SimonK

My friend said aircon when on saps power and that this in turn affects acceleration. Is it BS or for real and if how much are we talking about 3bhp?

billthe3

Aircondition is a major leech on the system when it is engaged. People have done tests before and having it running causes like a 10% decrease in fuel effeciency/mpg, so I can only imagine how much actual power it is causing you to lose.

For an example, I know several people with ford focuses that actually have issues with the car coming close to stalling while idling with the a/c on.

If you want to test it yourself, simply do a hard acceleration run on a freeway onramp with the a/c off, and then do it again with the a/c on - there is a very noticable difference.

Cory9584

It takes away power when its on, but i usually dont run the car hard on days when i need it anyway.

anders44

if your car is so low on power you need to worry about this.....

if you don't have a race to win, or money at stake. AC rox. if I can fit it with the new turbo etc I will retrofit AC to my car. (dedicated trackcar)

reno808

If i got the ac on i am usually cruising and not have to worry about performance.

RKD in OKC

On both my 88 Turbo S and my 89, I don't notice any difference in my lap times A/C off or A/C on. At least on later cars, doesn't he compressor switch off at something like 75% throttle or above?