by Gabrielle DeSantis

When driving your car in the summer, you probably don’t think too much about anything other than a cooler cabin when you hit the “AC” button on your dashboard. After all, as long as cold air comes out of the vents, it doesn’t really matter what your car’s air conditioning system is doing, right?

Well, turning on your car’s AC can actually affect fuel economy slightly. But it can also affect your car’s horsepower output. But how much power does AC really pull from the engine?

Your car’s AC system is powered by the engine

Without getting too technical, your car’s air conditioning system has multiple parts and is connected to the engine via a drive belt that runs the alternator and water pump as well. When the AC system kicks on, you might notice that the engine RPM increases a little. According to Your Mechanic, the car does this in order to offset the power drawn by the AC system, so there’s no doubt that the system robs your engine of horsepower when it’s activated.

How much horsepower does a car lose with the AC on?

That’s pretty much the age-old question since the amount of power an engine loses can vary depending on what type of car you drive. Smaller engines might not lose as much power, while larger engines can lose more since the power loss is a percentage of the overall horsepower output.

According to actual testing done by a YouTuber named “Sikky,” the average amount of power and torque that’s lost to the drive wheels is around 10 each, across the board. The YouTuber strapped a Lexus IS-F to a Dynapack dynamometer, which measures the horsepower at the car’s hubs.

According to his testing, the Lexus IS-F produced 363 hp with the AC on and it jumped up to 372 when the AC was turned off. And while that power loss could be relevant to that specific car — especially since it has a large V8 engine – we can assume that you’ll find the same type of power loss on most cars that you’ll drive.

Minimizing your car’s power loss due to the AC system

If you want to ensure that you’re maximizing your car’s full power potential, but still want the luxury of having AC, then you can use some of these simple practices:

• Only use your car’s air conditioning system when needed. There’s an “on/off” button, after all.
• If your car is equipped with automatic climate control, then you can set the interior temperature to the same as the outside temperature. Doing so will ensure that the AC system doesn’t activate as frequently.
• Make sure that the air conditioning system is switched off when you start the car. It won’t make a huge difference, but it can still save your engine some power.

The next time you turn your car’s air conditioning system on, you’ll likely notice the loss of power. Although it’s not enough of a loss to prevent you from driving up a hill, it’s still noticeable. Fortunately, there are ways to circumvent the power loss, even if it is only 10 horsepower.

RELATED: What to Do If Your Car AC Stops Working

The post How Much Does Air Conditioning Rob a Car’s Horsepower? appeared first on MotorBiscuit.

by Gabrielle DeSantis

If you’re planning on going camping, but don’t want to have to sleep in a tent on the ground, then you have a few options. You can sleep in your car or you can rent an RV. But what if you want more room than your car’s backseat can afford and you don’t want to rent an RV? In that case, you can invest in a rooftop tent, but is doing so actually worth the money?

What is a rooftop tent?

A rooftop tent is, quite simply, a tent that you can attach to the roof of your car or SUV. The main point of it is that you’ll have the convenience of sleeping right where you parked along with the added convenience of being elevated off the ground. That way, you won’t be bothered by any creepy crawlies that might cross your path during the night along with any other unwanted intruders.

Additionally, depending on the type of rooftop tent that you have, you’ll have more room than you would in a cramped back seat.  

The cons of having a rooftop tent

While we can understand the conveniences of having a rooftop tent, we have to explore the disadvantages as well. According to The Manual, there are two drawbacks to using a rooftop tent: Cost and weight.

If you take a gander at the different types of rooftop tents online, you’ll notice that many of them are price in the thousands. For example, this hard-shell rooftop tent from Roofnest retails for $3,500 and weighs 100 pounds. That’s a lot of money and weight to carry around on your car, but it can be worth it if you use it more than a couple times a year.

Another disadvantage is having to figure out which rooftop tent is right for you. There are plenty of options currently on the market, but aside from the style of the tent, you’ll need to figure out which one works best for your car. If your car doesn’t have a roof rack, then you’ll likely need to get an aftermarket one installed, which will cost you more money as well.

There are two types of rooftop tents

You can fit a rooftop tent on almost any car and any SUV. In fact, there’s even a couple that travels around and sleeps on top of their Toyota Yaris, so almost any car is possible. The couple’s blog, Made for Travelers, notes that there are two different types of rooftop tents available: hard-shell and soft-shell.

The hard-shell rooftop tents open via a pop-up system that utilizes gas springs. The beauty of this type of rooftop tent is that it can be set up in seconds and it can be used as an extra storage bin when you’re on the road. The downside is that hard-shell rooftop tents can typically only accommodate up to two people.

Soft-shell tents, on the other hand, open up sideways, like a canopy. Setting up a soft-shell tent will take more effort than popping up a hard-shell one, but it still should only take minutes to do. Many soft-shell tents, like the Yakima Sky Rise HD 3 tent, can fit more than two people and cost around $2,500 or less. However, they can’t be used for extra storage like the hard-shell ones when you’re driving.

Are rooftop tents worth it?

Ultimately, a rooftop tent is worth the money if you know you can get some good use out of it. There are plenty of regular tents that can be purchased for a much lower price, but the added safety and convenience of a rooftop tent can be worth the extra cost.

Also, you’ll be saving a lot of money over renting an RV, which will allow you to go camping more than once or twice a year. Plus, a rooftop tent can give you some of the most amazing views from the top of your car in almost any setting you park it in.

RELATED: Redtail Overland’s Rooftop Tent Can Stand up to Bears

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