Does Removing AC make me lose gas Mileage?

[Acidbath88accordlx]

My buddy told me if I removed ALL my AC stuff my gas mileage will drop a little? any thoughts on this? I already removed the belt cause the compressor took a dump... either wich way I'm not putting it back on or replacing the pump...

[A20A1]

What?

If you remove your A/C compressor, A/C condensor, and other A/C components. You will get better milage. The reason being is you are reducing rotational strain on the motor, the second reason assuming you remove all the A/C components is you'll reduce your vehicle weight, the third reason is you'll be reducing electircal strain, and as a bonus you'll expose the radiator to the outside air when you remove the condensor that is in front of the radiator, this will help cooling and reduce weight.

[Acidbath88accordlx]

sounds like i should do it then... cool thanx

[A20A1]

Do you know what to remove? there are a lot of parts... be careful, the A/C fluid / vapor is harmful, don't breathe it in.

[Acidbath88accordlx]

certainly do... got a manual with detailed pix and done it before on my jeep cherokee

[Strugglebucket]

Do you know what to remove? there are a lot of parts... be careful, the A/C fluid / vapor is harmful, don't breathe it in.
...unless you are looking for the world's most obnoxious high.

[1ajs]

lmao not to mention it is ileagal to release you ac fluid into the air in canada theres a 10,000 fine for doing that

[Ludi Mali]

lmao not to mention it is ileagal to release you ac fluid into the air in canada theres a 10,000 fine for doing that

That stuff gets released into the air all the time in car accidents and they're gonna bust one guy for doing it in his back yard. Freakin A-HOLES!!!!

[Oldblueaccord]

What?

If you remove your A/C compressor, A/C condensor, and other A/C components. You will get better milage. The reason being is you are reducing rotational strain on the motor, the second reason assuming you remove all the A/C components is you'll reduce your vehicle weight, the third reason is you'll be reducing electircal strain, and as a bonus you'll expose the radiator to the outside air when you remove the condensor that is in front of the radiator, this will help cooling and reduce weight.


uh how about just turning it off?



wp

[Blkblurr]

In reality, you get better gas milage using the air conditioner with the windows closed than shutting it off and opening the windows. the wind resistance caused by opening the windows is enough to lower your milage below what you get running the air. Of course this assumes your air conditiioner works. If not it's just going along for the ride.

[AZmike]

In reality, you get better gas milage using the air conditioner with the windows closed than shutting it off and opening the windows. the wind resistance caused by opening the windows is enough to lower your milage below what you get running the air.

I doubt it. Show me some evidence. I keep meticulous fuel records. I see a negligible difference between windows up and down (+/- 1 mpg) taking the same trip. Make trip again: same time of year, weather, etc. with a/c on, 30-32 mph instead of 35-37 mpg.

[Blkblurr]

I doubt it. Show me some evidence. I keep meticulous fuel records. I see a negligible difference between windows up and down (+/- 1 mpg) taking the same trip. Make trip again: same time of year, weather, etc. with a/c on, 30-32 mph instead of 35-37 mpg.
I have no evidence on it because I don't care about it. I got this from Honda engineers years ago and have heard it on TV and read it in car tech magazines. in either case it is a small difference.

[Pro_Mod_Accord]

uh how about just turning it off?



wp



Rotational Strain....hhmmm first time i've heard that terminology....

Reason:

- LOSS OF MECHANICAL ENERGY
- A SMALL % of h.p is lost with a/c hooked up (w/belt)
- loss is due to mechanical energy used by motor to turn A/c Cond.
- energy is transferred from motor to A/C Cond
- reason: A/C Cond places a load on motor, load is transferred into
mech energy witch is used by a/c cond to operate

The A/c Cond needs to get it's enery from some where, thus uses the mech energy from motor, therefore a small % drop in HP,,the drop in H.P. is the power(energy) required to operate the A/c cond.

Remove the Belt.......

This transfer in energy, effects the effiency of the motor, the effiency of the motors drops, therefore the fuel milelage will be greater,,and also a slight drop in H.P,,,

:Owned2: :mod:

[Pro_Mod_Accord]

I doubt it. Show me some evidence. I keep meticulous fuel records. I see a negligible difference between windows up and down (+/- 1 mpg) taking the same trip. Make trip again: same time of year, weather, etc. with a/c on, 30-32 mph instead of 35-37 mpg.



