Air Conditioned Gas Mileage Question?

Question

Ok, so I have an 08 Silverado with the 5.3L V8 and active fuel management (turns off 4 cylinders when not needed). Will the truck us more gas at highway speeds if the air conditioning is set at 60F or 70F? Or does the temperature of the air not matter?

Answer 1

larry.....turn that sucker down so low u can keep your beverages cold ....ice up the winsheid..and...drive down the road with your winter coat on in 90 degree weather........it wont matter today's vehicles are programed to get the the most out of every gallon    as u know your air does eat up some extra fuel....but......it wont matter what temp its on, the savings will be so unnoticeable its not worth gettin out of that cool air in your new truck..stay cool

Answer 2

That big ol' mill you have under the hood has more horsepower than a typical reciprocating engine in a Cessna or Beech airplane...When you turn the a/c on and you can see the engine RPMs drop off because of the extra load, then you will use quite a bit more fuel - this is usually the case with 4-cylinder engines...Your engine should carry the extra load without breaking a sweat...My 6-cylinder Chevy Cheyenne (a 98 with almost 100K miles) has a great engine/transmission package and I get about the same mileage with or without a/c...That reminds me, mine is due for its FIRST tuneup.

All the best.

Answer 3

It would seem that running the a/c might keep the 4 cylinders from shutting down so it can power the a/c compressor.

Answer 4

It may make a negligible difference but I doubt it would be enough to be noticeable.

I'll send you a couple of pennies and you can keep the temp at 60 for the summer...and you might even owe me change.

Answer 5

You have a big truck.  Cooling all that area inside down to 60 (verse 70) can make some difference.  The question is how much.  That also depends on how hot day is and how fast you are driving.

It is safe to say that it will use more gas at 60 degree than 70 degree (maybe by only little bit).

Good Luck...