High Altitude and Tuning

[Maplemoose]

I'm in Calgary which is 1KM above sea level or about 60% of Denver's altitude. I can feel the thinner air zapping some power of my Gen 2 BRZ. Would tuning help alleviate this problem? Thanks.

[steel86gt]

Well for starters you would need an aftermarket ECU I believe, and once you do that you would be voiding your warranty on your brand new car, not a good outlook!

[removedonut]

Originally Posted by Maplemoose

I'm in Calgary which is 1KM above sea level or about 60% of Denver's altitude. I can feel the thinner air zapping some power of my Gen 2 BRZ. Would tuning help alleviate this problem? Thanks.

I’m in Denver which is 1mi above sea level or 100% of Denver’s altitude. Staying naturally aspirated, you could get most of your power loss back by tuning for E85. I don’t think E85 is readily available in canada though. So no, not really. You could get a little bit by tuning on premium but that’s less worth it imo.

i feel you though. uncorrected, my GR86 makes the same wheel horsepower as a stock FRS up here.

Originally Posted by steel86gt

Well for starters you would need an aftermarket ECU I believe,

this isn’t accurate. ecutek runs on the stock ECU.

[Spektyr]

Ultimately the problem isn't entirely solvable by tuning. There's less oxygen (and everything) in the air at higher altitudes so without something to force more air into the cylinders you're going to see limitations.

I would assume the ECU correctly accounts for altitude by adjusting the fuel ratio accordingly, but less oxygen means you need less fuel for the same ratio, which means there's less power potential in each cylinder ignition. To regain that power you either need more air (forced induction) or more energetic fuel (like E85).

This is actually one of the factors that made Hill Climb events interesting/challenging for participants. Simply tuning a car to be powerful enough to make it up a mountain without running like garbage at the bottom or the top was one of the deciding factors between winners and losers. Many if not most modern cars can adapt as elevation changes but physics is still physics.

On any given air-burning fuel, the fuel can only do as much as it's supplied oxygen to do it.

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by Spektyr

more energetic fuel (like E85).

Nitpick - Ethanol has less energy per weight, that's why you get worse milage with E85 (you need more fuel for the same power). E85 resists knock better and allows you to tune for higher power without risking pre-ignition.

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

Nitpick - Ethanol has less energy per weight, that's why you get worse milage with E85 (you need more fuel for the same power). E85 resists knock better and allows you to tune for higher power without risking pre-ignition.

It's less energetic by weight but the ratio is much richer which overall means the fuel charge does have more energy. A lot of the benefits of E85 come from other factors like latent heat of vaporization and knock resistance.

[DarkSunrise]

E85 also helps at elevation due to the oxygen it contains. IMO will be the most effective NA mod you can do if available.

[Lelandjt]

I need one of you other high altitude owners to be the guinea pig and show us how clean and factory a FA24F swap can be done.