I had to go out of town today for an appointment; about a 60-mile drive.

I am so disappointed that when I use my AC my Cooper's performance goes out the window! I live in FL and I have to use the AC daily. When I accelerate, the car sounds like crap. It's like the car is using every bit of power to get up to speed. It's ridiculous that running the AC takes so much power from the car! Plus, it really lessens my MPG.

It really sucks and has made me want a different car.

Mine is an 03. Is this resolved in the later models?

Thanks.

 

Is a slightly worse MPG.

The power on mine is terrific with AC on Auto set to 68.

2005 MCS

I got it to 110 with ease out on 3/4 mile with the AC on. The power was still there. Accelerator on at maybe 3/4 way down.

 

Yes.

 

Which MINI do ya have? The MINI S or the regular Cooper? Also is your MINI an automatic or stick?

I have a 03 MCS that runs just fine with the air on here in Okla. You will always lose MPG with the air on and thats with any vehicle.

 

My 2003 MCS runs just fine with the a/c on full-blast...no problems at all. And I have driven through 116+-degree temps in the desert with the a/c on and she was great! :smile:

I'm sorry you are experiencing problems. Is your MINI still under warranty? If so, take it in for inspection.


Clover

 

Hey, gjpundsack.

The mini dealer in scottsdale looked pretty cool? We didn't stop though.

We were there like three weeks ago! Stayed at the Boulders.

Went to Rawhide....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tclement/sets/675513/


There seems to be quite a good number of Mini's in that area!!

See Ya

 

Mine is the regular Cooper. I guess the performance is lacking when I am accelerating from a stop. Once I get going it seems okay. But sometimes when I merge into highway traffic, I turn the AC off so I have so better speed to get in there.

Looks like the MCS is better when the AC on.

 

my S was pretty bad off the line as well. Small motor, no torque at 1000 RPM. Up the revs a bit, to fight the bog.

Matt

 

Could be worse. The old Suzuki Samurais had a top speed of 75MPH, dropping to 65MPH each time the A/C cycled on...

The traditional generalization is that on the highway, A/C use gets no worse gas mileage than driving with all the windows fully open. In the city however, A/C usually takes a BIG chunk out of gas mileage--on the order of 4-8MPG less. As I have never driven the Mini without A/C I cannot verify if this is also true for the MCS.

 

tazzMINI,
unless you're very far from a dealer, it couldn't hurt to have them check it out. Have you driven small-engined cars with AC before? My Cooper seems to suffer about as much as my DOHC Integra did - noticeably, but not cripplingly. I do sometimes switch off the AC compressor if I anticipate a need for power coming up.

 

Granted the fastest I went was 70. Still in break in. CVT. MC.

I had the AC on max, seemed OK - the power dropped slightly, but not really noticeable (placebo effect methinks).

As far as using more gas - yep. AC needs to run a compressor, which uses energy from the engine, and therefore the engine must work harder. Any car is like this.

 

tazzMINI, hey you never did say if you had a five speed or an auto in your regular MINI but for sure if you have an auto tranny, your little MINI is working extra hard.

You lose power from both the air and a auto tranny.

I would take it back to your dealer and have it checked out anyway.

 

It is CVT. Maybe going in for a check would be a good idea. I only live about 30 minutes away from my dealer.

 

There is no MAX with the a/c, it is on or off. fan speed will have no effect.

My 03 MC does suffer somewhat with the a/c on. I just turn it off if I need to merge in a hurry.

 

I agree. Sure, there's some reduction in power, mostly from a dead stop, but a little gas compensates for the most part. That's true with both my 04 and 05 MCS. I've heard this complaint quite a bit, so to those with the problem, demand some action because its not true with everyone.

 

I can feel it with all my mods when the AC is on........


there was piece on Good Morning America that said that the extra drag from windows open actually cost more in mpg that the AC........'m sure this is vehicle dependent.

In Atlanta in the summer before the 15% pulley it was hard to start up hill with the MCS.

If you can...test drive an "S" maybe you can make a great deal

 

When my car was stock - yes there was a VERY noticeable power sap with ac on (MCS). It was at least twice as much as our new Beetle, which even had less hp (when it was stock as well). I did a 15% pulley and it was pretty much the same off the line - huge power lag, you had to hit the gas about .5 seconds before you would with a/c off. You got used to it, but the lag was terrible compared to other cars. I got MTH, and the lag is gone. Not only is the throttle response faster, reacting just like our Beetle, but there is now an even amount of torque down low, no more huge loss below 3000 in comparison.


The stock ECU programming is the culprit - it SUCKS on the Mini, preiod.

 

I had always found that to be true in my other vehicles, but I actually gain 1 MPH going from windows up a/c on, to windows down a/c off crusing at 80. It depends on the passenger which one I use. I ALWAYS prefer the wind in my hair (what's left) if it's just me. The woman often prefers no wind please, windows up a/c on :(

 

i'd get the coolant levels checked. if there's too much, the compressor
will not work as efficiently, not cool well and soak up even more power.

 

I have a normally aspirated 05 MC. Other than a drop in mpg with A/C, I notice little or no power loss rocketing around the local mountains.

 

Greetings,
Before I bought my MC, I owned a Honda Civic Hybrid - fuel efficient sure, but so plain vanilla, lack of power and BORING - and I experienced the same exact thing in the hybrid as you do in you 03. AC is a big drain on power in many cars, so if you go looking for a different car do your research and be hard on the car during the test drive.

My experience with the Honda cybrid.
Without AC and driving AT -yes, I said AT - the posted speed limits I would get 50-52 mpg as advertised. The problem is that I - like 99.999% of the other people on the roads - do not drive with the AC off when it's hot and I drive 5-15 miles over the speed limit. Gas mileage under the second set of conditions meant I was getting 41 mpg, and sometimes as low as 38 mpg. AC sucked away my mpg and acceleration with AC on was HORRIBLE and it made it dangerous to merge with faster traffic.

I so love my '05 MC. Less mpg than the hybrid, but the fun and mojo factor more than make up for it.

MTFBWY,
--Will

 

Didn't know! Interesting.

 

My MC actually is a little worse since the emissions ECU up- grade.

As a magazine test I read stated, the intial aceleration, especially with the AC on, is about like a riding lawnmower.

 

What is MTH?

 

It's a chip mod software thing. There is one thread to discuss this, not too sure where it is on this forum.