Or if you're a baller, you can roll your windows down to enjoy the fresh air while blasting your A/C at the same time to keep cool.

If you're a super-baller you can drive a Convertible Z with the top & windows down and the A/C blasting :icon17:

Hard to believe you bought a Z and are worrying this much over fuel consumption with the AC on.

:iagree:


This is the same issue as if you put your tailgate down on your truck to save gas...

I try my hardest not to use the A/C unless I really have to or have a passenger in the car. One trick you can use is if you really need the A/C, try lowering one of the windows slightly. This creates a negative pressure area that actually draws air out of the car which in turn pulls more air through the air con system.

It adds the same amount of extra air as using one additional fan speed, not bad! The higher the fan speed, the more current the system is drawing which means more load on the engine.

I'm pretty sure all cars now do this above a predetermined level of throttle.

i recommend you use it in the winter in defrost mode too cause the quickest way to kill a/c is not to cycle it regulary while the car is on.. imho. :)

i just keep my hvac in auto mode all the time. even in the summer i drive with the window open on the driver side and hvac blowing. im rather spoiled and enjoy my cars that way. :p

This is what I do :tup:

I really like driving with my windows down atleast half way...only AC if I feel like I'm overheating or sweating up my fine linens

It also bugs me that I am heating up air that I just cooled.

yea I know, some you guys are going to dog me for buying a $30k car and worrying about these little things, but its not like I;m not making it rain out my back window with dollar bills from my $30k car.

OK, I guess I'll have to dog you about it.

Personally I bought my Z because it's enjoyable to drive. If I was concerned about mileage I'd have bought a Prius. I certainly wouldn’t have bought a car that required premium fuel. When I’m driving the Z I think to myself “man I wish the Z had…” WAIT, NO! I like it just the way it is! The Z is about enjoying the driving experience. So I’ll set the inside temp to what’s pleasurable and if I get 0.5 mpg less I don’t give a rats *** because I’m having a great time enjoying the car and the road.

Geeze, just dump in another $70 of 93 octane and enjoy it some more. :driving:

No one still answered my question... which is betta? anyone know? lol

Sorry JNZx I know this doesn't answer your question but I just want to say I'm doing the same. I Love the feeling of fresh air and only use A/C sparingly when it gets way too hot. Otherwise I would turn the A/C on to cool down the cabin so my long trips would result in turning it on/off multiple times.

:iagree:

THat's what ATC is for. It does it for you so you don't have to do it

Oh I have no problem driving the car, and said nothing about extra $$ to air condition. I, just like the OP leave the AC on the lowest (coldest) setting, but unlike the OP I dont turn it off. (turning it off sets the recirc back to 'fresh' which is not good on humid days) In fact, even in your example, Prius' heat the cooled air the same way.

You are using the compressor to cool the air then to warm it back up before it comes into the cabin. Even in multi-million dollar homes the HVAC units dont heat up the cooled air.