Yay for air con... boo for fuel economy! \o/

Sin_Chase said:
There are clearly going to be differences in every car.

My Focus had a notable power drop with the AC on. Very noticeable.
The S2000 has code in the ECU to apply an idle throttle increase with the AC on to compensate for the extra load.

I only use AC when I feel I need it, I never leave it on. If it does not affect economy it certainly affects total power available at my right foot :p
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My Focus suffered greatly with AC both in terms of power and fuel usage.
 
My latest tank was 41 litres into 245 miles, 27mpg so well chuffed, thats booting it with AC on.

Definitely hits my mpg by one or two I'd say, due to needing to have the loud pedal further down for longer.
 
Tom|Nbk said:
My Focus suffered greatly with AC both in terms of power and fuel usage.
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Mine isnt too noticable. The Integra was more noticable.

Fords to do have funny things though, mine has close to zero engine braking. It either has some crazy idle valve control that opens it on overun or it doesn't actually do fuel cut.
 
Tom|Nbk said:
Wonder if it was just a pants inefficient system they put in.
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Its probably an oversized compressor from the Ford parts bin so although you notice it when on it shouldn't really be on that much. Probably the control system is somewhat lacking with when it should turn off, especially if the gas needs changing etc .
 
Even had it regassed although it did an awesome job of keeping me cool it was inefficient as hell. My 172 with almost twice the power manages better MPG with AC on full wack.
 
amigafan2003 said:
a lot of people forget to put AC on recir if they want max cooling -that way your not trying to cool warm air from outside all the time - you're re-cooling already cooled air from inside.
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I do this, there's a note in my Focus manual which says to use recirculation for max cooling, but is there any point in not using recirc when cooling? Does it adversely affect fuel economy or anything? Otherwise, may as well just leave the system set to recirculate during the summer (although when the vents are set to windscreen, they force the system to take air from outside the car).
 
but is there any point in not using recirc when cooling?
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Yes - the air becomes stale and excessively dry - causing eye irritation over time.

AC system do remove a lot of moisture from the air (hence why it helps in demisting situations) but a little is left in it. If recirc is on, the air goes round and round, getting drier all the time.

Conversly, if there are a lot of people in the car and it's damp, their breath/sweat will create air that is more humid and the AC can't remove the moisture quick enough. You then need fresh "drier" air from outside to help demist the car.
 
It's a Ford, goes without saying
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My Ford has an excellent AC/CC system, but then it was designed to go up against BMW's, Mercs, Audis (which it failed in doing so) etc when it was released.
 
If it is excessively hot outside/inside the 9-5 ACC will automatically select recirc on engine startup to aid cooling. It's also possible to program the system so the recirc comes on automatically if the car stops moving, then it switches back to normal operation above 20mph.
 
Had my civic regassed today omg what a difference its like being back in the caddy, nice and chilly :D not bad for £45 quid at kwik fit.
 
I'm averaging 23mpg. My aircon doesn't seem as cold as usual, not sure if its just because its warmer out so it has more to do. It'll do.
 
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