I moved from TX to COLORADO and I'm shocked!! and curious (LOVELAND, CO)

[Dickensheets]

You can't swing a dead cat around here without smacking a SOOB! I'm driving along everywhere and it's like I see my car at every stoplight. It's cool. There were no SOOBs in TX.

 

BTW I drove 1100 miles from TX to Loveland 3 days after my DIY HG job. I must say I was a little nervous zooming across west TX in the 100 degree heat with an overloaded 97 OBW running hard with the AC on, but it made it and got 27mpg avg!!!!

 

I'm not used to the elevation yet, the car and I are noticeably more sluggish (5000 ft plus 90 degrees this week). Do NA cars get better or worse or same MPG up here compared to sea level?? I'm an airline pilot and was trying to think of the car like an airplane but I'm not sure that is appropriate. Anyone have any thoughts on that?

 

Anyway i'm guessing there are some awesome junkyards around here for SOOB parts, anyone have a favorite in the Loveland area?

 

Ryan now in Loveland, Colorado, formerly Houston

[OB99W]

[...]I'm not used to the elevation yet, the car and I are noticeably more sluggish (5000 ft plus 90 degrees this week).

Denver may be the "Mile High City" (5280 ft), but lots of Colorado is up there -- the lowest elevation in Colorado is over 3,300 ft.

 

 

Do NA cars get better or worse or same MPG up here compared to sea level?? I'm an airline pilot and was trying to think of the car like an airplane but I'm not sure that is appropriate. Anyone have any thoughts on that?[...]

As a pilot, you know that air density (oxygen content) decreases with altitude. However, the engine management system will try to maintain fuel burning stoichiometrically (about 14.7:1 A/F ratio), and the ECU should narrow the fuel injector pulses to accomplish that. Therefore, you'll have less power at any throttle position than you did at lower elevation, and will have to "get on it" more. There's a loss of about 3% in power for each 1,000 feet, so your maximum could be down about 15% at 5,000 feet if the engine can't get enough air and fuel.

 

None of that, however, directly addresses the question of gas mileage. Again due to the ECU trying to maintain 14.7:1 A/F, fuel mileage should remain about the same as at sea level, under the same driving conditions (temperature, traffic, terrain, etc.). I emphasized terrain because lowered gas mileage at higher elevations is often blamed on the altitude, when it's usually that there's more up-and-down-hill travel, which is what actually causes the reduction.

[Dickensheets]

Yeah those were my general thoughts. I keep imagining less wind resistance due to the thinner air but it probably all evens out somehow. Anyway I'm enjoying the scenery - can't wait till it snows!!

[OB99W]

Yeah those were my general thoughts. I keep imagining less wind resistance due to the thinner air but it probably all evens out somehow.

Some people do see an improvement in MPG with elevation, but it's not that common. Anything still powered with a carbureted engine (having no automatic mixture compensation) will typically see a drop in MPG because it'll run rich unless the carb is re-jetted.

 

 

Anyway I'm enjoying the scenery - can't wait till it snows!!

Enjoy your new location, and let us know in a few months how your AWD is performing.

[Jerry DeMoss]

Cool, it will be good to have another subaru lover around here.

[Spiffy]

I really like loveland... I spent time there as a kid because my mom lived there for a while... I could spend all day at various places around the lake... haven't been there in about a decade though...

 

then there's greely, with its numbers streets both ways, talk about confusing...

 

 

--Spiffy

[Legacy777]

Enjoy Colorado. I think I'd probably rather be there then Houston....but this is where the job is

 

BTW, I was up in PA this past weekend, and yeah there are subarus EVERYWHERE. I was amazed how many of the new Legacies there were. I think between my three uncles/aunts & their kids, they have six subarus .

[Bmm001]

BTW, I was up in PA this past weekend, and yeah there are subarus EVERYWHERE.

 

Yes, we like our Subarus here in PA!

 

Brian

[McDave]

I sure wish I were in the mountains right now. It was 102 degrees at noon today. At least we don't have the humidity that Houston has. Have a cold Coors beer for me!

[EvilDead]

Welcome to CO!

 

Glad ya made the choice to move from hell.

[skibumm100]

From my experience you may see a little less MPG due to running up and down hills. You never seem to be able to "save" as much gas going downhill as you "waste" going uphill. Congrats on your move! Relax and have a Fat Tire. I love CO. We have plenty of Subes around here also. Unfortunately, I may be getting rid of my 98 Legacy GT. Just too much trouble. I refuse to spend a ton of money on this car anymore. Here's a little hint: when something minor breaks...DON'T FIX IT! As soon as you fix some minor problem, a bigger one pops up. I fixed my leaky exhaust and then my heater core started leaking. Now I may have a blown head gasket. Can't keep the thing from puking out all the water. It's up on jackstands for now. I'm not done diagnosing it yet. I hope it's not a head gasket....again. I've also got some flakey TPS codes popping up. Sheesh. Sorry, I didn't mean to kill the vibe.