I just bought a 2017 SR the car feels sluggish compared to some of the videos I have seen online 0-60 times,tires squeeling ect.. My car will not chirp the tires no matter how hard I try. Could the problem be I live in Colorado Springs over 6200ft above sea level? Does altitude really affect a cars performance that much?

 

For every 1000 feet you loose 4% of your engine power. So currently your car producing 230Hps.

 

Yikes!!! Thank You for explaining glad to hear there isn’t anything wrong with my baby!!

 

I think naturally aspirated engines suffer more than turbos?

Watch the Fast Lane Car YouTube channel. Those guys test cars in Colorado and show how altitude affects 0-60 times.

 

I remember getting down to 30 MPH approaching Albuquerque from the east back in the 1950s in my base '53 2 door Chevy. I thought my car was toast. But after a few miles, my speed gradually picked up and everything was normal again. In discussing this with a service station attendant in Albuquerque (anyone here remember those guys?), I found I had been climbing up the slope of the continental divide, which was a long, steep climb. After cresting the top, I was coasting downhill. These days, in mountainous territory, I keep my dash display showing altitude, so know when I am climbing or descending.

I have since driven through Colorado several times in Maximas, and found some of that same lag on steep climbs, though not nearly as much as in that ancient old Chevy.

Funny incident - Around 1986, I was coming from Mexico to Atlanta, going by the King Ranch in southwest Texas, when a sheriff's car popped up from the median in a deep dip in the terrain with his blue bubble light on the cabin top flashing, and he pulled over in front of me. We both pulled to the side of the road and I gracefully accepted my ticket. He wrote me for 90 in a 75 zone. I was actually doing around 96 or 97, so was relieved with 90. He was driving a 1953 Chevy exactly like the one I drove for several years while living in the southern Arizona desert in the mid-1950s. Same color, same everything. He did not speak English very well (Hispanic), but we still chatted about his car. He seemed proud of it, and I was so happy to see such a vehicle still on the road.

 

+1. Turbos definitely reduce the impact altitude has on engine performance. TFL Car did a test a few years back with the previous Maxima and got to 60 mph somewhere in the high 7 second range. There is a definite impact from altitude.

 

Just wait for a tune witch you can change the timing that will fix it.i got two company’s they promise to have one by next year, bully dog and uprev.

 

Should not compensate the MAP (manifold absolute pressure) sensor the altitude and the low air density & oxygen, with more fuel injected to the combustion chamber in order to avoid the loss of engine power???......or does exist a vacuum loss or unmetered air entering to the engine...?? Do all the other maximas in Colorado Springs feel sluggish too??
Altough we are aware of the main cause of the loss of engine power, I ask to the dealer service manager, perform a Consult scan, just in case....
So, it is advisable to use higher octane fuel....altough it is not a solution to the engine power lost at higher altitude...IMHO


ADD:::The EMC tune (timing advance, A/F ratio, fuel injector pulses and MAF recalibrated) like A36-SR just mentioned, will help to compensate the loss of power....I hope so....

 

For sure it will ,we just have to wait for a tune. I did the timing advance in it make a big difference, but i use a $10.000 snap on software from a buddy the he owns a shop , but that is the only thing we can change.