area when I went to CO. Of course I couldn't breathe up there either!

 

[keimmmo]

I live 6200 ft above sea level, but get down to sea level fairly often. I also see over 10,000 feet fairly often in the mountains. I notice a little more smoke on the old '92 model at high elevation. The '01. 5 NEVER smokes. Both have a little longer turbo lag at high elevation. I really do not notice much if any real power difference once the turbo gets wound up.



Steve

 

[Dkevdog]

We were camping in Southwest Colorado and spen the night at some friends property- we reached elevations over 12,500. At the higher altitude at least for me, several things happened. The most noted was on two occasions the truck was very difficult to start, and spewed volcano sized smoke clouds. This was at the 12,500 feet and she was REAL cold. The other things were to be expected, a decrease in power, increased turbo lag, and a slight increase in EGT. It also sounded different, but that could have just been me .



Kev

 

[fkovalski]

I'm luvin' the CTD at 10,000 feet on a regular basis 'specially powerin' I-70 up the hills! All the symptoms folks have described are "normal" to me as the truck's only home has been here in the hills. Might be neat to see/ feel what it can do at sea level. Tell the Mrs. that those HUGE MOUNTAINS will be a "serious" setback to the CTD's performance and we must upgrade! Good luck on your tour. -frank

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

The very FIRST thing I noticed about my '02 as compared to my previous '91, was that it seemed to drop off noticeably in power above 4000 feet or so while towing our trailer. The '91 never seemed affected in the slightest over the same routes... The fix for the '02 has been the Comp - the increased boost levels along with the other enhancements have more than made the difference!

 

[BFaoro]

not far

I am about 40 minutes from Fort Carson, Which I guess you will be stationed at. The only thing that I notice is that there is a bit of a lag, other than that I don't notice it much. I pull 20' stock trailers loaded with cows, it pulls well. Good luck on your tour. and thanks !!

 

[klenger]

I moved from Denver to Tucson (2600 ft). Haven't noticed all that much difference.

 

[C Schomer]

Per Mark Chappell... A TD looses hp at the rate of 1. 2%/1000'. Craig

 

[keimmmo]

!. 2% per thousand feet doesn't sound bad to me. One more reason to love our turbo diesels! I have been told that a carburated normally aspirated gasoline motor at 8000 feet and 100 degrees will lose around 20-25% of it's sea level and 72 degrees horse power. I can not verify that amount, but I believe it! I run carburated gasoline vehicles down here too, and the difference between 8000 feet and sea level is a world apart!!!



Steve

 

[C Schomer]

A 300hp TD at S. L. would be 265hp at 10,000'- compounding the 1. 2%.