Air Conditioner in the car?

topic posted Wed, June 11, 2008 - 7:23 PM by  Mr. M
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Does it, or does it not make your car use more gas? It's so hot and I run it full blast with the windows down blasting heavy metal as I speed down the street like a madman pretending I'm driving a Ferrari.
posted by:
Mr. M
California
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  • Re: Air Conditioner in the car?

    Wed, June 11, 2008 - 7:52 PM
    Yes having the AC pump engaged uses more gas. Having the windows down has no significant impact on gas mileage unless you drive a convertible.

    Try pointing all your speakers to the rear for a speed boost.
    • Re: Air Conditioner in the car?

      Wed, June 11, 2008 - 11:16 PM
      Using A/C does affect gas mileage. Though, I'm not sure it's enough to warrant burning up in a hot car.

      Having the windows down also affects gas mileage as it reduces the aerodynamics of the car increasing drag and friction.
      • Re: Air Conditioner in the car?

        Thu, June 12, 2008 - 12:26 AM
        No, the windows have very little effect at all. That is an old wives' tale. Catch Mythbusters sometime.

        However, in the case of a convertible they can have a dramatic effect. Some years back Mustang introduced a convertible of the 5.0. Looked nice. It had a top speed of 85 with the top down no matter how much gas you gave it because the aerodynamics of the windshield with the top was able to negate any acceleration.
        • Re: Air Conditioner in the car?

          Thu, June 12, 2008 - 2:46 PM
          Our Miyata Convertible has A/C but we rarely use it becuase most of the time the Ragtop is down.
          The "Rake" of the Windshield allows this little 5 speed 6 cyl Two Seater Speedster to do 45 or 90 MPH reguardless of wether the top is down or the hardtop (winter shell) is on the Car.The Car is aerodynamically sculpted to slice through wind drag.
          Air Conditioner's in our Cars use more Gasoline to run becuase the Compressor drags on the Engines performance,taking the MPG down 2-3 MPG.
        • Re: Air Conditioner in the car?

          Sat, June 14, 2008 - 12:14 AM
          I do watch Mythbusters. And in that one episode they showed that in their test vehicle when they drove over 45mph it had an impact on the cars fuel mileage. At that point it became more fuel efficient for them to use the A/C in the car.
      • Re: Air Conditioner in the car?

        Sat, June 14, 2008 - 1:08 AM
        So don't use A/C and keep the windows up!
        • Re: Air Conditioner in the car?

          Mon, June 16, 2008 - 10:51 PM
          You could always turn on the fan without turning on the A/C. That's what I do. Helps a little bit.
          • Re: Air Conditioner in the car?

            Mon, June 16, 2008 - 11:20 PM
            Yes, that's generally what I do, too. And in the Bay Area the outside air is usually cool enough to make a nice air flow with the fan. But if it's super hot I will use the air conditioner. I don't drive very far so I'm not burning up too much extra gas.
            • Re: Air Conditioner in the car?

              Tue, June 17, 2008 - 5:39 AM
              >And in the Bay Area the outside air is usually cool enough to make a nice air flow with the fan. But if it's super hot I will use the air conditioner.<

              What, like SEVENTY-EIGHT?!
              • Re: Air Conditioner in the car?

                Tue, June 17, 2008 - 6:18 AM
                Here in the east bay it regularly gets between 90 & 100 during the summer. Last summer we had three weeks straight of 115. The Tri-Valley aint no Daly City yo. : ) It will be 88 today according to the weatherman. Funny I was just typing this and the weather was on the news. My first conscious synchronicity of the day. Woo hoo!!! Yeah Baby!!!
                • Re: Air Conditioner in the car?

                  Tue, June 17, 2008 - 8:36 AM
                  Buck Tard
                  you must be referring to Tacoma WA with the analogy of it's "hottest temp" being seventy eight.
                  Tacoma gets a "wunnerful" THREE WEEK "Summer" of no rain full sun and temps in the high 70's to low 90's then ZAP! It's GONE and all that fifty degree RAIN is back for another 300 days!
                  One of the reasons I moved to and bought a house in Southeastern Idaho was to escape Tacoma's "300 rain days per year" or forty SIX inches of "annual rainfall". Here we have four Seasons and LONG Hot Summers!
                  • This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.

                    Re: Air Conditioner in the car?

                    Tue, June 17, 2008 - 9:06 AM
                    Yeah, yeah. Walnut creek and Oakland actually get HOT. I was actually jabbing the folks in SF, where I believe two summers ago I experienced a 'record-breaking heat wave of over three days of 80-degree temperatures' This year I was floored to be out there in 90+ heat. I thought it was a typo on the weather reports before I arrived! Nothing cracks me up more than walking down Market street in January wearing a t-shirt seeing locals wearing full-length down jackets, knit hats and mittens because its below 65.

                    Call me what I am- a flatlander midwesterner living in a fly-over state. We get it all- rain, snow, fog, sun, heat, cold and LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT. Okay, maybe we don't always love it at the time, but it's part of the cycle of nature and life and I appreciate it all.

                    ... pass the pipe, bro.
  • Re: Air Conditioner in the car?

    Tue, June 17, 2008 - 9:47 AM
    actually your gas does use a tiny bit more gas with the a/c on not enough to notice


    X
    • Re: Air Conditioner in the car?

      Tue, June 17, 2008 - 2:34 PM
      Xavior, your gas has got gas! A little Gas-X might do the trick.

      And Bucktard, next time you want to playfully jab at us San Franciscans, why don't you do it from th comforts of our bay? This morning it was a whole 2 degrees colder than the 58 degrees thanthe air was. We may be cold weather wimps, but some of us have our tough and rough edges!

      No car though. No air conditioner. Little charm. Nothing more to add to this thread I'm afraid.
      • Re: Air Conditioner in the car?

        Wed, June 18, 2008 - 6:07 AM
        >next time you want to playfully jab at us San Franciscans, why don't you do it from th comforts of our bay?<

        I did for four years- three in the Tendernob and one up on Jasper place. Thanks, but no more, no more.

        people.tribe.net/546f905f-...4c88e5e12a
        • Re: Air Conditioner in the car?

          Wed, June 18, 2008 - 6:31 AM
          I do always have to laugh at myself if I start complaining about the cold. Then I just remind myself of the winter of 1988 living in Chicago. NEVER AGAIN I tell you!!! lol That's one of the reasons I live here is the wonderful weather. That and the fact that the Bay Area is a more "progressive" populace that actually reads books.

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