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Aircon... am I being pikey?!


THR32
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Evening all,

Just wondering what everyone here does with their aircon... I tend to leave it switched off for fuel economy (both for reasons of cost and the environment), yet even the VW manual and some other motoring journalists say to leave it on all the time.

Is the effect on fuel consumption now so minimal that it makes no odds, or is there still good reason to switch it off when you don't absolutely need it?

Thanks all!

TH

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I'm in Kate's boat - mine makes a truly irritating noise - although apparently there's nothing wrong with it.

I use it when I need it, as simple as that - be it on a hot day, a sunny day on the motorway, or a wet winters day when the car's all steamed up.

If I want to have the window open - or it's not sunny or hot - then it's often on Econ.

It doesn't really make a big difference to MPG - but in my world there's a huge physcological difference between 24 mpg and 28 mpg jump.gif

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I think you're just being pikey grin.gifwink.gif

I switch mine off when I don't need it but mainly because it means I stop getting air blown in my face. I can't say that I've noticed it making a big difference to performance and my driving is so varied that it is hard to judge any difference that it might make to economy. Moving from 17mpg average to 44mpg average means that I spend my entire time in a state of disbelief anyway.

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You ought to use it at least once each month - the refrigerant (?) contains lubricants that will help keep the seals supple.

Without it, the seals will dry out & you will have a system that will never stop leaking.

It won't work if the outside temerature is less than 5oC to prevent the possibility of the compressor drawing liquid instead of gas.

Mine stays on auto all year round BTW.

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Contry to urban legend it does use more fuel to use aircon that it does to open the window, at lower to moderate speeds that its.

It was actually on a TV program called Mythbusters on Discovery a few weeks ago where they did a back to back test, and the difference was quite large.

For me I put it on if I need it, its wet or cold otherwise it only takes all the moisture out of the air and doing nothing for the environment your sitting in the car let along to the actually environment itself.

Don't car if I'm being a pikey or not. I don't leave a light on in the house if I'm not in the room so why would I leave the aircon on when it isn't needed. smashfreakB.gif

All you need to do is put it on once every few weeks to keep the bearings in the compressor from seizing though this is rarely a problem in modern installations. 169144-ok.gif

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In the A4, it's on all the time (in fact it hasn't moved from Lo since the PDI in March). In our 1.4 Citroen C2 station car, it only goes on when needed. Definite drain on the power when turned on and that's the only reason it's off. I'd never notice the 1mpg difference on either car (they're both drink like petrol like it's going out of fashion). EEK2.GIF

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[ QUOTE ]

I'm in Kate's boat - mine makes a truly irritating noise - although apparently there's nothing wrong with it.

I use it when I need it, as simple as that - be it on a hot day, a sunny day on the motorway, or a wet winters day when the car's all steamed up.

If I want to have the window open - or it's not sunny or hot - then it's often on Econ.

It doesn't really make a big difference to MPG - but in my world there's a huge physcological difference between 24 mpg and 28 mpg jump.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Funny you say that, my wifes VW Sharan does the exact same thing! Plus the stealers say theres nothing wrong with it?

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I leave mine on all the time. I did the same in my previous car. I haven't been able to calculate a difference, that I could attribute to the air con, in my mpg between having it on or off. So I leave it on. As already has been mentioned, it makes the car more comfortable.

My father is the exact opposite - on a recent stay in South Wales the weather was glorious and air con was a must. He refused to turn it on and I could see him, my mum, my young niece and nephew, in his car with the windows open but still looking uncomfortable. I tell him he needs to run it once in a while, but I don't think he does. slap.gif

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