I recently bought a truck that was in Georgia (sea level) and brought it back to Denver. My driving ranges from 5500' up to 12,000' and performance of the engine, especially around the 5500' to 8000' is very disheartening. Two weekends ago, I made a trip to East Kansas and the the true power of the engine was back. I just made an appointment with a Ford Service shop to flash the computer with the high altitude principal use program. Is there anyone here that can tell me more about what I should expect from having this done. I'm hoping that it will correct the too rich condition -- I often smell raw fuel at the tailpipes. Thanks for your responses
Tom
Denver, CO

 

You should expect some significant power loss due to elevation. I don't think it is avoidable, just a fact of thinner air. There are some computer programs out there that will correct your 1/4 mile times to sea level (look on Mustang and Camaro websites), and 5280' elevation should be worth at least 2 seconds slower.

I thought that the O2 sensor would make the altitude adjustment automatically, rendering a stoichiometric mix of gas and air based on the exhaust O2 content. The O2 sensor might be worth checking...

By the way, if the high altitude program helps, let me know - I live at 6700'. How do you know if you have the correct program?