on a stock car or modified does it really make a "second" difference on your trap time???

 

NHRA teams have different settings when running at the Mile High City because it impacts the setup of their engines.

Going as far as saying "it will decrease traps times by 1.0 second" is probably stretching it, especially with anything less than a serious racecar.

 

I don't think there's an exact amount of time that affects your car. It all depends on the car and the mods.

 

the effect of high altitude is more noticable on NA cars. my 99 civic hatch with ITR swap ran a best of 14.89 here in Utah at RMR, and that was on BFG drags. i never raced it in vegas or california, but at sea level in California it felt *MUCH* stronger on the road than here in Utah.

 

4500ft in northern Nevada. A typical all motor import would drop 8 tenths just by driving 2 hours to Sac. My car would run about 15.2-3 on street tires in fallon. And in Sac it would run about 14.3-14.5 on street tires. As for higher horsepower all motor cars they don't drop as much for altitude change. My friends dads car runs 7.80s in fallon and 7.60s at sea level. He says the typical index for his class for 4500ft is 3 tenths. Turbo/supercharged cars have the ability to cheat the atmospheric pressure so it usually isnt as big of a deal.