Cold weather performance?

[scotts pearl]

I have noticed that my 78 280z seems to have more power while driving in cold tempatures even when engine is at operating tempature...what causes this and is there any way to duplicate this in warmer tempatures???

[doradox]

I have noticed that my 78 280z seems to have more power while driving in cold tempatures even when engine is at operating tempature...what causes this and is there any way to duplicate this in warmer tempatures???

Cold air is more dense so you get more air/fuel mixture. Kinda like a turbo, but cooler.:laugh:

Steve

[scotts pearl]

thanks for the info... so only a turbo can duplicate this?

[doradox]

thanks for the info... so only a turbo can duplicate this?

You could always move to Alaska. A turbo only kind of duplicates that, as it compresses the air and heats it while doing so. A supercharger would do the same thing. The end result is more air in the engine (which your fuel injection mixes more fuel with) which means more power. The cool dense air is a little free horsepower by giving you a little more air. People have tried some different ways to cool the intake air but they are pretty impractical like a big ice chest full of dry ice that the intake pipe (or intercooler) runs through. Just enjoy it while it lasts. My car runs great when it's about 10F out.

Steve

[jewelz]

Have you tried a cold air intake to replace the stock intake? It helps a little...

[sblake01]

Doesn't really help that much on a 280Z/ZX. They already have the air intake mounted in front of the radiator support. I have cold air intake on mine. It sounds better than the stock airbox but I'm not really convinced it noticeably improves the performance.

[jewelz]

Ah...that makes sense.

I had a Spec V for a while that I threw cold air on and it made it perform a little better. Sounded a TON better though.

[sblake01]

Ah, one of Nissan's 'pocket rockets'. We briefly had a 92 Sentra SE-R. Fun car but I've never been a real fan of FWD cars.

[jewelz]

Ha! Definitely a fun little car. All I had was FWD at that point so it felt like a beast. I got the 350 and now can't stand FWD. Yours would have been the SR powered version right?

[sblake01]

Ha! Definitely a fun little car. All I had was FWD at that point so it felt like a beast. I got the 350 and now can't stand FWD. Yours would have been the SR powered version right?

Yep, SR20DE.

[jewelz]

Those are fun little motors.

[sblake01]

A few years back I almost put a RWD SR20DE in my little 320 pickup. That would have make it into more of a death trap than it already is!