Why do some cars lose acceleration when the A.C is on?
Like in my 2007 Versa Sedan SL, I have to turn the AC off when merging on the highway otherwise it feels like driving a Ford Model T.
But my 2010 Odyssey, and 2017 Rogue can drive perfectly with the AC on. Heck on the Rogue I can drive on ECO and still merge fine on the highway.
Yes, the AC compressor takes a lot of power to turn. If you had a 500 hp car, you wouldn't even feel the compressor cycle on-and-off. I'm not familiar with the Versa, but assume it is horsepower-challenged.
Two cars I had long ago - a Chevette and a 4 cyl Mustang - were so underpowered that there was a device to automatically turn-off the compressor when idling, acceleration… Even when going-up a hill.
The air conditioner in your car takes power from the engine to drive a compressor that creates the cooling effect. SOME cars (But not all) have a built in sensor that automatically disables the air conditioner compressor when more power is needed from the engine for acceleration.
The A/C compressor is engine driven on most vehicles and when it is engaged, it does become a parasitic draw on the engine's power output. If the engine is on the smaller side, this becomes more noticeable.
Many vehicles will recognize if the driver is accelerating hard and will temporarily shut off the A/C compressor during this time.
Depends on the size motor you have.
I was told by one car dealer that A/C uses upto 20bhp, so it depends on how many you have to start with.
- Why would people buy older foreign cars instead of brand new American cars? I see it all the time, people driving 7-8 year old Mercedes or BMWs that they paid probably paid around $20,000. They could of easily gone out and bought a brand new Ford or Dodge, but they didn't. They bought a Mercedes with over 100k miles. All worn and torn on the inside. But aslong as they're shining on the outside I guess.
- Why is it a big deal if Trump's businesses lose more than 1 billion in a decade when entrepreneurs fail many times before they succeed? Many famous entrepreneurs went bankrupt or failed until they got their business right The important thing is that they ever gave up trying Bill Gates Steve Jobs The KFC man Mark Zuckerberg Henry Ford and many others failed before reaching success
- Why does my car pull to the right under acceleration? It goes straight when not accelerating, but if you hit the gas from a stop, it pulls to the right pretty hard, it has 92k miles, ford windstar, aligned at 77k miles… What could be the problem?
- Why don't American cars last as long as Japanese cars? My family has owned a Ford Taurus and a Nissan Altima of similar model years. Both cars are still running, but the Taurus has very low mileage (it's a 1999 with only 85,000 miles) and the interior is in horrible condition and the plastics Ford put in have been known for breaking. None of this has happened with the Altima, even though it has more miles. Why?