air conditioning affect performance?
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air conditioning affect performance?
my friend was racing a vw 1.8t in his bmw 325i and lost. he said it was because his air conditioning was on. does it really affect performance that much?
Last edited by cinema; Jun 28, 2004 at 04:55 PM.
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From: York, PA
2003 C230K Sport Coupe, 1986 190E 2.3
In short yes very much so. The drag the AC compressor creates is noticed very much so on a 4 banger. But even on the semi-underpowered I-6 in the BMW it will be noticed. When the AC clutch engages and is running that is when the engine will be bogged down. Robbing needed Hp when in use and in a hurry. You can't have the best of both worlds. That and the fact that a VW in turbo form has almost as much power as the 325 engine does and less weight. I would suspect it would get beat even with the AC off.
