# What is the effect of altitude (\>10,000 feet) on a car's performance **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Created:** [November 8, 2007, 5:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-the-effect-of-altitude-10-000-feet-on-a-cars-performance/7024 "2007-11-08T17:31:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 3
**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2007, 6:30pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-the-effect-of-altitude-10-000-feet-on-a-cars-performance/7024/3 "2007-11-08T18:30:41Z")
From memory here, I think the general rule of thumb is a 3-4% power loss for each 1000 feet of altitude, figuring from sea level. So a 300 Horsepower car at 10k feet would basically lose 30-40 HP at that altitude. The exceptions would be on forced induction cars (turbocharged, supercharged) which can compensate for thinner air. This is the reason many aircraft use forced induction; to offset that thin air and generate as much power as possible. --- _[View the full topic](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-the-effect-of-altitude-10-000-feet-on-a-cars-performance/7024)._