Yes, Air condition sux a lot of power off from the car. I hate summer! I think I might have to stand 80 degree to keep my car going.

 

Yup, it sure does. Launching is a whole different thing in the summer. Takes some getting used to each year. Ah, but then Fall is so sweet!!!!!!

 

Yeah man!

Today with my wife and air condition on, I just can't feel like I can get the shifting right anymore. The RPM drop slower make the car sound like I riding the clutch on every first and second gear.

 

But isn't also the fact that the warmer air makes the super charger perform less effectively?

 

Perhaps an alternative is for all MINI drivers to diet in the spring to compensate for the power drain in the summer.

 

What if....

AC is on.
Four people are in your MINI.

You're on a freeway entrance with a very short on ramp.

And you've got an MC.

Good luck.

Hey, where did I hide that NO2 engage button?

 

I live in Vegas and must deal with more A/C days than most. I find something simple to compensate is to push the little button and turn off the A/C when the light is about ready to turn green. Excellerate from a standstill and then turn the air back on. Also, having a 15% pulley, Alta intake and Milltec helps a bunch.

 

I usually don't run the AC until it starts hitting 107F (unless there someone else with me in the car who I'd know would like it). For instance today it was 100F and I did 300 miles (N Phx to Tucson and back) no problem.

 

i don't like to use the ac either, i only use it if i have my parents or gurlfrend are in the car. i rather have my windows down during 100+ degree weather out here

 

Windows down is the best option. Its what most porsche drivers do (at least for old ones) because the rear engine makes the inside a hotbox.

 

Great minds think alike. I do the exact same thing. Of course, the AC is only on if my wife is in the car, or if I'm on the freeway. I grew up with AC being rolling the windows down. I did 1 Vegas summer in a car with no AC and survived ok. It's all what you get used to.

 

I read an article in Consumer Reports that says that the cost of driving with the air conditioner on vs. off is 1 mpg. They said driviing at highway speed with the windows open in inefficient because of the aerodynamics regarding the drag as opposed to traveling with the windows closed. So the question is, does the a/c make THAT MUCH difference?

 

All fuel injected cars, including the MINI, turn off the A/C compressor when brisk acceleration is called for. How much throttle position turns off the compressor, for how long, and when it turns back on varies. Some cars will shut off for a set period of time, others until the engine exceeds a certain RPM.

I drove around Vegas last summer with five large people in an MC. The worst part was having to push so hard to get the car moving that the A/C almost never came on.

 

Some would say yes, some would say no. Mythbusters did an episode about this once (i didnt see it) but apparently they used some monstrous SUV thing so no amount of A/C usage would have had much of an effect on their tests. In smaller cars, A/C power usage becomes more significant. If you do the common sense math (no insult to anyone here just my own opinion) wind resistance is related to speed, higher speed=more drag, while A/C drain is not. Therefore, the faster you go with the windows down, the more drag your car experiences and the harder the engine has to work to compensate. A/C draws more or less constant power regardless of speed. So if your going VERY slow, windows down is probably more efficient. At speed though, the cost of drag outweighs the cost of A/C

 

You guys are using your AC already?!...*grumbles about WI weather*

 

HMMM...my 95 T-bird didn't do this, nor my 95 Camaro, or my 01 or 02 GMCs...they all blew ice cold even when I was driving "briskly," which was most of the time.

Why does my A/C stay on then?

 

I have noticed it on all cars I have driven in the past 10-15 years, including the mid 90's Mustangs and T-birds (EEC-IV controlled). The compressor stops, but the refrigerant and the evaporator are both cold enough for the system to blow cold air for short while. Keep your foot to the floor when the temperature nears 100, and the humidity is 90+ and you will feel it.

 

It was 98 here at 1pm yesterday.

 

Usually the spin down is faster when the AC compressor turns-on.
What I do is clutch-in a fraction of a second earlier to almost let the
fly wheel rev up when you let off the gas during the shift. It makes
'catching' the flywheel at the right rpm easier when you engage.

I rarely used my AC on my MCS last year... only when going down the
expressway. at times temps reached as high as 125F inside my car.
(took a thermometor with to see how hot). :smile:

I think this year Im going to take the MCS out in the early morning
hours and take my other car in the afternoon for my weekend drive.

 

What type of vehicle did they test this on? What size of engine? What hp is the engine? What level of fuel economy was before and after?

Let's suppose running an a/c compressor robs 40 hp from a vehicle. How much of a MPG hit is a 350 hp vehicle going to have? Sure, it's going to go down to 15 MPG from the normal 16 MPG. How much of a hit in MPG will a 115 hp car suffer? It's certainly more than 1 MPG. It's going to go down something like from 38 MPG to 32 MPG. After just 10 gallons of fuel, that's 60 miles. And at 32 MPG, that's nearly 2 gallons of gas! At current gas prices that's $5.00 after only 320 miles of travel. For that big of a difference, I'll enjoy the heat.

 

So will I!

 

In Florida you can't wait for 100 degree heat to put the AC on, the humidity is so bad you need it sooner than that. If I could stay in constant motion I would leave it off much more, but stopped in traffic things heat up quickly.

I have a black on black leather MCS in FL--I knew I was asking for trouble, but it seems like the power of the AC is weak, as in the fan doesnt blow very fast. Is this a typical MINI issue, or just mine? Maybe I just need a new filter.

 

yeah, if I lived in a humid climate, the AC would be on most all the time. I can't stand humidity!

 

I'm in south Tampa, too... Hyper Blue MCS, white roof. I really need to tint the windows. If your'e black/black, I'm sure you're already tinted, but that makes such a huge difference down here in the sunshine state.

Parking in the shade is huge, too.
Q

 

Yeah, Judy and I were there, just starting back home, and 6 hours later on the 15 between Barstow and Baker it was 104, with wall-to-wall cars and none of them moving!

Ouch that was a long trip back to LA from Sin City!

_Dave_