i was once told it doesn't matter if the ac is on full blast or not, the milage will suffer the same amount. is that true? i drive around with the ac on 1 or 2 trying to save gas...maybe i can drive away on max setting and live the luxury life w/o worrying about wasting more gas.

 

Ummm i dont think that's true. I mean the A/C is on regardless on how high your FAN is..So you are using more gas with the A/C on no matter the fan speed.

 

right, i will use more gas with AC on. but will i be using more gas on max setting than on setting 1?

 

Your max setting is not the A/C setting, as stated above it is your FAN setting. If the light is on on your A/C button then your milage will suffer, regardless of the FAN setting. So NO, with the fan on MAX the milage will be the same as on low.

 

good to know, now i can live the high life and stay cool

 

haha, A/C shouldn't make THAT big a difference on your mileage .... well, at least not enough to differentiate the high life from... well, my life.
heh, but i catch your drift.
i think i've been having issues with my car and the A/C. the idle rpm gets uncomfortably low when i have it on.

 

I can't say with certainty if the highest AC fan setting is not sucking down more gas. I figure if the AC compressor is on then the fan speed does not matter.

Related fact: Rolling at highway speeds with the windows down hurts the gas mileage slightly more than rolling with the windows up and the AC cranked. Car Talk guys told me so.

 

That's a very good thing to know...being new to having a car, i figured the more air coming out, the worse the mileage. Surprised i haven't seen this topic discussed before? thanks for the info though :D

 

Do you guys watch mythbusters? They did an episode on how much gas mileage is decreased if you are using A/C vs putting the windows down. I think they concluded that at highway speeds, it is actually more fuel efficient to use your A/C because of the better aerodynamics. Even at city speeds, the difference in gas mileage between using A/C and putting down your windows is 1mpg.

 

i dunno guys... i just came back from a 300 mile trip. here's what i noticed:

when i initially turned on the a/c (at the lowest setting), i could feel it coming on. the car becomes a tad bit sluggish. nothing drastic, but noticeable. but as i turned the fan speed up, i could feel the compressor reacting as if it was working harder and making the car feel even slightly more sluggish. it's like it had to kick into high gear.

anyways, i drove most of the trip with the a/c in the lowest setting and got about 360 miles out of that tank.

 

I run my A/C on the highest fan speed, until its really cold. I then press the A/C switch off, and let the cool air circulate. When it gets uncomfortable, I repeat this process. Don't know if it saves gas. I use to do this on my old car, because the A/C killed its power.

 

Yeah the computer said it was more effiecient to run with the A/C on and the windows up. But they werent happy with that. So they tested which car ate the most gas, so they put $5 in each car..drove at the same speed..one car with a/c on and one car with a/c off and windows down...and the car with the a/c on ran out of gas wayy before the other did.

So in actuallity it's more fuel effienct to drive with the windows down and the a/c off. BUT WHO WANTS TO DO THAT!!!

 

Um... just curious don't it smell like ____ when you turn off the AC and circulate the air since condensation builds up with mildew/mold?

I heard its better to not circulate the air when using AC since what ever moisture collect gets evaporated. But if you do this I notice the AC isn't as cold.

I ciruculate mines just to get the coldest possible air but later before I park I turn off the ac.. set it to not circulate and full blast the air so the spunk gets cycled out.

Maybe its just me...

 

according to the manual, the a/c is supposed to work better if you don't circulate the air. didn't make any sense to be pulling outside air that is hotter, but it actually seems to work.

 

If you're not supposed to circulate it when you're trying to chill the car - what's the point of the recirc?

 

*shrug* beats me.

my g/f checked the manual on her corolla after i told her. it says the same thing. i mean, it could be a typo.

 

probably the air condition outside (no pun intended). if you're driving through a particularly dusty/smelly area (construction zone or something), u're gonna want to recirculate the air..u don't wanna be pulling all that crap in.

 

ahhh I NEVER let fresh air in via the vents, its nothing but exhaust or dead animals anyway in the city.

and more to the topic point, if you drive 10,000 miles a year with the AC on full blast you wouldnt spend more than 30 dollars extra in gas all year versus sweating your you know what off to save some piddly amount of cash.

Use the AC and dont give yourself an ulcer.
I for one try to run fans as low of speed as possible, it only makes sense
keep the cold dial full left, adjust temp by fan speed.


just my 2 thousand worth

 

When you first start your car, you are supposed to turn on the a/c and the circulation (max)at the same time and you will cool the inside of the car faster and then once its cold, you turn off the ciculation (max) and it will be nice and chilly for you, youre not suppose to leave the circulation (max) once its cold becaue you can end up freezing up your compressor, and blowing up. Then you wont have to worry about this topic anymore. This is just my 2 cents about car HVAC

 

nah, your not going to blow up running in recirculate all the time.
Thats just some crappy ac unit that was going bad anyway, and your choice only involves brain damage from breathing in exhaust fumes all day.

Ill take my way, you take the highway