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Old 08-30-2010, 11:20 PM   #19 (permalink)
VegasDude
See ya at the next light!
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Posts: 67

Slowest. Altima. Ever. - '05 Nissan Altima SE
90 day: 45.91 mpg (US)
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It really depends on the car. In a big SUV, it's already burining a lot of gas just to move down the road, so as a percentage of the fuel burned, the A/C isn't adding much. I believe a smaller and more aerodynamic car will suffer more. It also depends on the temperature outside and how cool you want it inside. The A/C compressor usually isn't running 100% of the time, but enough to keep the evaporator cold. The less cold air you need, the less it runs. Although, in some vehicles, the compressor might run 100% of the time.

I drove a Civic for a few years and I remember using the A/C generally dropped my mileage by 5-6 MPG, that was well before I cared about improving my mileage.
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