Daily driver 2.3L 7spd at high altitude?

[BOLD Renegade93]

This 2.3 is a little tank of an engine. I was a little nervous about it too before mine arrived but it moves the brick just fine. Throw in some nice cool air and that turbo will just inhale more of it. Every turbo motor I’ve driven seems like it’s more peppy with the cool air but the altitude will offset that some. Either way you won’t be feeling like a slouch.

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[BlueOvalBandit]

Yeah I've never owned an automatic actually having the manual was important to me.

Ahhh I see your a man a culture .

I've taken my 4dr to 4k+ feet with every nook and cranny stuffed with guns and gear. Never felt like it was underpowered. Pulled 6% grades at 65 with ease.

 

[Coloradonatives]

No one ever has said that a manual transmission on steep paved mountain grades- going up OR down- in very bad weather is the better choice. Off-road in the summer will be ok, any mud or snow will cause major puckering, on paved or dirt. IMHO

 

[hemiblas]

Turbos do really well at high elevations. Pretty sure that will beat out your 3.6. I'm at 6000 feet and when I went from the 3.6 in my wrangler to the 2.0 turbo I noticed a big difference.
The 2.3 in my Ranger, auto had a good amount of lag at startup, but I bet with the manual you will be good to go. If I got the 2.3 it would be manual not auto. At 6000 feet I'm pretty happy with the 2.3 though.

 

[Samsquantch]

Ahhh I see your a man a culture .

I've taken my 4dr to 4k+ feet with every nook and cranny stuffed with guns and gear. Never felt like it was underpowered. Pulled 6% grades at 65 with ease.

That is exactly what I wanted to hear!

 

[Samsquantch]

No one ever has said that a manual transmission on steep paved mountain grades- going up OR down- in very bad weather is the better choice. Off-road in the summer will be ok, any mud or snow will cause major puckering, on paved or dirt. IMHO

I like the control I have with the manual, even in snow or ice, or when dry and going fast, using the gears to control my speed on the steep hills... typically I get a long life out of my clutches as well as my brakes. My wife's F150 is a 10speed auto and that things pretty nice in tow/haul or sport, but still annoys me sometimes when it doesnt shift when I want it to. I'll always prefer the manual for everything except rock crawling.

 

[67BroncoG1]

No one ever has said that a manual transmission on steep paved mountain grades- going up OR down- in very bad weather is the better choice. Off-road in the summer will be ok, any mud or snow will cause major puckering, on paved or dirt. IMHO

What do you base this opinion on? Have you been in a bronco with the 2.3? Why do you thing the transmission and/or the weather have anything to do with the power delivery? I have been in a 2.3 bronco at King of the Hammers. It has plenty of power to move the truck.

 

[Dusty]

No one ever has said that a manual transmission on steep paved mountain grades- going up OR down- in very bad weather is the better choice. Off-road in the summer will be ok, any mud or snow will cause major puckering, on paved or dirt. IMHO

What do you base this opinion on? Have you been in a bronco with the 2.3? Why do you thing the transmission and/or the weather have anything to do with the power delivery? I have been in a 2.3 bronco at King of the Hammers. It has plenty of power to move the truck.

Yeah I was kind of wondering about that statement myself. We just came across Colorado in the worst storm of the year out there so far, in our 2-door with manual trans. Wrecks everywhere, even stopped for an hour on Vail Pass waiting for a wreck to be cleared. But the Bronco and the manual trans handled just fine.

 

[Bullitt]

Both, the 2.3 and 2.7 will be great up in the higher altitudes.

I'm right at 7,000' here in Colorado and up to 14,000' often in the summer/fall so I went with the 2.7.

 

[campbebc]

I live in Boulder, CO (5300 ft) and drive to the mountains almost every weekend (up to 10k) in my 2.3L and it's fantastic - I always leave it in Sport mode

 

[cjohns716]

I live in Boulder, CO (5300 ft) and drive to the mountains almost every weekend (up to 10k) in my 2.3L and it's fantastic - I always leave it in Sport mode

Hey campbebc,

I'm also in Boulder and starting to get a bit more serious about a Bronco. What sort of gas mileage are you seeing? My plan is a 4dr Badsquatch, so a bit different, but close enough.

I'm a volunteer ski patroller, so up to the mountains a lot in the winter, and camping and climbing in the summer. My Subaru Outback is great in the traction department, but good lord, to pass someone going over Berthoud Pass, I have to plan ahead like the Apollo project before going to the moon. Having another 4 banger makes me nervous, but obviously turbo will help. At this point, I don't plan on towing anything, but who knows, may pick up a snow mobile in the future or something.

All in all, this will be a very, very long-term car, so I don't want to regret what I get. But at the same time, it's going to be expensive (how does anyone afford cars that are more expensive than like ~55k?!) so if there are places I can save a bit of money, that's ideal.

Also! I'd love to buy you a beer or coffee or something if I can take a peek at your rig! Closest I've found at a dealer was a 2 door base with nothing lol

 

[campbebc]

Hey campbebc,

I'm also in Boulder and starting to get a bit more serious about a Bronco. What sort of gas mileage are you seeing? My plan is a 4dr Badsquatch, so a bit different, but close enough.

I'm a volunteer ski patroller, so up to the mountains a lot in the winter, and camping and climbing in the summer. My Subaru Outback is great in the traction department, but good lord, to pass someone going over Berthoud Pass, I have to plan ahead like the Apollo project before going to the moon. Having another 4 banger makes me nervous, but obviously turbo will help. At this point, I don't plan on towing anything, but who knows, may pick up a snow mobile in the future or something.

All in all, this will be a very, very long-term car, so I don't want to regret what I get. But at the same time, it's going to be expensive (how does anyone afford cars that are more expensive than like ~55k?!) so if there are places I can save a bit of money, that's ideal.

Also! I'd love to buy you a beer or coffee or something if I can take a peek at your rig! Closest I've found at a dealer was a 2 door base with nothing lol

We have a 4DR OBX, non-squatch, with 33" KO2s and 17" wheels off of a Badlands. Have added MOD bumper, 4WP rear bumper, and full OEM skids so we've increased the weight a bit. We average 18-18.5MPG on 85Octane. Just did a trip to and from Crested Butte this weekend over Cottonwood pass and got 20.6MPG average so pretty solid.

My wife and I have never enjoyed a vehicle more, we're up close to 15k miles now. Happy to meetup and let you check it out, definitely have some things I would have ordered differently now that I've lived with it, likely would go with a Badlands or Bad-squatch but there's always next time!

 

[bronco100]

I've taken it offroading at over 13k feet with no problem. 2.3l 7mt

 

[derichio02]

The wife and I have driven both our 2.3 and 2.7 starting in Palmdale in 100+ degree weather up to Lake Gregory near the OP’s location. So from 2400 to 5000 ft with the AC on full blast with the summer heat. I was honestly surprised that there was not as much difference between the two and both powered through everything with no hiccups. Not once did I feel a lack of power in either.

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