[jimbethesda]

Do turbos under perform in hot climates? In the October 2005 Car and Driver review of the best $35,000 Sports Sedans, they commented that the Volvo S60R performed much worse than their previous test. Here's what they said:

"The S60R delivered 60 mph in 6.4 seconds and a quarter-mile in 14.6 seconds at 98 mph. That's heaps slower than the last S60R we tested, which hit 60 in 5.5 seconds. We can only surmise that the desert heat, which the various cars' outside-temp gauges reported as being from 98 degrees to 116, played havoc with the intercooler's performance."

So...my question is, will the 335i take a big hit in performance when it is very hot out? I know all cars perform worse in really hot weather, but are turbos affected more?

Living in Austin, TX, this could be an issue for me.

[Marcus Frost]

Jim,

It is possible, however with a relatively high compression ratio and a low amount of boost, I would speculate that the effect from hot weather will be minimal. It will also greatly depend on how the car is being driven, in stop and go traffic where the IC will just heatsoak, it will be more noticeable, on the highway @ 60mph with plenty of airflow, minimally noticeable.

-m

[foofighter]

as much as they do hot weather testing...you will get noticable decline in power when you're driving a turbo car in the heat. even much worse when it's humid. That being said, the 335 has a FMIC that has been fitted so that should help a lot. Man, when i have my 1.8t A4 that thing would suck ass in the heat and compound that w/ the shitty 91 craptane we have out here in cali just made the car that much heavier. Load up some 100 octane and you can drive like it was in the dead of winter.

[CMC]

Originally Posted by foofighter

. Man, when i have my 1.8t A4 that thing would suck ass in the heat and compound that w/ the shitty 91 craptane we have out here in cali just made the car that much heavier.

You know it, brah. When it's hot out, if I have the AC on and a car full of co-workers running to lunch, my A4 feels dangerously underpowered, which is one of the reasons I'm going with the NA 328i. I'm sure that the 335i would still feel plenty powerful even in the heat, but I'm also sure that you'd notice a performance drop in adverse conditions.

[Pyrat 2]

Originally Posted by Marcus Frost

Jim,

It is possible, however with a relatively high compression ratio and a low amount of boost, I would speculate that the effect from hot weather will be minimal. It will also greatly depend on how the car is being driven, in stop and go traffic where the IC will just heatsoak, it will be more noticeable, on the highway @ 60mph with plenty of airflow, minimally noticeable.

-m

The trend is as Marcus suggests. The lower the compression ratio relative to the amount of boost the more variation you will see with outside temperature. Low boost engines will be less impacted than high boost engines by the climate.

[foofighter]

Originally Posted by CMC

You know it, brah. When it's hot out, if I have the AC on and a car full of co-workers running to lunch, my A4 feels dangerously underpowered, which is one of the reasons I'm going with the NA 328i. I'm sure that the 335i would still feel plenty powerful even in the heat, but I'm also sure that you'd notice a performance drop in adverse conditions.

what's up neighbor, AV resident too! the new B7 a4's have a factory FMIC so i'm not sure how they are performing when you're beating on it in the summer heat.

[Asiann]

Might have a problem with living in Austin and the very hot temps as well as humidity.

[CMC]

Originally Posted by foofighter

what's up neighbor, AV resident too! the new B7 a4's have a factory FMIC so i'm not sure how they are performing when you're beating on it in the summer heat.

Yeah, I was inches from ordering a B7 Avant, but as I approach 50k (and the expiration of my warranty) on the clock in my B6, the damn thing just spends more and more time in the shop. I have Ryan @ Commonwealth on speed dial. I just couldn't bring myself to go through that again, although our Z4 has had its share of issues... most of which I attribute to its early build date and Spartanburg manufacture.

Anyway, if you see a dolphin b6 w/ tint, moutain bikes on the roof and my initials on the plate, that's me.

[foofighter]

NICE! I had the black b6 avant all sportec out and yes Ryan is the man and takes care of me to this day on things.

My understanding is that even a NA engine will have a decrease in HP on a hot humid day.With a intercooler and 2 turbos you'll get cooled compressed air(more oxygen than a NA engine) into the engine intake making the engine breath better giving the turbo an advantage over a naturally aspirated engine on a hot humid day as well.

[Asiann]

Texas is really hot and humid except for a couple of months so the affect will be more noticeable than a colder climate.

[foofighter]

Originally Posted by quincy

My understanding is that even a NA engine will have a decrease in HP on a hot humid day.With a intercooler and 2 turbos you'll get cooled compressed air(more oxygen than a NA engine) into the engine intake making the engine breath better giving the turbo an advantage over a naturally aspirated engine on a hot humid day as well.

well that's relative to the outside air temp and humidity. remember when you compress air it naturally heats up and if you're doing stop and go your fmic depending on design will heat soak and your engine's management system will retard timing to compensate...I'm no engineer but i did stay at a holiday inn

[Asiann]

Nice! Holiday Inn

Originally Posted by foofighter

well that's relative to the outside air temp and humidity. remember when you compress air it naturally heats up and if you're doing stop and go your fmic depending on design will heat soak and your engine's management system will retard timing to compensate...I'm no engineer but i did stay at a holiday inn

That's why you have an intercooler.

[foofighter]

i mentioned that..."FMIC"

a nicely designed one will be more effecient but if there's any tuning involved you'll find that the stock unit will start to fail at the job...

[Asiann]

Doesn't most turbos come with intercoolers anyway?

[foofighter]

as far as i know yes they do...some are side mount (audi's 1.8t) some are front mounts (notably Evo) and some are top mount STi's

if you're really bored...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercooler

[3aficionado]

Turbo experts (and Holiday Inn guests): By the recent posts am I to assume humid/hot weather is worse for a turbo than extreme heat w/low humidity?

So a turbo will perform better in the 115 degree Phoenix dry heat than it would in humid Miami?

The point of this thread is to know if the 335i will take a big hit in performance in hot climates?
I would say no,there will be a decrease in HP,so with the normally aspirated engine.The 335i will still be way on top of the 328i.

Originally Posted by foofighter

well that's relative to the outside air temp and humidity. remember when you compress air it naturally heats up and if you're doing stop and go your fmic depending on design will heat soak and your engine's management system will retard timing to compensate...I'm no engineer but i did stay at a holiday inn

The ECM (Engine control module) will also retard or advance timing to compensate for fuel grade,OAT...on NA engines.

[foofighter]

based on what i've read and experienced w/ my 1.8t both conditions harm performance that you can actually feel and w/ the audi's you can hook up a VAG ecu reader and see the timing retard. I'm sure BMW has taken this into account but it's still something that'll you'll notice.

[3aficionado]

It will be interesting to see if 335 sales are slower in places like AZ or NM where the temperature reaches well over 100 degrees for 3 months a year. Imagine buying a sports car that sees a performance hit 3 months a year. The same goes for extremely humid places like FL and TX.