2.3l at altitude hesitation

[Mrnobody]

Hi all,

I went on a small trip to the mountains and when at about 8k ft I had some horrible hesitation when stepping on the gas to pull out in traffic. The further up it seemed to get worse even with 91 octane. No power adders yet just curious if anyone else has had this hesitation. Noticed when at half throttle it would be fine but anymore than that it felt as if no throttle was being applied.

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[dejones64]

Manual or Auto? I've been east/west end to end on I70 a couple times, no hesitation at all, handled it like a champ, manual transmission.

Did your turbo psi kick-in?

 

[scotman623]

I have not noticed that in my 2.3 yet.. I do have the Ford performance tune and run 93..

 

[Mrnobody]

Manual or Auto? I've been east/west end to end on I70 a couple times, no hesitation at all, handled it like a champ, manual transmission.

Did your turbo psi kick-in?

Auto.

I also tried to put it in manual mode and had the same issue. Also don't know where the boost gauge is at on this thing since it's not my DD (more of a toy)

 

[LMF Bronc]

It would make sense that it takes longer to build boost at high altitude. The turbo will build the same amount of boost and make the same power at altitude as at sea level (more or less), but since the air it is compressing is thinner it wouldn't surprise me if it took longer to build resulting in hesitation.

 

[Lcubed]

could just be poor quality gas.

 

[MadMan4BamaNATL]

Hi all,

I went on a small trip to the mountains and when at about 8k ft I had some horrible hesitation when stepping on the gas to pull out in traffic. The further up it seemed to get worse even with 91 octane. No power adders yet just curious if anyone else has had this hesitation. Noticed when at half throttle it would be fine but anymore than that it felt as if no throttle was being applied.

I’ve got buddies in Colorado and SLC and they do speak of increased turbo lag at altitude. So, above 8000 ft should do it.

To help, think that may be why Ford and others add 2 turbos or dual scroll turbos.

A couple of things people due in high altitude areas is run highest octane gas, change air filter to a better one like K&N, change the entire air box (Injen, K&N, Wipple), and/or add a tune. The cheaper way to go is accept and slow down.

There are other softwares that increase throttle response, but I think those could be risky long term for the drivetrain.

Assuming your Bronco is past break in period?

 

[Tukten]

Yeah, I have a 2.3L Manual and live in CO at just under 7K feet. There’s definitely some hesitation at higher altitudes and you can *almost see it if you have the turbo gauge showing in the dash. I had a manual Tacoma previously, with no turbo, and there was some hesitation with that too at higher elevations - thought not as noticeable. That Taco couldn’t get over 45 MPH going up some of the higher mountain passes though, so I’ll take a little bit of hesitation before being forced to go under the speed limit any day!

 

[Mrnobody]

I’ve got buddies in Colorado and SLC and they do speak of increased turbo lag at altitude. So, above 8000 ft should do it.

To help, think that may be why Ford and others add 2 turbos or dual scroll turbos.

A couple of things people due in high altitude areas is run highest octane gas, change air filter to a better one like K&N, change the entire air box (Injen, K&N, Wipple), and/or add a tune. The cheaper way to go is accept and slow down.

There are other softwares that increase throttle response, but I think those could be risky long term for the drivetrain.

Assuming your Bronco is past break in period?

Mileage is about 3k. Took it all the way up mount evans. Thinking some power adders are needed. Maybe a tune maybe bigger turbo. Lol this was the first of many outings. Looking at hitting black bear pass and imogene pass. Wanting better brakes before black bear pass though lol

 

[MadMan4BamaNATL]

Mileage is about 3k. Took it all the way up mount evans. Thinking some power adders are needed. Maybe a tune maybe bigger turbo. Lol this was the first of many outings. Looking at hitting black bear pass and imogene pass. Wanting better brakes before black bear pass though lol

Well, research the bigger turbo thing. You'd actually want smaller. larger turbos need more air.

I think you'd be fine on those shelf roads. Most important is to go slow so you don't need heavy braking. Many Broncos have successfully traversed those roads; I have not just yet.

Ensure you're in 4L and I'd guess keeping mph to somewhere between 2-5 at the fastest and don't allow peer pressure or the crowd behind you to influence how you drive. Remember that they don't care about you and if you go over the edge they're just gonna post a video to Insta and Tik Tok, get some likes, then move on.

Take your time and have fun.

 

[Mrnobody]

Well, research the bigger turbo thing. You'd actually want smaller. larger turbos need more air.

I think you'd be fine on those shelf roads. Most important is to go slow so you don't need heavy braking. Many Broncos have successfully traversed those roads; I have not just yet.

Ensure you're in 4L and I'd guess keeping mph to somewhere between 2-5 at the fastest and don't allow peer pressure or the crowd behind you to influence how you drive. Remember that they don't care about you and if you go over the edge they're just gonna post a video to Insta and Tik Tok, get some likes, then move on.

Take your time and have fun.

I'm no stranger to turbos. One of my dd is a 2023 supra. Had multiple turbo vehicles. I know there is a fine line between getting that high end hp and down low. I'm just thinking not necessarily "bigger" turbo but a better. I misspoke with my last comment. Thank you everyone for the advice.

The winch bumper on this is the only reason I was thinking of better brakes. Maybe it's a combo of the sas and the winch bumper that make the brakes feel "not good" lol

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