BY BLAIR LAMPE / ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JULY 3, 2017 / NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE PARTS ASSOCIATION / If you’ve ever thought that your car performance suffers a little as&hellip;{"id":9897,"date":"2017-07-16T10:04:08","date_gmt":"2017-07-16T17:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/?p=9897"},"modified":"2017-07-05T10:33:21","modified_gmt":"2017-07-05T17:33:21","slug":"is-car-performance-affected-by-warmer-weather","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/2017\/07\/16\/is-car-performance-affected-by-warmer-weather\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Car Performance Affected by Warmer Weather?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\">BY BLAIR LAMPE \/ ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JULY 3, 2017\u00a0\/\u00a0NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE PARTS ASSOCIATION \/<\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">If you\u2019ve ever thought that your car performance suffers a little as the weather warms up, don\u2019t worry \u2014 you aren\u2019t crazy. Temperature affects your engine in all sorts of ways, large and small. Your car is designed to manage most temperature fluctuations, but that in itself can take a toll. Here\u2019s the science behind that summer sluggishness and how to make sure the hot weather won\u2019t cause major problems down the road.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The Heat I<\/strong><strong>s O<\/strong><strong>n<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">With all the rapidly moving parts and hard work, engines are already designed to take a lot of heat. That said,\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/2015\/08\/21\/how-to-cool-an-overheated-engine-staying-safe-when-things-get-hot\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>they can only handle so much<\/strong><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\">. When that line is crossed, you\u2019re potentially looking at major damage. Mechanical trouble aside, performance is also affected by overheating. Oil,\u00a0<\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.napaonline.com\/en\/p\/SER771125?cid=social_blog_052017_AntifreezeTester\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">coolant<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">and fans help keep engines at a safe operating temperature, but ambient temperature plays a role, too. Specifically, engines rely on an accurate air\u2013fuel ratio to run smoothly and efficiently. Too much or too little fuel is a problem, and the ECU (engine control unit) monitors the amount and quality of air coming into the intake and adjusts fuel respectively.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Science!<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What matters here is that cold air is denser than hot air. That means that in the summer, your intake receives less concentrated levels of oxygen than in the winter, causing the engine to lose horsepower trying to make up the difference. The other problem with warm air is that it can suspend more water particles when it\u2019s humid out, which further displaces the oxygen. If you have a turbocharger, you\u2019ll especially notice it there. To prevent a rich mixture (too much fuel) and engine knocking, less fuel is sent to the combustion chamber, and the ECU adjusts the timing. All of this has a negative effect on performance.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Some Like I<\/strong><strong>t Chilly<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hot temperatures outside mean you break a sweat, too. But as A\/C use rises in the summer, it also eats into performance. A\/C runs on an engine-driven belt, requiring direct power from the engine and adding an extra load. It\u2019s convenient enough that most of us are willing to forgive the burden, but it does impact performance, and your vehicle uses more fuel to run it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Trouble Brewing<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As mentioned earlier, lower performance can be a drag, but the effects of overheating pose much more serious risks. To help your engine combat the summer sun, always make certain your oil is changed at regular intervals and keep that coolant topped off. Without enough oil and coolant, your engine will quickly succumb to heat and friction, and internal damage is soon to follow. Also, check your engine fan to make sure it\u2019s in good shape and coming on when it needs to. Check the belt to make sure it isn\u2019t worn or slipping. Believe it or not, changing that cabin air filter will boost A\/C efficiency.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For the most part, staying on top of regular maintenance and watching your dash gauges will go a long way toward saving your engine from damage. A drop in performance in hot weather is all but impossible to prevent entirely, but that doesn\u2019t necessarily mean there\u2019s a problem with your vehicle. Stay vigilant and proactive in your maintenance and both you and your vehicle can have a cool summer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For more information on car performance, chat with a knowledgeable expert at your local<\/span>\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.napaonline.com\/en\/store-locator\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NAPA AUTO PARTS store<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Photo Credit:<\/span>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/pomonaswapmeet\/34424844374\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Solid Gold Muscle<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">by<\/span>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/pomonaswapmeet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Pomona Swap Meet<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">(All Rights Reserved).<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This article has been reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder, National Automotive Parts Association. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Click here for more<\/span>\u00a0<\/i><strong><i><a href=\"http:\/\/knowhow.napaonline.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">automotive tips and stories<\/a><\/i><\/strong><i>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">from NAPA, or here for more information on<\/span>\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/event-info\/car-show-hours-dates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the next Pomona Swap Meet &amp; Classic Car Show<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":null,"protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":9900,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cos_headline_score":0,"cos_seo_score":0,"cos_headline_text":"","cos_headline_has_been_analyzed":false,"cos_last_analyzed_headline":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[805],"tags":[5768,3077,5764,5761,5760,4152,5758,4010,5762,5763,772,5759,5765,3491,3037,5757,5770,5769,5767,5766],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/34424844374_04f9ce988f_o.jpg?fit=2147%2C2156&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9nnZN-2zD","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9897"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/98"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9897"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9902,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9897\/revisions\/9902"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}