ok. this is stupid but just curious. first off my family and my girlfriend make fun of me because i rarely ever drive with my air conditioner on. i can feel the loss of power, and do not like it! now, to settle my dispute, does the air conditioning put more of a strain on the engine while driving? thnx for input. and i know its a stupid question

 

It is parasitic loss, but not too much; newer cars have gotten much better. I can't tell at all on mine, but I was used to a Honda for the past eight years that if you turned on the AC, you felt like you lost a cylinder!

 

Definitely... at idle the RPMs are REALLY low...

But I'm with lemieux, I don't run the AC because of potential power loss. And to avoid any potential of overheating

 

I had an 01 Mustang GT. I lost 12 rwhp on the dyno with the a/c on.

 

i try not to run the a/c that much not for the power loss, but more cuz it stinks when you turn it off.

 

with people feeling 2hp gains from intakes, you better beleive youd feel ~10hp loss across the board.

 

i don't turn on A/C either man.
I want all drops of gas for power. not luxury A/C.

 

I blast my A/C then when it comes race time, off it goes.