High altitude power adder

Been letting my mind run during the quarantine a bit. im anxious to get out and see something beautiful once things open up again. 
Apparently it's possible to get a Crosstrek over engineer pass in CO but just barely. The altitude puts the hurt on what is already a asthmatic engine and the CVT can get a little hot. This is according to an expedition portal article I saw. That was an empty car too. If I went it would be two people and a bunch of camping gear. The second gen has a lower ratio "first gear" than the first gen and a couple more hp but let's say I'm not happy with that. Let's say, I want some insurance that the engine will have enough power to make it and the trans won't overheat.
Now let's say I live and CA and emissions can't be messed with (no turbo). 
I just need a little power and cooling. My thinking is if I can get even a little more air into the engine the percentage power gain would be enough for this scenario. And I could probably cool things off a little bit with some water spray on the radiator. Right?
How would one handle the power? Compressed air? A tiny bit of NOS? A cheap low pressure electric turbo I could easily install/uninstall?
I'm just having fun with it

sell it and buy a 2.5 crosstrek when they release next year

In reply to MrChaos :

Ugh yea I wish I knew that was coming. The 2.0 was my actual only complaint when we bought the car. Unfortunately selling the current car and swapping isn't an option. 

O2 bottles?  Plumb them like nitrous?  Might have to do some math to figure out orifice size, but Jeremy Clarkson did it in the Andes and if he can hack something together then I'm sure that it can be done better.

No idea on the trans, does it already have a remote cooler?

one of the carb legal bolt on superchargers for the frs/brz will likely work with a crosstrek.

I have driven over Engineer Pass in a vehicle that makes 38 rwhp corrected for altitude. The Crosstrek will make it. Start from the Lake City side if you're worried. Iirc it's an easier climb. 
 

If it gets hot then just sit and look at the scenery for a while. 

If it is not for long, how about wiring up a universal washer bottle and set up sprayer for the radiator and transmission cooler?  Set it on a momentary switch and engage when needed.  

Crosstrek is a great idea.  Except for the engine. Which is why I didn't buy one.    It needs the old 225hp turbo that came with the WRX 2008 and before.   But then it would be real competition for the Forester and Outback and that won't do.

jharry3 said:

Crosstrek is a great idea.  Except for the engine. Which is why I didn't buy one.    It needs the old 225hp turbo that came with the WRX 2008 and before.   But then it would be real competition for the Forester and Outback and that won't do.

i owned one for 18 months and it was the perfect awd appliance. my issue was lack of power, i traded it on an ND1 RF in feb of 19 and the nd made the same power but weighted almost 1000lbs less, I then traded that nd1 rf on a veloster N.

Owner of a 2017 here. They make a supercharger kit. Too expensive for what I deem "ok". The frisbee sc won't work. Far too many crosstrek owners try using these cars as off-road suvs. Then complain when they break. Can't complain about your screwdriver breaking when you used it as a pry bar. The engine is the least of your worries here, that CVT won't take abuse very long, you'll have the A/t hot light on in no time. The best temp reduction I've heard of from a trans cooler on the CVT was 20°. Keep in mind, the majority of crosstrek forums are rife with inbreds. It's why I never went back to those forums. 

Keith Tanner said:

I have driven over Engineer Pass in a vehicle that makes 38 rwhp corrected for altitude. The Crosstrek will make it. Start from the Lake City side if you're worried. Iirc it's an easier climb. 

Your Land Rover does have the advantage of having a real transmission, though. :)

Yea no low range or anything here so the power (all 150 hamsters) comes back into the equation. I do wish they put in a turbo or something. The suspension is soft but the chassis is surprising and the steering is really fast for what it is.

No dedicated cooler, just a liquid to liquid in the engine bay. Aftermarket dedicated coolers do exist. We don't do this kind of thing often so a short term solution would work for me. That's where the radiator sprayer idea came from. Maybe I could even do it in celebration of its heritage lol like an STI intercooler sprayer

We camped in the back of it out in Anza Borrego and it did wonderfully in the sand and the rocks. I'm a newb in the dirt so I didn't push it but it never even came close to stuck. For our purposes it's perfect. My wife commutes in it and gets 32mpg and it hauls us and our stuff around comfortably. I have no illusions of rock crawling but it has a good awd system and it's fairly lightweight. They surprise plenty of people in the dirt who do more hardcore stuff than this. Anyway, it's what we have and I get enjoyment driving through the same trails as built jeeps. 

