Colorado high altitude driving...no power, help?

I'm in Boulder and spend a lot of time in the Rocky's. Driving up the 70 through Vail pass, my truck is embarrassing. Feels like I have NO power. Granted this is 10k feet...but still I don't like being passed by everyone....or driving at 4000+ rpm all the time.

Any suggestions?

I'm at about 200k miles so nothing crazy like supercharging. Does my girl just need more air?

 

I have noticed this when I was in Colorado, but I had a trailer with a sxs on it. Felt like she was down on power through the continental divide as compared to flat, lower Texas, I just figured it was weight and steep grade and thin air. I had problems breathing, I could only imagine my motors trouble. Houston Texas air is like breathing soup compared to Colorado when I went up there

 

Could be a faulty o2 sensor or something easier like a dirty air filter. I vacationed in Colorado a couple years ago and I had to downshift more than usual on some of those insane passes. In some parts of Colorado 10,000 feet is a valley.

 

Yeah, try it with a 4 banger. I did it for years. Getting passed by 18 wheelers full of barbie dolls. Do you even know what that does to a man's testosterone levels??? I am not sure there is any answer other than forced air, besides gearing down or going smaller on tires

 

I noticed the gas is lower octane in parts of Colorado too. Lower air pressure, you can run cheaper gas, but it robs power.

 

Gravity and altitude is the culprit here!

 

Altitude robs power OP. I googled around to see if I could figure out how much, various rules of thumb reveal you could be losing 70-95 horsepower driving at 10,000 feet just due to thinner air. That's pretty high. It's normal for engines to struggle big time at those altitudes.

 

Forced induction is probably the only cure to this problem

 

It's a Toyota. This is normal. Getting a supercharger is really only way to get more air.

 

Hmm I’m in the same areas sometimes..
I feel like I have plenty of power
My truck is about the same..

Has it always been this way or a recent change?

Are you stock or lifted?
Bigger tires?

 

To combat this, some small airplanes have what they call a turbo normalizer. It's basically a turbo with the waste gate set at 14.7 psi. So at sea level it's not doing anything for the engine, but as you climb in altitude, it gets sea level performance all the way to cruise altitude.

 

My folks live in higher altitude CO when I go visit with the 85 octane combined with altitude my truck feels like it won’t pull a greasy string out of a cats ass.

 

85 is actually giving you more power, its easier to burn and because of the less compression pressures you achieve you can run a lower octane and not have spark knock. If you ran a higher octane you will make less power.


OP. its altitude. you loose 3-4% of power every 1000ft above sealevel. 10kft you are looking at 30-40% down on power, thats 70-95hp down from claimed figures.... yeah its gonna feel slow.

Just let her rev is all you can do.

 

Nobody asked what maintenance has been done to the truck. Change your air filter and spark plugs, if you haven't already.

What size are your tires? What load range are they? What tread type? 33" load E mud tires will kill fuel economy and power.

These trucks aren't race cars, but if you aren't hauling weight or on huge tires, it should be able to keep up with traffic.

I lived in Summit County and drove a 4 banger Nissan pickup. I know all about revving high and still getting passed on 70.

Edit: Looking at your avatar, I see you have a lift, aggressive tires, and a plate bumper. Any more armor? All of this will reduce power and fuel economy.

 

Well I lived in Arvada Co. for over 35 yrs and would make weekend trips into the mts. I also had a v6 tacoma never had the problem you described. You can’t approach vail pass or the Tunnel at 50 mph on the climb and expect a snap response. You have to use the declines and low spots, as a time where you gain momentum through acceleration for the approaching climb. You anticipate all your moves in the mts. because the mts. and altitude will rob you of your speed. The Tacoma v6 will do fine,it ain’t no v8, but in the mts. you need to work with what you got and give it a little help.

 

smaller tires?!?! no way lol

 

The armor isn't excessive, the bumper is AL so not much heavier than what I took off. Same with the rear bumper. But I do have full belly skids and now a camper shell...

The lift is only about 2 1/2- 2 3/4" and the tires are 33" MT...so ok I am starting to see the trend here. All my fun/sexy attire is weighing me down.

*sigh* well at least everyone can get a good look as I cruise by slowly hahaha

 

Interesting on this one... I run 87, that's the min I remember in in NV and CA so I was suspicious of 85 when I moved here

 

Ok now I am confused on the 85 situation...going to Google

 

As per the good folks at http://www.wallaceracing.com/braking-hp.php...
"Your BHP loss computed from your BHP of 236 at sea level and Elevation of 10000 feet is 70.80 HP loss."

When you're crossing the Eisenhower tunnel...
"Your BHP loss computed from your BHP of 236 at sea level and Elevation of 11158 feet is 79.00 HP loss"