Humidity affecting performance?
 

Does anyone else notice an obvious drop in performance in humid weather? At the same temperature, I feel the car is definatly slower when humidity is close to 100%. Again at the same outside temp, the cars is faster when the air is dry.
Is it a normal phenomenon? If so, what is the underlying reason this happens?

PS I'm trifecta tuned if it changes anything
Thanks
Louis

Coming from the NHRA drag racing scene... I can confirm that high humidity affects performance in a negative way. Cool and dry air always made the most power. Hot and humid (and high altitude)= slow.

I believe it has to do with the added water vapor in the air.... it lowers the amount of oxygen being burned in the engine (water taking up space instead of O2)... same goes for hot air... its less dense than cool air so less O2

You see it so much more with a MBC. My boost levels change daily based on the weather. Lol. In hot humid weather my boost will drop a few psi and it feels SO much slower. On cold days its the opposite.

yes it does affect performance, as the AIR is not as dense, so your engine is not picking up as much air as it should be

Exactly, so I read on multiple physics sites that a given volume of air at a given temperature contains a fixed number of molecules, which means that if air is saturated with water, the amount of nitrogen and oxygen is effectively reduced. The ratio remains the same though (79% nitrogen, 21% oxygen.

Moreover, air saturated in water is in fact less dense than dry air (contrary to popular belief) because evaporated water wheighs less than the oxygen/nitrogen it replaces.

To sum it up: at a given temperature, a higher humidity index will always make your LNF produce LESS power.

End thread ;)

Louis

^^^ glad you answered your own question. lol

Good 'ol Google. :cool: