Hey I was wondering how much the a/c affects the performance my tsx. From what i heard a/c does rob power from cars but how much in terms of hp and torque. and does turning the a/c higher take more power away. thanks and sorry if this is a repost.

 

It does noticably take away from your power. I heard up to 10 percent of power when it's on? Not sure though, but when it's on, i defintely feel it hinder my car's performance.

 

yes it will reduce engine performance, but A/C automatically shuts off when you hit WOT, so when racing, it'd have no affect.

 

 

For fuel efficiency at highway speeds it's best to have a/c on and windows up. . . (different kind of performance).

 

Off topic, but are my avatar's contagious?

(2nd time in 1 month)

 

Definitely OT, but yeah I have noticed that.

 

Yes...

And to put a more technical spin on the answer to this question, the A/C compressor is driven by the serpentine belt that attaches to a pulley on the crank. As the engine makes power, it turns the crank which turns the pulley, which runs the A/C compressor. Now, when the compressor is on, there is a load on the engine, thus reducing the amount of power it is directly transferring to the drive-line. So when you engage the A/C, expect a drop in performance, but not a huge amount.

And like somebody said, if you're looking for fuel efficiency, leave the windows up on this one because the aerodynamics are so good.

 

rmatic has no clue.

 

It does rob you of some power, but no matter how hot it is, it doesn't take 20HP to run an AC compressor.

 

Does the US have A/C tax on their cars?

It was started in Canada when air conditioners first came out on cars because A/C consumed more fuel than a car without A/C and the windows down. Now A/C units consume far less power than a car with it's windows down but unsurprisingly, the tax is still applied.

 

Who doesn't like Sponge Bob??

 

They sure as hang wouldn't make anyone aware of this..

 

True, but it's the same exact photo of a specific character.

Anyways, back to the topic, a/c does affect performance, but only to a very minimal extent.

 

You want power robbing, try driving a car like the integra. I have GSR, when the AC's on, the car feels like shiet! Can't pick up speed at all.

Also, I've heard this is only a problem on four bangers and not sixes. Is that true? In my girlfriends accord V6, the power feels the same with the AC on.

 

i had a 92 V6 camry and i could feel the difference

 

Would heater affect performance? and is it ok for the AC to be on even if your car is on a high temperature?

 

maybe in newer cars that are V6's u might not feel the difference
i'm sure over the years the a/c's have gotten more energy efficient

 

sorry for crossposting, but i never notice a problem in my TL. i feel the surge when the compressor kicks on at first but then it's gone. i personally have never owned a 4 cylinder where the a/c worked, but on all the 6 cylinders i've had i never got worse gas mileage with the a/c on.

even this past summer with the a/c on for a few 250 mile trips i took, i still got 31mpg. unfortunatley it will be more noticeable on a 4 cylinder. just my 2 cents.

SSTS

 

Is that really why? I thought it might be because of the environmentally unfriendly refrigerants in there.

 

i believe the gas used for refridgerants is R-134
R-134a i believe is the non-biodegradable stuff
so it won't hurt the ozone
dunno what cars use

 

They haven't sold A/C systems with those refrigerants in a long time. They haven't even sold replacement refrigerant for them for several years.

 

i know i sound like a noob, but what is that WOT thing you mentioned ealier.

 

Wide Open Throttle. You'll only reach this 1% of the time when you are driving. pretty much when you hit the pedal to the metal your throttle will open up all the way allowing for all that wonderful air to be sucked in, compressed, and turned into pollution.