Glorious cold, dry air!

[RKT BMR]

This week in NoCal winter weather finally arrived (and more critically, for SoCal as well, bringing the turning point for fighting the fires).

Daily temps changed over night from 90s to high 50s low 60s. Morning temps for the commute were in the high 40s Thursday.

Man what a power boost!!! The RKT seemed to have a set of after burners. Throttle response was peppy and jumpy. Almost like a new car. To notice it that much must have been a power and torque increase in the 5-10% range.

Of course, this effect is just further amplified by the Supercharger on my beast. There's nothing like cramming 23 psi of cold, dry air in the hungry engine vs. a more sedate 15 psi. ;)

[nate]

No cold dry air here :(

[mquetel]

It was about 27F here yesterday AM. A little too cold in my book. I sure did notice how temps like that change the handling characterstics of my car with Dunlop SP 9000s. :awe:

[TD]

Damn. It was almost 80 here yesterday and it's supposed to be just as warm today. It's humid too.

[RKT BMR]

Damn. It was almost 80 here yesterday and it's supposed to be just as warm today. It's humid too.That sux!

Want me to grab a canning jar of air and send it your way? :D

[lemming]

right there with you, R-BMR.

even the xiT feels faster with the cooler air and the gremlin (STi) feels downright punchy.

[RKT BMR]

right there with you, R-BMR.

even the xiT feels faster with the cooler air and the gremlin (STi) feels downright punchy.I'll bet! The blower really amplifies the effect, eh? :D :D

[lemming]

i am seriously considering forced induction w/ intercooling for the xiT (when the warranty is up) if the (1) the X3 sucks, (2) the s4 avant cannot be had at a "decent" price (i ain't paying mSRP, pal), (3) or if the e500 4matic is hard to get.

we'll see.

it's unfortunate that BMW's coverage is 4/50. means having to hold onto the vehicle in stock form longer.

yep. cry me a river.

glad your car is running well. the one thing my S52 SC'd M coupe never had was dual vanos; it only had exhaust variable valve timing, i think, and the torque curve wasn't all that flat. it had cubic inches going for it, but combine peakier power deliver plus the characteristics of centrifugal supercharging, and you had to get up there to get into the peak power.

you've got already a flat power curve!

cheers,

[RKT BMR]

glad your car is running well. the one thing my S52 SC'd M coupe never had was dual vanos; it only had exhaust variable valve timing, i think, and the torque curve wasn't all that flat. it had cubic inches going for it, but combine peakier power deliver plus the characteristics of centrifugal supercharging, and you had to get up there to get into the peak power.

you've got already a flat power curve!
Good catch... I'd pondered that very fact myself (dual VANOS) in noodling the sweet results I've had with the ESS kit. VANOS is an extraordinary improvement in engine management and performance.

On top the power advantages, it also produces more efficiency (I actually saw my mileage increase with the blower under similar driving conditions -- of course, stomp on the thing a lot, and the mileage goes in the toilet as you might expect), and the motor runs cooler than it would with fixed cams.

So all in all, it's a big advantage for going FI on a motor. I have to say, though, I'm drooling over the AA kit... It has a roots-type compressor, doesn't it?

[lemming]

i think the AA kit uses the same sort of blower that paddle.shift boy has; it's a hybrid turbine that runs at 60,000 rpms but is still centrifugal.