Air Con on leading to power loss?

[matchboy]

Poser for you chaps and chapesses - with the mk4 gti when you had the air con on there was a severe loss of power when accelerating; in the mk5 gti there was a slight loss of power also.  anyone tested it in their mk 6 gti yet?  i had a go this morning and i felt that under hard acceleration i felt a small loss in power.  this may be all in my mind though - any thoughts therefore?

[AlanD]

Its common on all cars to loose some power when running the AC. This is isnt just on VWs.

[matchboy]

yeah i know, i was just referring to gti's.  i was just wondering if anyone had noticeable loss on their mk6 gti's?

[scotland67]

I leave the air con on all the time. There is surely enough power on a mk6 GTI to cpe with a small power loss.
I can't imagine one would even notice it.

[FroGTI]

I've tested it, but couldn't feel any difference.

[Rigman]

I would guess that a typical car AC compressor would absorb about 2-3hp, so that's less than 1½% of the power available at the flywheel. So I very much doubt you would notice it.

Mk 6 GTI, 3 Door, Manual, Carbon Grey, 18" Monza Shadows, RCD510 with Dynaudio + DAB, Xenons, Winter pack, Storage pack, and Mudflaps

[matchboy]

cool, nice one chaps 

[Ess_Three]

I would guess that a typical car AC compressor would absorb about 2-3hp, so that's less than 1½% of the power available at the flywheel. So I very much doubt you would notice it.

I'd guess that's about right...possibly a 1 MPG difference too, at worst.
Incidentally, using cruise control has at least the same affect on MPG, but obviously not on performance.

Does the VW air-con cut off on full throttle like many other systems do?
If so, you'd not feel the difference anyway.

[matchboy]

nope i've not noticed it turn off at anytime, once its on its on.  as long as i'm not losing masses of power (which is what i would expect) that's all i care about, i know it will reduce my fuel consumption but if i was worried about that i wouldn't drive the way i do!   

[Ess_Three]

nope i've not noticed it turn off at anytime, once its on its on.  as long as i'm not losing masses of power (which is what i would expect) that's all i care about, i know it will reduce my fuel consumption but if i was worried about that i wouldn't drive the way i do!   

Same here...my air con is on Auto and will remain there, and I'll use the cruise whenever I fee like it.
VW make a car for those who want 50 MPG....and it's not a GTI!