Keith, you have some direct experience. From what I've seen it looks like a steep and kinda rocky fire road. Is that about right?

Mr_Asa said:

O2 bottles?  Plumb them like nitrous?  Might have to do some math to figure out orifice size, but Jeremy Clarkson did it in the Andes and if he can hack something together then I'm sure that it can be done better.

No idea on the trans, does it already have a remote cooler?

I saw that episode and had a similar thought. But I think O2 tanks are heavy and basically bombs. Probably not the best budget/safe option. 

I wonder if this is one of those cases where it's easier to subtract weight, to improve performance?

like if you went to a 16x7 sparco assetto gara, and shaved 6#s per corner, and then went to a 215/65R16 weighing ~22#s (dare we suggest going all the way down to a 21# 205/65R16 and gain a gearing improvement, at the loss of some ground clearance?)... for a savings of ~9#s a corner, and maybe a slight gearing advantage.

re:cooling... probably easiest/cheapest to get a garden sprayer for cooling off the rad/transmission cooler, even if you get an external one.  And, hey, then you've got a backwoods shower too?

then again, sleepyhead has been known to be 'funny in the head' about weight... so feel free to ignore my suggestion. 

Drive it here.  Rent a Jeep.  Pay for the additional insurance.  Wheel to your hearts content without any worries.  Return Jeep.  Drive home.  Win!

In reply to spandak :

A welding tank, maybe.  However Gertrude here doesn't seem to have a problem.

Not a clue about budget, though

rent a vehicle.  Find the most off road worthy rig on Enteprise's lot, take off easily damaged (and removed) lower trims and enjoy.  The trim will cover any bent metal from rock bashing once you put it back on.   

spandak said:

Yea no low range or anything here so the power (all 150 hamsters) comes back into the equation. I do wish they put in a turbo or something. The suspension is soft but the chassis is surprising and the steering is really fast for what it is.

No dedicated cooler, just a liquid to liquid in the engine bay. Aftermarket dedicated coolers do exist. We don't do this kind of thing often so a short term solution would work for me. That's where the radiator sprayer idea came from. Maybe I could even do it in celebration of its heritage lol like an STI intercooler sprayer

We camped in the back of it out in Anza Borrego and it did wonderfully in the sand and the rocks. I'm a newb in the dirt so I didn't push it but it never even came close to stuck. For our purposes it's perfect. My wife commutes in it and gets 32mpg and it hauls us and our stuff around comfortably. I have no illusions of rock crawling but it has a good awd system and it's fairly lightweight. They surprise plenty of people in the dirt who do more hardcore stuff than this. Anyway, it's what we have and I get enjoyment driving through the same trails as built jeeps. 

Keith, you have some direct experience. From what I've seen it looks like a steep and kinda rocky fire road. Is that about right?

I've seen a Buick Century on the pass. Not a Gambler build, a guy who wanted to see Engineer Pass. He'd driven up the Lake City side and got stuck on the way down the Ouray side. 

It's been a few years, but other than some rocky bits at the lower end near Ouray I don't remember it being particularly steep or difficult. A few off-camber bits, but I've driven chunks of this in my old '86 Subaru wagon with no low range. My biggest concern with a Crosstrek would be those rocks.

The suggestion to rent a Jeep for backwoods exploration is a good one. You can pick one up in Ouray, do the Alpine Loop and carry on. 

You don't need more power.  Engineer Pass is not difficult.   The only issue might be clearance but careful wheel placement should get you through.  

Thanks for the tips guys. Renting a Jeep is probably the best option and that might happen. For our honeymoon we rented a wrangler in Kauai and got as far into the dirt as we could. It was a blast. I enjoy the challenge of wheeling my own rig so I'm kinda hoping for that. By that time I'll have a skid plate on. There's always turning around too. 
 

sleeyhead: Terras are on my wishlist but I think the wife will veto them. I would love some BFGs too but realistically the next set of tires will be the Falken trails on stock wheels. Saving for a house trumps any hobby inclinations I have at the moment.