Quote:
Originally Posted by MeteorGray
I don't think I would choose a refrigerant that could turn the air conditioning system into a blow torch. Besides, my car is mostly used at highway speeds, and I can't really tell that the air conditioner is reducing my fuel mileage on any given trip. I know it does because it takes energy to turn the compressor, but the other prevailing factors are much more noticeable: speed, wind, traffic congestion, etc. I live in the deep south of the USA, so my air conditioner is used a lot.
One thing I have done to help the air conditioner and cooling the engine bay in general is to install hood vents. They let a lot of the trapped air out.
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In my car, the loss can be 15-20mpg on the high end. Mine you these are cases where that's only 15-20% total fuel economy, and really blasting the A/C, but it's non-trivial.