Hey all!

I live at 5000' and drive a stock 1.9L WBX (rebuilt 10,000 miles ago.)  There is
nothing special about it.  I get between 22.5 and 25.5 mpg local and highway.  I
have pegged my speedo on a flat interstate (5,000' plus alt.).  I take regular
trips to see our grandson who lives at 7700'.  In between there are two passes
of about 8000' each.  In between these passes are valleys with steep climbs and
descents.  Depending on which direction I'm driving, I climb in 3rd and keep the
speed around 55-60.  In the other direction I can almost do one of the climbs in
4th around 50.  The rest of the way, the road is fairly flat with the speed
limit of 65.  I drive it between 65-70.  From house to house it's 95 miles one
way.  It takes me between 1.5 and 1.75 hours to drive that distance, depending
on traffic.

When driving at 7700', I don't notice any difference in power or gas mileage.
Since it is electronically fuel injected, the engine compensates for it.  You
must be driving air cooleds or you have a problem with your fuel and electronic
systems.  By the way, I have never driven this WBX at sea level...

Bob Nugent wrote:

> Speaking of Santa Fe, that's where I live.  I've always referred to the
> altitude here as a "reverse turbo". I suspect that if I could get the engine
> power clear up to zero, (sea-level performance, that is) I'd be able to live
> with the 2.1 WBX . I think 4 or 5 lbs. of boost would probably accomplish
> that. Anybody know of a small supercharger system that would work in that
> range -- and integrate with the fuel injection system? I can't see how that
> would put more strain on the engine than running it at sea level without a
> blower. Any ideas?
>
> Bob