High Altitude Fit

smaglik · #1 (**permalink**) 09-08-2009, 01:46 AM

I live at 7000'. Everything is a little sluggish up here. I can really feel it in the M3, but even the truck and the fit have a little more kick in the pants when i get down to to desert floor.

Anyway, this weekend i took a road trip to Colorado, taking in a few of the sites, Pike's Peak and Rocky Mountain National Park to name a few. We drove the fit up to Pike's Peak, elevation of 14110. The highest point on the Trail Ridge Road in RMNP was 12100 or so. On the way home on I70, one of the passes was just over 11000.

How did the fit perform? As well as could be expected, I would say. Towards the top of Pikes Peak, I don't beleive the car could have gone much over the speed limit, even if I wanted to try (15 mph). I engined braked most of the way down, and the car did that well. The ability to select and hold a gear is wonderful (my FIT is an auto). I am a manual driver for life, but I can honestly say that in that environment, I would rather have the auto. Yeah, it might drag a bit of power, but instantaneous shifts with a flick of a finger...

There was so much traffic in RMNP that the performance of the vehicle, well, didnt really matter. You were always behind someone...

One general comment, I think you just have to get used to the engine revving quite high in this car. Some may not be comfortable with that, but it doesnt really bother me. At the really high elevations on I70 at 70 mph, anything more than a ripple in the road drops you into 4th, bit bigger ripple, 3rd.

Regardless of the power, the car is an incredible long distance cruiser. Very impressed with the handling, ergonomics, etc. I think I made a pretty good purchase with this one.

baylorbro · #2 (**permalink**) 09-08-2009, 03:07 AM

+rep. I go camping/hiking in CO several times a year, but haven't taken my FIT up yet. Good to know it will handle well! Thx.

jquan23 · #3 (**permalink**) 09-08-2009, 06:11 AM

Well, one thing I see is that at higher elevation, the oxygen levels are lower. This means there is less power coming from the cylinders, since more oxygen equals bigger combustion. However, cold weather will help with the power, since this will help your intake suck in cooler air. If you go during cold weather, I say go for it in the Fit.

smaglik · #4 (**permalink**) 09-08-2009, 12:22 PM

I had to look into this one. Actually, the concentration of oxygen is the same (~21%), but the barometric pressure drops with altitude.

(OA Guide to High Altitude: Acclimatization and Illnesses)

So, per this source, in each breath, whether it be your engine or your lungs, there are fewer oxygen molecules. At 12,000', that equates to 40% less oxygen. While the colder air may help a bit, I doubt it would make a noticeable diffrence.

Assuming the relationship between hp and oxygen is linear (which I doubt it is...please correct me), at 12000' your fit would have about 70hp, prior to drivetrain losses.

The bigger issue with elevation is the prevalance of white stuff on the roads much throughout the year. If I had to consolidate to one vehicle, as much as I love the fit, it would likely be a subie.

Schadenfreude · #5 (**permalink**) 09-08-2009, 12:42 PM

I frequently drive my Fit into the Colorado mountains and I have no trouble maintaining 60-65 mph heading up to the Eisenhower/Johnson tunnels. That's with 2 people inside and two mountain bikes hanging off the back.

halfmoonclip · #6 (**permalink**) 09-11-2009, 08:48 PM

smaglik, how was your mileage up there in the thin air?
Last time I was in CO was in a buddy's turbo Diesel pickup (thing had enough torque to pull Kansas halfway across CO if we could have found a place to hook on), but even it suffered some mileage loss at altitude.
Moon

reako · #7 (**permalink**) 09-12-2009, 12:06 AM

So jealous!! I have been itching to go to CO sometime soon. Where the pics at???

specboy · #8 (**permalink**) 09-12-2009, 12:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by halfmoonclip

smaglik, how was your mileage up there in the thin air?
Last time I was in CO was in a buddy's turbo Diesel pickup (thing had enough torque to pull Kansas halfway across CO if we could have found a place to hook on), but even it suffered some mileage loss at altitude.
Moon

Same Q here. I'm wondering about fuel economy. what do you regularly get at 7k' and what was the economy up there ... way up there...

?

Personally, I don't mind winding out the engine a little bit. I had a B18C1 in my Integra GS-R and it had an 8100rpm Redline.... and it LOVED to be revved. 6000rpm was where the vtec "kicked in" and up to redline it was zoom.... the fit is tuned quite different but still doesn't seem to mind the revving. I've never had a Honda (save for the Ridgeline) that didn't like to be revved a little.

~SB

smaglik · #9 (**permalink**) 09-12-2009, 02:50 AM

mileage was tough to really judge way up high, cause i was constantly in traffic. most of the way up pike's peak was at about 15mph. coming home on 70 was pretty good, but, there was a lot of downhill. i think the gauge read 41 on the i70 tank, but i didnt verify that.

at home it seems to get about low to mid 30s city, a bit higher on the highway. supposedly everything is supposed to be more efficient up here, but I've never really delved into that much.

i drove the car back from prescott the other night, up i17. 75mph zone, 7% grade, bout 10 mi of it. to keep the car around 80, it held 30 gear at about 5500 for that duration. sounds nice!