Cold weather and boost

[bmyles]

Hey guys I was wondering what your opinions on driving a boosted car in cold weather. It's around the freezing mark here and was just thinking because I remembered last year a few guys blowing up their motors when it got cold . I am not concerned about regular driving but when making full boost.

 

[Bdubbs]

I don't have a newer mustang with the 5.0 so I can't comment on that part. But if you have all the right supporting mods (enough fuel, maf, ect) and the tune is good I don't see what the problem is. Some people have the stock maf peg in colder weather. I love driving my car in colder weather, more powwwa!

 

[SCalla1384]

Agreed with above.

Only thing you really have to worry about is, if you got dyno/tuned when it was hot out, and the car doesn't make as much power, and the fuel or maf are close to pegging, in cold air it'll peg a lot sooner.

So I would just go over, maybe data log fuel pump duty cycle, injector duty cycle, maf counts etc... as long as those are keeping up fine, afr and timing should not change.

 

[mystickeith50]

Colder weather means more power....it's self explanatory from there. It will all depend on your supporting mods.

 

[11Sec_Lx]

One of the big name tuners on here mentioned staying out of boost when it is under 40*. I use that as my guide.

 

[Mach828]

Depends on the power adder. If you don't have a wastegate you will see a good increase in boost from the colder weather. If you kept the tune conservative, and weren't maxing out the capacity of the fuel system or MAF at a lower boost level, you will be fine. I use my handheld tuner to add fuel and drop timing when it gets colder out, and I don't rev it as high.

However, if you had an aggressive tune on a centri setup, and you were skating by at 90+% duty cycle, and had the car tuned in the summer it is very possible to blow it up once you drop into a much lower DA. But thats not the cold weather's fault, it is your own.

 

[ghostrider7953]

I was tuned in cold weather; so does that mean in hot weather I won't make as much power?
The computer should adjust for weather ?

 

[badbiach]

Cold weather simply changes the "density" of the air. More dense means more oxygen per square inch at a constant elevation above see level. More oxygen requires more fuel. If you have enough MAF and fuel, you will do nothing but make more power. This is why so many records were broken in Bowling Green. Good elevation with cool tempratures equals MO POWWAAA! Yes, you will make more power in cool weather and less in warm weather all other things being equal. My setup on a cool 60 degree day in Oklahoma, will not make the same power as if it were a 90 degree day in Florida, because although Florida may be warmer that day, it is at a lower sea level. Make sense?