I noticed last winter that my stock MCS made more HP as the temperature decreased - an effect multiplied by the supercharger.

Well, is it just me, or does the pulley mod seem to amplify this even more? (My only other engine mod is a K&N intake - haven't even done the ECU, yet)

Early morning temps have been dipping to around 40F the last week & my car is turning into a beast - I get wheelspin in 1st at WOT from 4000 & up, with commensurate acceleration when they hook back up.

My tires are 215 Bridgestone S03's - not exactly crap, but it sure is getting easier to break them loose.

I can hardly wait for a few of those -10F mornings!

You folks in tropical climates don't know what you're missing

 

Snow, ice, salt on the roads, filthy paintwork, windows you can't see out of, hand frozen to the gear shift ****, interior rattles as the cold plastic warms up at different rates.....

I think we know what we're missing!

Chris.

 

Too much at one extreme is not good either... I'll take a nice cool & crisp (low humidity) 50 degree morrning at or near sea level every day!!! Anything cooler might have made for some frost/ice over the evening...

This morning's starting commute temp was 52 at 610 feet, and ended at 60 degrees 100 feet below. I have a fairly accurate altimeter on my watch...

_________________
2003 IB MCS

 

This is really funny. As temps have dropped up here (Chiccy-G), I've been really happy with COOP's performance. In the summer doldrums, I was less than pleased with his get up and go.

I'm convinced that the single best HP per $ mod is moving to a colder climate! And in all seriousness, I would love it if someone actually dyno'd this out for us. I'm guessing that it's EASILY 1 hp per every 5 degrees Farenheit that you drop the ambient temp...probably would make a nice curve if you were able to plot it out...at 100 F, I'm guessing COOP makes about 140 hp; at 40 degrees it's probably closer to 170 hp.

Thoughts?

 

No gross, salty roads for me.Mines getting parked and my sacrificial 189k mile 89 toyota 4x4 pickup is springing into action.Nothing like 0-60 in 16 seconds.

 

Power has definitely increased in my MCS with the drop in temperature. I have also noticed that the stumble has significantly decreased. I am not sure what this will mean when we finally get the ECU upgrade. Without the hot weather it will be hard to tell it's effectiveness. I read somewhere that the JCW kit makes between 180hp-220hp depending on the weather. I guess this increase in power shows the possible effectiveness of a better intercooler.

 

You guys are lucky. Here in Phoenix, AZ, today is one of our first days under 100, it was only 97. Can't wait for it to cool off, I've got the stumble big time.

 

There are two things at work:

1) Colder temperatures result in more power by allowing more air molecules to enter the combustion chamber at a given RPM and throttle opening. Here's a rough correlation of Intake Air Temperature to Wheel HorsePower on the dyno:



2) Performance tires like your S03's (or my Azenis) become MUCH less grippy in colder weather.

 

>>Snow, ice, salt on the roads, filthy paintwork, windows you can't see out of, hand frozen to the gear shift ****, interior rattles as the cold plastic warms up at different rates.....
>>
>>I think we know what we're missing!
>>
>>Chris.

Oh Baby. You guys and gals have got me to thinking. It's been 45-50 in the A.M. here in Conn. Got me thinking 'bout polishing off my Pirrelli Run flats and looking at some steelrims with snows.

Have noticed as I flip on the heated seats that I wish the shift **** had been wired as well. Anyone know of a mod? I crank up the heat and direct the nozzles to my hands on the wheel and unto the shifter.

It's sweet to turn up the fan and blast the heat with the sunroof wide open.

Any ideas on the cold shifter?

 

Maxa,
Bring the **** in at night, then 60 seconds in the toaster oven just before you leave in the AM.

Yeah, these crisp mornings are a lot of fun. Even if I gently go to WOT, it will get loose. I have always broken loose in first and into second, but now it's touchy.

 

>>You guys are lucky. Here in Phoenix, AZ, today is one of our first days under 100, it was only 97. Can't wait for it to cool off, I've got the stumble big time.
>>
And even that drop to below 100 helps!
Getting the pulley/ECU in November... should be a real treat!!!

 

Maxa, if you have a Whalen **** (and I highly recommend it), it is very easy to remove it b/c it has a quick-release fitting, much like on air connections. Very cool.

On hot days where I cannot get a shady spot at work, I take it into my office so it does not get too hot. On cold days, I will do the same, but bring it into my home at night...

It can be argued that this is also good theft prevention in that in would not be so easy to drive-off with no ****, or in some cases, no shift pattern describing how to use it

 

The Whalen **** makes for a good self defense weapon as well

 

The Whalen **** makes for a good self defense weapon as well

 

You could probably get the dyno to give you raw numbers, but they all do a density correction, so the numbers on a cold day and a hot day should be very close (though there is enough error for the dyno to kick it back if you try to compare another dyno run done on a day with to great a temp difference).

Andy - actually, the Azenis really like colder temps! That is the big advantage when you go up against Hoosiers. On a cold day, the performance of the Azenis is very close to the Hoosier.

 

Those ARE raw, uncorrected numbers. And no, the Azenis are definitely less grippy in our current ~60F weather than they were in ~80F weather. Once the temps get too hot, they lose their grip though.

 

I didn't mean to jump in on your numbers - I was talking about the dyno numbers we have here. Thanks for clarifying that :smile:

When comparing the Azenis to the Hoosiers, they are definitely superior in the cold, but you are totally correct when talking about the overall performance of the tire. It seems that the Falken is best at about 115F tire temp, while the other "fast" tires seem to like quite a bit more heat. After about 5 laps in higher ambient temps - above 75F - the Falkens get pretty greasy.

Out of curiosity, how do they work at the drag strip?

Randy

 

The carcass on the Azenis is so stiff that lowering front tire pressure appears to have little effect on contact patch. In fact, launching hard unloads them to the point where I doubt there is much contact patch left at all! This is what the wheelspin looks like: