ok so i live in colorado where the elevation is very high and just reciently took my car that runs 11's in colorado to california and all i can say is WOW runs like a raped ape. i knew that it was going to be faster because of the lower elevation but the weird thing is that the car handles so much better now. i have a complete suspension setup on the car, sub frames, shocks, springs, sway bars etc. and it NEVER handled this good in colorado. so does the altitude affect anything else other than just engine performance? i can not figure out why on earth the car is running so good. the only other thing that i can think is that the car runs good here because roads are a lot cleaner here than back home so im thinking that the tires are just actually hooking to the ground much better. i know that my slicks are finally hooking on the street which definately proves to me that they are hooking better.

 

LoL, I can imagine that an 11s car in Colo would be a monster at sealevel. 5k feet adds about 3/4 second and subtracts about 8mph (assuming 11.5 @ 115 or so).

I can't imagine it effecting handling all that much though. So not sure why it seems to be handling better. Probably like you said, better roads, cleaner (mtn states are still coming out of winter), etc.

Hit a track at sealevel and grab some 10s .

 

They should have a dragstrip in Death Valley

Altitude shouldn't really effect handling, most likely it was just road conditions and/or engine running better.

 

Air is a lot thinner here in colorado, that means less air in the cylinders, less combustion,less power. A car will lose close to 25% of its power at 5800 feet up here. So an 11 second car here could very well be a 10 second car at sea level.

 

The reason why your may be handling better is because down here in cali there is alot more pressure. That pressure is pushing down on your car so its handling better. As for your car having more power is because the air is alot ticker (containing more oxygen) so more oxygen per cubic inch means more fuel being used which is more power. All physics

 

i understand about the altitude and how the engine will make more power because of the air etc and yes i have already run 11.1 in colorado so im not at all worried about hitting tens i just can NOT figure out why on earth it handles so much better. like i said i have always had the same suspension setup but now it just feels like its working like it should have all this time

oh well like you guys said and like i think its just because the roads are so clean here so im pretty sure that's what the deal is on why its handling so much better.

 

Remember Air dows weigh. So 5k ft more is alot more weight, so your car is closer to the ground and is alot harder to loose control because of the far more wight of air on top of your car

 

intresting, maybe that has a bit to do with it as well then.

 

You might want to revisit your high school physics class..... the air is "heavier" at sea level, but it doesn't push your car down closer to the ground, or increase the force applied at the tires.... the car is surrounded by the same air both top side and bottom side, so there is no additional weight placed on the car. The weight of the column of air above you is reflected in the "barometric pressure". There is a tiny change in gravity due to altitude, but I don't think you will feel it.

 

its very possible the roads or driving surfaces are just made of something different than your used to and are just better for grip.

 

Here's my best Seattle E.T. compared to what I ran recently since I moved here in Albuquerque . Altitude does make a bit of difference.