Posted by David Sherman on Thursday, November 22, 2007 at 11:20:11 :
In Reply to: Old carbs might have, not any more posted by chriscase on Thursday, November 22, 2007 at 09:29:00 :
Agreed, but even with electronic mixture control, the density of the air is substantially less than at sea level and she shouldn't be surprised if the engine doesn't have quite the power she's used to. Altitude is why superchargers were originally invented. Most engines are rated to produce their stated power at up to 3000' elevation. If I remember right, the mil-standard gas-powered gen-sets are derated 20% above 3000'. They have simple carburetors, so perhaps an engine with electronic controls could do a little better, but at 6500' any non-supercharged engine is going to seem a bit weak.
I remember back in the days of carburetors, I'd occasionally see some vehicle climbing a high pass with black smoke behind it, because the thin air was making it run too rich, probably due to some carburetor problem. I haven't seen that for a long time, though.
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