TechTalk

• Effects of altitude on your car's power

You might have noticed that your bimmer is a bit slower up here in the Rockies than it  down low, where the air was too thick to see through.  Here's a way to find out how much of your car's power is available at our altitude.

• Get the altitude of an airport near you: http://www.airnav.com/airports/us/CO
  (note the altitude above sea level in feet)
• Get the current weather near you: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/forecasts/COZ040.php?warncounty=COC031&city=Denver
  (note the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit, barometer in inches of mercury, dew point in degrees Fahrenheit)
• Enter the current conditions: http://wahiduddin.net/calc/calc_hp_dp.htm (altimeter setting means current barometer reading)
• You'll get the relative horsepower your engine is making, expressed as a percentage of its book sea-level output

• Information on aiming your headlights and other useful lighting information is available at Daniel Stern Lighting
  • http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html
  • http://www.danielsternlighting.com/
     
• What do sway bars do?  Read about them here.
  • http://www.stealthtdi.com/SwayBars.html