With the windows open, the friction is increased and resulting in more wind resitance placed on a car...Resistance is transferred into a force acting against the car,,this force is dependent on arodynamics, surface area, and coeficient of friction of the surface, and importantly the speed of the aire(the velocity of the car)...

At high speeds this force is greatly increased,, whereas normal speeds this differnce is so small it is negligable...But there is a thresshold when the spped of the wind will place a great enough force where it will be sunificant....Why do you think that owr cars don't do 160mph???Red line in 5th gear should get to that spped,,,but the wind force acting on the car limits it's top speed because of the excess wind force at high speeds!


:mod: :Owned2:

[Pro_Mod_Accord]

Opps spelling mistakes.......oh well

[Blkblurr]

With the windows open, the friction is increased and resulting in more wind resitance placed on a car...Resistance is transferred into a force acting against the car,,this force is dependent on arodynamics, surface area, and coeficient of friction of the surface, and importantly the speed of the aire(the velocity of the car)...

At high speeds this force is greatly increased,, whereas normal speeds this differnce is so small it is negligable...But there is a thresshold when the spped of the wind will place a great enough force where it will be sunificant....Why do you think that owr cars don't do 160mph???Red line in 5th gear should get to that spped,,,but the wind force acting on the car limits it's top speed because of the excess wind force at high speeds!


:mod: :Owned2:

I agree with this. Opening windows totally disrupts air flow and you end up with pressure pockets inside the car. This actually places a great load on the car. Much more than most think. I also agree with the fact that people's results when measuring the difference will greatly vary with increased speed.
Wind resistance is an exponential increase or decress based on car speed. This effect is greatly increased by changing the shape or air flow around the car. From a puely engineering standpoint it's easy to see that the increase in wind speed and resistance to air flow could easily exceed the hp it takes to run the a/c. I just don't know what speed that is.

[Acidbath88accordlx]

well for now all i did was remove the belt, tommorrow I'm removing it all... sorry if I started anything between anyone...

[DanG86LX]

:idea: My car came with no A/C.. Shall I try installing one then ? That might be a good project for an year or so..

Those NASCAR car mechanics must be idiots with no driver side window and window nets.. I wonder if those cars have A/C ? Nah, waste of speed.. :lol: :lol:

[88Accord-DX]

If you remove the a/c & how far you remove the lines. Plug the lines/opening up so garbage & crap don't get into them. That way, if you decide to put it back on or sell it. There isn't anything in the lines. You don't want the evaporator clogged up if you want to use it again. Moisture & garbage in there can be a problem later on.

[A20A1]

:idea: My car came with no A/C.. Shall I try installing one then ? That might be a good project for an year or so..

Those NASCAR car mechanics must be idiots with no driver side window and window nets.. I wonder if those cars have A/C ? Nah, waste of speed.. :lol: :lol:


But thats just so the driver can keep cool without adding weight. I don't think I could do more then 10 laps without wanting to open the windows... the heat from the exhaust heats the car body and cooks the inside.

I think you can have your windows open and not kill your aerodynamics... I mean they design golf balls with dimples... I admit though, it's not the same... and yeah, my understanding of the subject is not that good.

[frantik]

fwiw

on this tv show mythbusters two identical cars were driven at 45 mph.. one with the a/c on, one with the windows open until they ran out of gas

the car with the a/c ran out of gas first



on topic.. does just removing the a/c belt make a lot of difference to mileage or power, even if the a/c compressor is disabled at the fuse?

[Acidbath88accordlx]

Actually as soon as I cut the belt off and got another round of gas, I notice a slight and i mean slight difference.... we'll see what happens when the rest of it comes off, should also only offer the slight difference cause of the weight..

[Blkblurr]

fwiw

on this tv show mythbusters two identical cars were driven at 45 mph.. one with the a/c on, one with the windows open until they ran out of gas

the car with the a/c ran out of gas first



on topic.. does just removing the a/c belt make a lot of difference to mileage or power, even if the a/c compressor is disabled at the fuse?
Now do the same test at 80 MPH and see what happens.

[AZmike]

My figures were from interstate driving @ 75 mi/hr so I doubt you'll break even until well over 80 mi/hr--in our cars at least.

[Blkblurr]

You may be right. Like I said earlier I don't know where the breakpoint is but either way we're not talking about a big difference.