Because you can go buy a 3hp Electric compressor means absolutely nothing. You have to be the most ignorant person I have seen posting on this forum with no tuning experience.

I'm actually pretty ignorant about certain things like this when it comes to cars myself.. I'm curious to know who's actually right here.

25+ hp just to run a little air conditioner sounds excessively high.. but at the same time in my hatchback Civic (and other 4-bangers I've owned) I often turned the A/C off when merging onto the highway since it ate a really noticeable chunk of my acceleration away. I don't think 3hp off of 127 would affect it that much.

No need to start flaming each other though.. just have a cool discussion about it lol We all drive Z's so we're extra cool people here! :tup:

Oh and from reading the owner's manual + the service manual.. there doesn't seem to be any sort of hidden button sequence to change the default A/C settings like you're asking. I wish there was too.. it actually bugs me pretty often as well :(

Yes the ac does not use much power. It will shut off when wot i can feel it getting warm after a fast run. I run my ac all the time and can feel no difference with it on or off in power. I turn it off just for grins when I am going to run a fast car.

I hate the thing going to fresh air automatically everytime I turn it off or on.

Your car will turn into a rainforest and get foggy mighty quickly.

My 4 ton home Ac unit pulls 14500 watts... roughly 19 horsepower. 3 horsepower won't run a 4 ton AC compressor but I don't see our little car ac compressors pulling much more than a standard window AC unit that pulls between 2-3 horsepower or 2500-2300 watts depending on BTU rating.

2-3hp would be unnoticeable. Rpms go up at idle and I hear a big difference in my exhaust note when driving as my engine is more labored. If you are in touch with your vehicle's behavior at all you will notice lack of power and it is definitely present. I know when I feel sluggish I look down and sure enough the a/c is on. I wouldn't notice if it were only 2-3 hp. Searching on the net I have seen figures 5-15. I think our cars are on the high side or I am just very sensitive to noticing power change.

I've used my A/C on track several times to keep the windshield defogged in misty conditions. There was no difference in car feel, acceleration or lap times. An auto A/C compressor isn't quite as efficient as a home unit but the comparison isn't that far off. Power is power as was stated, the difference is in a direct drive compressor you will feel the drag more than the power loss (flywheel effect) and in the low rpm range where the car isn't making much power. At most it pulls 5hp when active and it does seem to disengage under WOT. You'll notice 5hp in a 100hp car, but not so much in a 300hp car.

I'm pretty sure the car has different ECU maps for use when the A/C compressor is on. The power you feel come back during WOT is the car switching maps. The timing, idle speed, etc are very different when the A/C compressor is on. Thus, who knows what power you do or dont lose, but its true that the compressor itself doesnt take up 15 hp.

If the ac compressor is overfilled it can cause a drag on the system when it's on.

Guys it says right in the manual if you hold the recirculating button down it turns off the automatic recycling mode and it stays where you put it.

Doesn't work.

Just did it

to the OP, i may not be understanding what you are trying to accomplish, but i just turn my fan setting off, and my AC will never come on. as far as the car switching to fresh air with many of the settings, its not just the Z, or even nissan for that matter. i've bought several new vehicles in the past few years, and they all have this feature. seems to be the direction they all are headed in as far as a default setting.

the thing about the AC draw from the power, yea it slows you down. same with every car or truck. how much for measurement's sake? i dont know. dont really care. i dont even turn mine off if someone tries to show me up. most of them are douchers anyway, who cant drive good enough to pass me even with a faster car lol

Coming from a guy who claims he lost 25HP with the AC on? Really? How many cars have you tuned?

14500 watt from a 4 ton? Is that AC from 1900? Thats like a 3 seer system. A 4 ton 16 seer is roughly 3000 Watts pull. Also if your number is correct, you are going to need a 66 amps circuit to run it!! (14500/220)

Yes it shuts off under wot. I have had to pull the car off the track due to fog. AC wont work anytime I was on the straight. The car does feel very odd, almost a jolt when you get off wot though.

Just leave the fan on & compressor off; when you restart the car, the compressor will not turn on as long as the fan was left on.:ughdance: