Joined
·
2,125 Posts
OK guys and gals - this morning here up in the North Pennines, it was minus 9.7C with a barometric pressue of 1033mb at 8.00am. Out of curiosity I wondered what kind of power gains this very cold, dense air would give me compared to standard conditions (often quoted when you have a dyno run, typically 20C [293Kelvin] and 1000mb). Using the ideal gas law equation PV = nRT and rearranging to get n (number of oxygen molecules or amount of oxygen per cylinder charge) is proportional to P/T (because V and R are constant) we get:
P/T = 1033/1000 divided by 263.3/293 = 1.149 - ie 14.9% more power than on a summer's day where the temperature is 20C and pressure is 1000mb.
Now, given that my car makes a tad over 260bhp under standard conditions, this equates to roughly 260bhp x 1.149 = 298.8bhp in these very cold conditions. Not bad for a 2L normally aspirated car
Gotta love that lovely Siberian air 
P/T = 1033/1000 divided by 263.3/293 = 1.149 - ie 14.9% more power than on a summer's day where the temperature is 20C and pressure is 1000mb.
Now, given that my car makes a tad over 260bhp under standard conditions, this equates to roughly 260bhp x 1.149 = 298.8bhp in these very cold conditions. Not bad for a 2L normally aspirated car