YACT: Negative impact of air Conditioning? Any?

[djheater]

I have a '92 Toyota Corolla with 100,000 miles on it, It used to have a problem overheating but that went away after I replaced the radiator.

When I was a kid my parents never wanted to use the air conditioner in our cars. I can't really figure out why, whether it was just personal dislike or if they had valid reasons, well at any rate that coupled with the tendency of overheating has caused me to be paranoid about running the air conditioner.

My questions are;
Does running the air conditioner put undue stress on the car in a manner that will shorten its life?
Why does the car lose pickup when the air conditioner is on?
What's the optimum setting for air intake? (one indicates external air, the other indicates recycling air in the car)

Stupid ?'s I know but help a brother out yo.

 

[Yossarian]

the ac system is run by the motor, that's hp that could be better put to the tires.

 

[Keego]

Does running the air conditioner put undue stress on the car in a manner that will shorten its life?

It'll shorten it's gas mileage




Why does the car lose pickup when the air conditioner is on?

The air conditioner is belt driven, it takes about 10hp off of your car to run it.




What's the optimum setting for air intake? (one indicates external air, the other indicates recycling air in the car)

If it's really hot outside, I make it recycle so the cold air gets colder. If your windows are fogging, you need fresh air.

 

[djheater]

Thanks, I will enjoy the AC frosty goodness for the rest of the summer.

 

[glugglug]

There is no way to continuously "generate cold". The AC works by pumping heat out of the passenger area into the area under the hood, so it increases the chance that your engine will overheat. This is why when your car isn't liking the hot weather you are actually supposed to have the heat on with the windows open to cool the engine.

Also, keeping the AC running takes from 10 up to about 30HP, which on smaller cars can be pretty hefty, especially since enviro-nazis had all the cars changed to use a 2.5x less efficient freon. (but supposedly more environmentally friendly) Don't know how environmentally friendly it can really possibly be with all the extra gas mileage you lose with the air on from it.