How much gas will it use???

[munkee]

I bought a new 2002 Nissan Sentra several months back. Does anyone here know how much extra gas a car uses when the AC is on? I've heard some say 5-10% and others say much more.

[j.m@talk]

I find 3 or 4 mpg :)

[DocEvi1]

it is quite noticable. I was in a micra and you could hear the engine revs climb when idling and AC was switched on.

Check the handbook, or ring the dealer - they will give you an exact (if not under-estimated) answer.

Stefan

[Steve R Jones]

It's pretty easy to test. Just use the trip meter and gague your milage.

I'd guess 20%ish..

[munkee]

Thanks for the info. The dealership said it would not be much at all. So I figured I'd get a unbiased opinion.

Thanks again

[Billforce]

It's really relative to the size of the engine and the horsepower produced, in a small displacement engine it could be a sizable amount, in a big Cadillac, it may be as low as 2%.

[Timmac4]

It also has to do with the AC pump itself. Some of the loaded Hondas has the new pumps (more expensive and usually not the norm) that hardly use any extra gas or take away hardly any horses. I don't believe the Sentra has the newer pump (Maybe if it is the higher end model) My little brothers Accord has the new pump and the 200HP V6 and you do not lose power when the AC is on at all. He said that on a 450 mile trip with the AC on he only noticed about 1mpg difference, which other things could also affect it so it may be a little off, but still hardly noticable.

[j.m@talk]

The car seems to get addicted to A/C :eek:

A/C off "Whoosh" fogged up :(

Then its Burn the fog off with the heater :p & open the sun roof so ya don't die of heatstroke :mad:

I love "Heated Seats" umm Torch that Booty ;)

[Bizkitkid2001]

Some AC pumps can put a lot more strain on the engine, thus causing it to burn more gas. On my brothers old truck he had to turn the AC off just so he can have enough power to jump out in front of oncoming traffic, with it on it would take forever for it to climb up to 60:p :rolleyes:

[pickel]

1993 Dodge Stealth

29 MPG without A/C @ 75 mph

26 MPG with A/C @ 75 mph

1972 El Camino SS 454

16 MPG without A/C @ 65mph

10 MPG with A/C @ 65 mph

[Tick]

I have a 2003 Nissan Altima. All I do is hold her open and she goes! Fill it up once a week get almost 400 out of a tank!



Tick

[Timmac4]

The Altima is an upgrade to the Sentra so I am sure that it should have the newer pumps. I have a Nissan pickup with some performance mods and plus my AC is an older style pump so my gas mileage sucks. 18 avg without AC 15 avg with AC. Of course when I drive it right it gets better milage - up to 27mpg on trips.

[krazefinn]

The other side of the coin is the substantial aero drag (at hiway speeds) caused by windows down in lieu of ac, so the difference may be half of the figures quoted.

I just haven't figured out why detroit (and japan) has done nothing to regenerate some power from braking, rather than just wasting it into thermal energy on friction brake pads. Seems easy enough to use portion of braking either to electrically charge, or compressed air, something of that sort.

Ideally (admittedly off thread) would be an elctric/hybrid internal combustion combo that had integrated electric motor armatures imbedded into rotors/drums. Add solar panels, and automatically shut off ic engine at all times when not required.

There is no doubt eventually we shall need viable alternative to wasting mass quantities of dinosaur bones just to shuttle a 200lb human alone to 7-11 to purchase pack of cigarettes and a soda...all in a 3-6000 lb huge vehicle. And not only for valid, sustainable energy policy that would function to decrease our addiction to foreign oil, and the policies and regimes we support that play fair according to our terms, but also to take over when we've burned the last of those old bones...the biomass required to convert biomass to hydrocarbon is immense, and time-constrained. I'll bet we could even devise method to release the hydrocarbon enrgy from biomass without the many years under intense pressure underground to convert said vegetaTive matter into crude hc bearing tar.

Oh well, it'll eventually happen-simple logistics dictates this. Finite source, increasing demand.

[jad1097]

Consumer reports did a test and found that the cars they tested got close to the same gas miliage or better with the AC on than driving with it off and the windows down. I read it years ago so I don't know if it is still the same for newer cars.

[RayH]

It just depends. I'd say maybe about 20%. Cars that get really good gas mileage will have a noticeable difference in mpg.

I have a Saturn which gets about 35 mpg. With a/c, maybe about 28. I had a V8 Merc that was getting 18 mpg. With a/c, it got about 15-16. The ratio was about the same.

I don't have to run the a/c too often as I live in San Francisco. The whole city is air conditioned! But if it's hot enough that I have to run a/c, I'll run it.

[krazefinn]

If you look at the recesssed handles, glass, wipers etc. The details to achieve CAFE limits signifies the importance of aerodynamics to fuel effiency, I would suspect the scientific study if so conducted probably was printed pre 80's or even earlier.

I do think the new cars would suffer more than the already dirty air of older era's automobiles.