I usually get 250-300 miles to the tank now when using my ac i got 175. What gives, is this normal?

ac kills power like crazy also......so it takes more to do the same for say......when i first got my car i noticed to too....so i turned on the ac......drove a few times......drove a few times with it off....then i drove with it on and floored it....while in the same gear i turned the ac off and got a jolt of power.......just to get an idea on how much power it is robbing from the engine....not sure about the gas milege difference but it does suck alot of power out....

dfresh

i think it kills gas, cause i think its is a seperate running device maybe? i cant remember.

im just thinking that 175 miles to the tank with ac is unheard of. I was just wondering if anyone could advise me if there is soemthing I can do to get better gas miles with the ac on like replace a part. I already got a new o2 sensor so i dont know what it would be.

You may notice your idle raise when the AC is on. the AC compressor takes a lot of power to turn when its being used. Mabye your compressor is going bad and is using a lot of power. Is your AC system fully charged?

The less pressure in the system and the worse the AC is working I would think the less draw on the engine there would be.

AC puts a lot of extra load on the engine, so it takes power away from the engine.

What actual MPG difference is there? mileage per tank is very subjective to how low you run it.



15.9 @ 86.7mph

Smooth idle? We don't need no stinking smooth idle.

Mods List:
http://highlander.dsmpower.com/sig.htm

If you really want to get an accurate comparisson of your mileage, you should fill up the tank and run it empty without using A/C at all. Then refill and use the A/C everywhere you go. Don't change your driving style either. Drive like normal both tanks and when you're done, you'll be able to post the exact miles per gallon you get each way. That may get you better answers.

A/C does put a load on your engine as the engine has to turn the compressor when it's on, but I'v never noticed that kind of difference. I live in Phoenix and use the A/C about half the time (mostly when stuck in traffic = no breeze or when the wife is riding) and I usually get upwards of 300 miles on a tank. I do drive pretty conservatively though, so...

well I will say it again I usually get up to 300 miles per tank without ac and with ac on i get 175 miles. So there is a qoestion if the ac should cut my gas consumption in half

I will say no it shouldn't. If all the variables are pretty much the same and the only change is the A/C use, then something is likely out of tune or failing, imO. I have been driving my hi-comp rebuild for almost a week now and I DO use my A/C pretty much every afternoon on the way home from work and right now I have about 175mi on this tank and I'm just BARELY below the 3/4 mark. I'm looking to get about 350-400 mi out of this tank and I'm doing that break-in thing where you wind it up to about 5-6k and then let it compression brake back down to about 1k rpm every so often, so I'm driving less efficiently than I usually do and I'm still looking to do better than you in the mileage department. I don't remember if you listed your mods and all that, but I hope you're an Automatic, because that kind of mileage is terrible for a 5spd.

How well does your A/C work? When it's on, does it sound louder or different in any way (when you stand next to it at idle)? I don't know what to tell you man, but good luck with it. </shrugs>

when you say you do the break in thing where you wind the rpm to 5-6k i have to do the same thingin order for my ac to start up cold. I have a new radiator is that why? I had many parts on my car which I took off all I have on now is an intake and yes I am 5sp so I dont get the mileage thing at all. When Im driving with my foot on the gas and i turn the ac on you will feel the car slowing down (not able to accelerate as it would if it was off.

Yeah 175 seems a bit low. I dunno, but maybe some pulleys would help a bit. But if it was me, I would just take the fucker out and sell it for mods, but I don't EVER use air. I hate the power robbage. I'd rather be a bit hot while driving or take a alternate route so I'm not stuck in traffic. Just my .02.

1 - when I said break in, I meant engine break in as I just rebuilt her and I've got to vary the RPMs and load the rings and all that shit. One thing I have noticed in regards to RPM vs A/C (since my belts are a bit loose and I can hear the compressor kick on) at idle, with the A/C on, the compressor will cycle as needed. If you blip the throttle, the compressor should cut off. (at least mine does) As soon as RPMs go back down to idle, it should kick back on. Now I don't know why it keeps going when you're racing off the line on a hot day, but still, I think something is amiss with your A/C.

2 - I have revised my mileage estimates. I forgot how the first half a tank looks really good, but then the second half goes twice as fast. In any case, I'm down to a quarter tank and just under 300 miles and I've been using the A/C quite a bit due to the Monsoon humidity here lately.

And here in Phoenix, there are no alternate routes. They may suggest a route to avoid traffic, but with close to 2 million people on the highways/surface streets any given afternoon at rush hour, you're equally fucked any which way you turn. :( Phoenix = Mandatory A/C between June and October :P

With my current set up, that should not be mileage friendly I seem to be getting better mileage than you. I would look to a general bad mileage cause, like a bad O2 sensor or something. 250 for a tank seems low to me.



15.9 @ 86.7mph

Smooth idle? We don't need no stinking smooth idle.

Mods List:
http://highlander.dsmpower.com/sig.htm

Where the hell do you guys get these numbers...I just went to visit my parents this weekend, 190 miles each way, A/C all the way both ways, when I got back home I had 400+ miles on my tank and my light still hadn't come on...it just finally did yesterday with 430 miles on the tank...and all that is at 5,000+ ft above sea level...


1/4 Mile: 17.4651 | 1/4 MPH: 76.69
2gnt.fullwormage.com/files/apexiexhaust/

^ exactly. Cams and porting done to the head I drove from Joliet, IL to the shootout, rand 5 or 6 quater mile passes, with a busted O2 sensor and still didn't have to fill up until we left, around 400 miles on the tank before the light came on. I actually keep track, I was averaging high 20's 30 miles per gallon I think. I'll check from my trip, once I'm not too lazy and calculate it out.



15.9 @ 86.7mph

Smooth idle? We don't need no stinking smooth idle.

Mods List:
http://highlander.dsmpower.com/sig.htm

you a/c condenser may not work properly? Bad ones can rob/suck power.

I think its got to be my condensor since I have a new o2 sensor. The weird thing is that to get the ac to work I have to rev up past 3-4k rpm and then I feel a loss of power and thats when the ac kicks on I have to do this a few times a day to keep the car really cold since its really hot here in Nj. sometimes 2 hours later when i restart my car the cold air wont come on just warm air, this happens evrey day any comments?

I say you get your system recharged/checked for leaks. No good to recharge if it will all leak out. If it's low on juice, it will have to run extra hard to cool and may cause the mileage issue. Cheaper, imo, to recharge than to buy new compressor. ;)

(if you end up needing one, I have one for sale too)

i get aorund 350-400 miles per tank whtout ac whenim oging to school. now in the summer with using AC every so often, i get arond 250

remember, highway driving will get oyu lots of mile where city driving wont. heck i got an average of 35 mpg on my way to michigan with no ac, when normally in cities i get like 22-24mpg with no ac

Wow these numbers seem to be all over hte place...I almost always get at least 400 miles per tank, and I have my AC maxed out most of the time, driving here in florida means you need your ac...I do notice the power difference when its on and off, but only in first and second gear...To this very day i wonder if my car even has a low gas light, cus Iv never seen it come on, just after I go over the 450 mark, my needle doesent look like it can go much lower-so i always gas up then.

Do all models have the low gas light?

all models come with a low gas warning light, but mine only comes on when the needle is below E and even then i have gone like 5-10 miles with it on