Doubt: Overtaking with A/C Switched Off


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Guys, i have a small doubt. I read somewhere that when you overtake in Maruti alto and you switch off the ac, you will gain more power. But one guy told doing that will result in ecu giving you more power only at that time. He says he overtakes with the ac on and he gains more power while overtaking since his style is always to overtake when ac is on and the ecu read his driving style and adjusts accordingly and gives him more power. Is this true or can i continue switching off my ac while overtaking or follow this guy's advice? [confused]
 
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Re: Doubt over Overtaking with AC off in Maruti Alto.

The A/c button the Alto works something similar like the Nitros button, when you switch off it gives you more power and vice versa,

I think ECU only helps in giving the right amount of torque. No way you will get more power when the A/c is on, and alto works weirdly when aircon is swticed on, you don't get right pick-up, it struggles like anything,

As an fellow alto owner, its advised to drive normally like you drive without aircon, if you need more power just switch off the a/c button, then you'll get the desired power and it is strongly recommended to switch off a/c when overtaking in the single lane roads(where there are no dividers i mean).
 
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Re: Doubt over Overtaking with AC off in Maruti Alto.

@speed freak

I agree with viswash. Earlier i used to drive the classic Zen. In zen also if you switch off AC immediately you will get a boost. I used to switch off AC while overtaking and during acceleration.
IMO you better switch off AC while overtaking and whenever you need fast acceleration.

DJ
 
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Re: Doubt over Overtaking with AC off in Maruti Alto.

Yes it is true, if you need to overtake then you need to switch off the a/c to get more acceleration. I am not that technical guy but what I understand is a/c compressor belt is directly connected to car engine. Once you switch on the a/c, the a/c compressor will start functioning thus putting more pressure on the engine.

That is why you might notice that if you car is in ideal and you switch on the a/c engine sound will increase. If you have tacho meter, you will notice that ,there will be slight increase in the RPM.

Since alto is 800 CC engine, it pickup will be dropped if a/c is on. It is always good to switch off while overtaking in lower CC engine. In 1200CC onwords engine also there will be drop of power but that will be manageable.It goes unnoticed.
 
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Guys, i have a small doubt. I read somewhere that when you overtake in Maruti alto and you switch off the ac, you will gain more power. But one guy told doing that will result in ecu giving you more power only at that time. He says he overtakes with the ac on and he gains more power while overtaking since his style is always to overtake when ac is on and the ecu read his driving style and adjusts accordingly and gives him more power. Is this true or can i continue switching off my ac while overtaking or follow this guy's advice? [confused]
Please tell this to your friend from my side - "HAHAHAHAHHAAAAAAAAA!"

Let's not make this too technical since your friend seems to have really confused you.

Consider yourself as the Alto and consider the AC as a 25 kg bag hanging on your back. Now, if you are nicely walking along the road and want to overtake, say, a bullock cart quickly, would it not help if you throw away the bag and then run and overtake the bullock cart? Dont you think you will be able to run faster and consequently overtake the bullock cart quicker without the 25 kg bag on your bag?

Simply speaking, the AC compressor draws power from the engine. When you switch the AC off, the entire power of the engine is used to propel the car. Therefore, when you switch off the AC, the load on the engine gets reduced (which aids acceleration, fuel efficiency and overtaking).

Got it?

And oh, also ask your friend that if ECU is so adept at adapting itself, then is there a possibility that it will one day evolve into a human being (like monkeys did thousands of years ago)?
 
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Re: Doubt over Overtaking with AC off in Maruti Alto.

Yes you need to switch off the A/C while overtaking. It gives you more power. As the A/C is connected to the engine so when you switch on the A/C, the load on the engine increases resulting in drop in pickup.
We drove alto for about 7 years and every time on highway we had to switch off the A/C while overtaking and again switch it on after the overtaking is complete.
 
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Thanks a lot guys. My doubt is now cleared !.

Please tell this to your friend from my side - "HAHAHAHAHHAAAAAAAAA!"

Let's not make this too technical since your friend seems to have really confused you.

Consider yourself as the Alto and consider the AC as a 25 kg bag hanging on your back. Now, if you are nicely walking along the road and want to overtake, say, a bullock cart quickly, would it not help if you throw away the bag and then run and overtake the bullock cart? Dont you think you will be able to run faster and consequently overtake the bullock cart quicker without the 25 kg bag on your bag?

Simply speaking, the AC compressor draws power from the engine. When you switch the AC off, the entire power of the engine is used to propel the car. Therefore, when you switch off the AC, the load on the engine gets reduced (which aids acceleration, fuel efficiency and overtaking).

Got it?

And oh, also ask your friend that if ECU is so adept at adapting itself, then is there a possibility that it will one day evolve into a human being (like monkeys did thousands of years ago)?
Hahaha ! Nice one. [:D]
 
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I have an Alto LXI 10 years old. It has no rust issue or any other issue.
Every time I take it to service centre they say this will last for more 10 years.
When I switch on the AC then I can only compete with Auto Rickshaw. When the AC is OFF i can compete with Innova and Ertiga. When AC is OFF its like a Ferrari, due to low weight and good aerodynamics. But when AC is ON, the small engine has to power the huge AC. so it slows down, very badly. so its ok. Its a cheap car which can overtake most modern cars (when AC is OFF). What do you expect from it ? to take you to Mars ?
 
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You guys understand that it is 1 yr old thread. Are you? Guys, please at least read the date before reply. [sleep]
Not 1 .Its 2 year old. Anyway that replies are apt.People thinking switching off AC gives more power,rather than knowing that AC took some power from the engine,must be dealt like that only. [:D]. All sub litre engines are like that.
 
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i have a wagonR 2008 model sometimes what i see is while driving and turning on AC the car boost watch my word, its sometimes i really want to understand this.

on driving AC off car runs fantastic pickup is also good ( its on cng forgot to tell ), but with AC pick up is drop but what i see in my car is on first gear pick up is as same as petrol first gear as AC is on or off what ever but as i go onto 2nd with AC on, then i get to realize the pickup in AC mode, slow one.

but sometime i saw while AC in on my car gains some boost i am not sure what exactly the point. my car is cng manual.

can somebody point out the K&N filter usage as i am planing for it, as my car is on CNG is it suggested of not and want to pros and cons of it.
 

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