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High Altitude Principal use

beavis195

Well-Known Member
Joined
October 15, 2000
Messages
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City, State
Sammamish, WA and Provo, UT
Year, Model & Trim Level
94 XLT 4 door
Alright, I just found the original price sticker for my Explorer. I bought it in Salt Lake City, so High Altitude makes sense, kind of at 4,400-4,700 feet. But what doesn't make sense is on the sticker, one line reads: High Altitude Principal use and the next line reads: Wheels, Cast Alum (deep dish) and in the price line it reads NC. So are these wheels designed for High Altitude or does that refer to the engine? Why are those wheels high altitude? Do they oxidize less? I am really confused! If it refers to the engine, what did they do to it because I live at Sea Level now in Seattle. Thanks for the help.
 



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Beavis,
If you've got high altitude wheels on that rig you are flirtin' with disaster driving around near sea level!!!
If you look in the fine print of your owners manual it clearly states that when running on high altitude rims, if you EVER drop below 3000 feet elevation, you should not exceed a maximum speed of 30 mph. If you go below 2000 feet elevation = 20 mph, and so on. Susequently, you should never take your Explorer to the beach because at 0 elevation your maximum safe speed would be 0 and you would just have to park it and walk home.
 






That was great wabbit, are you picking on poor BEAVIS?


Wade
 






No, I'm just worried about his welfare and safety...

This whole altitude thing can be a real problem. It can be mentally stressful knowing you have parts on your rig that are not right for the altitude at which you reside.
It's best to take care of this kinda stuff before problems arise.
When I installed my Infinity Kappa speakers (non-high altitude standard version), they worked fine until I went up into the mountains. At about 8000' elevation, they just quit working. It was wierd, I could see them thumping but no sound came out. Turns out the air was too thin to make any sound at the vibration frequency of the standard speakers. So, what a hassle pulling out all four speakers and returning them for high altitude models, which happend to cost and extra $100 per pair.
Also, if you're planning on going over 10,000' elevation, all of your bulbs should be replaced (even the glove box one) with high altitude bulbs. Otherwise, when they light up, they will burst from the pressure differential.
 






Alright guys, it was a simple question about the sticker that I realize is kind of dumb. What does it mean, that's all. Anybody know? What do they do to a high altitude principal use engine?
 






hey dude,
I bought my truck in utah also but farther north in ogden. I think the high altitude is b.s. stuff they tried you to pay extra for. It may have different computer programming, setup for the high altitude. but I'll tell you what I'm glad I bought the high altitude speakers, they really made a difference. But I'm still at about 2000 feet so that makes my top speed about 200!!!!!
 






Sorry bevis, I had to bite on the high altitude rims...

(the alloy wheels listing is just the next line item in your included options- nothing to do with altitude.) And the other issue,"what is the high altitude designation", well, after all the razzin' I wish I could answer that. I too, would like to know what is different about the high altitude package???
Anyone???
 






I think its basically the computer program. If your truck runs fine in Seattle, don't worry about it. My truck actually had some problems in Moab due to the altitude, but the computer adjusted and it was fine (also my IAC was making my blower computer spazz, but that's another story).
 






Thanks guys for the answers.
 






reset it!

Beavis195:

Unplug your battery (the length of time varies with who you talk to!), and reconnect it. This is supposed to make the computer reset itself for the current "atmospheric" conditions. A fix for when you transition from sea to mountain, or vice versa!

Good luck with all the great advice!
 






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