A/C Usage and Impact on FE

[shatto]

Originally Posted by XenuVX

As an experiment I decided to see what the difference was in mpg if I used the AC liberally but only on the freeway for one trip, and did not use the AC at all for another trip.

With AC: 335.5 miles at 43.63mpg
Without AC: 304.3 miles at 47.62mpg

Despite there being a 30 mile difference between the two fill ups the routes I drove to achieve these results were very similar.

That is almost a 4mpg or 9% difference and it would be an even larger discrepancy if I had used the AC for city driving.

Since other people in this thread have reported a 5-6mpg drop it seems that:

Using the AC in a Civic VX causes a 9-14% drop in fuel efficiency.

An intangable to seriously think about;
Noise, such as wind and vehicle road noise coming in open windows, damages ears and usually results in the perminant noise called Tinnitis.
Factor that into the cost of a little more fuel and the increased comfort of the A/C.

Quiz:
How many of you from Phoenix drive with the windows open?