Do six cylinder cars cool your car better than four cylinder cars?

[raccoon]

[Enter stage left]

1. Are you referring to air conditioning? NT

[raccoon]

9. Yes. Sorry I didn't make that clear.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

2. Maybe fifty years ago.

[bucolic_frolic]

3. What does that even mean?

Coolant? Air conditioning? Operating temp?

[Silent Type]

4. Nowadays, I think both are the same. Decades ago, 4-cylinders could

barely pull the crank and the compressors were not very efficient. My front drive VWs (1970s and 80s) really bogged down when AC turned on. My 5 year old VW golf, you can’t even tell it’s on.

[Zeitghost]

5. Not really no

But all else being equal a 6 cylinder is more powerful than a 4 cylinder and a more powerful engine can run the AC compressor without as much of a noticeable loss of power.

[MichMan]

6. A good number of 4 cylinder engines are turbocharged and make more HP than 6 cylinders

My 2.0 liter VW 4 cylinder makes over 250 hp

[Zeitghost]

8. No doubt

I have a tuned 1.5L Turbo 4 in my Civic pushing ~240 that is a hoot to drive.

Hence my use of the phrase "all else being equal". Generally if a car has options for 4 or 6 cylinder engines, the 6 will be bigger and more powerful.

[ProfessorGAC]

11. That's 70HP Higher Than My V-6

Your car with that turbo is way more powerful than mine, despite 2 fewer cylinders.
Yet, it's more powerful than many of the V-8 engines in the 60s & 70s.
Fuel injection & superior machining might be the reason for higher efficiency today. Just guessing.

[NutmegYankee]

14. TSI engine?

[MichMan]

16. Yes, TSI

One is in the 2012 I bought new and is still running good at 211k miles, and the other is in my wife's 2019 VW

[NutmegYankee]

20. I have a 2019 1.8L TSI

Very fun and responsive. I also have a 2005 2.5 in an old Jetta.

[Silent Type]

18. Not sure of hp, but my 1.8T gets it going. Love the 2.0 and 1.8s.

Had a used 5-cylinder Audi back in 80s.

[captain queeg]

7. Not sure of the question, I guess you are referring to the AC?

The answer is no. AC compressor uses some engine power but the power usage is determined by the installed compressor not the engine, be it 4 or 6 cylinders.

[Meadowoak]

10. I drive a 4 cylinder Honda civic, the a/c doesn't take any power away from the engine

You can't tell the difference if it's on or off.

[Meadowoak]

13. It really gets nice and cool and doesn't take away from the performance.

[NutmegYankee]

12. No reason they would. Turning the AC compressor only takes a tiny amount of power.

The system size and idle can be easily adjusted in any car to provide the same cooling capacity.

Keep in mind that cars designed for a V6 usually are larger and heavier. You could stuff a V6 into a L4 car, but the increase in weight would probably offset any negligible boost in acceleration performance versus running the AC. Not only do you have another engine head, and the space constraints to ensure the plugs can be accessed, but you have to arrange around the second exhaust manifold. Both factors usually end up requiring an increase in engine compartment volume, which then also adds mass to the car.

[Takket]

15. AC occures from a condenser/compressor cycle, just like your refrigerator or home AC unit

The compressor is the "power hog" of the cycle. It uses a lot of power to compress refrigerant as part of the cycle. That requires a certain amount of horsepower to accomplish, and the designers of your car have figured into their performance specs how much horsepower is required to give you the engine performance you need while the AC is also scavenging power away at the same time.

In short: No. if it takes 5 horsepower to run your compressor than it takes 5 horsepower regardless of how much power your engine is producing. The only thing you'll notice is you might have to press down a bit farther on gas to get the power you need when going up a hill if your AC is on full blast, but cooling performance wouldn't change.

[taxi]

17. On some cars the relay to the a/c compressor is controlled by a module

When the car's computer receives signals that are outside predetermined levels the a/c may not come on at all, even though nothing is wrong the a/c. An example is when the temperature of the coolant in the radiator is higher than expected; the reason for the higher temperature can be for any number of reasons, including a low coolant level, a fan not operating properly, or a bad temperature sensor. Switching off the a/c reduces the amount of power the engine needs to put out. A bad sensor may send a fault code but not necessarily trigger a malfunction indicator light - for example, if reducing the load cycle on the a/c brings the temperature down the a/c will operate less efficiently and the MIL will remain off.

[roamer65]

19. I know all of the ozone depletion, etc, etc...

But R12 (Freon) A/C coolant was god damn good. It would cool a car FAST. It was damned efficient.

[Xolodno]

21. My Mazda 2 doesn't cool very fast.

But it eventually gets there. Its four cylinders and great on gas milage, but if I need power, I turn off the AC, its noticeable. Plus, I get some choice parking spots. I bought it because I knew I was going to drop out of the company vanpool, we had someone who was hourly and every year would take an earlier shift. I once found myself falling asleep at the wheel when it was my turn to drive...and I was blaring Metallica and everyone in the van was asleep.

Plus, being salaried, I just started my work day earlier and continued until we left (some had to stay for their jobs, but that one person got off earlier and just chilled...or got overtime on the occasion). So I was working more hours.

Well, it happened, they took an earlier shift and I would have to get up 3:45 am to make it to the van, not too mention I would be in the office a full three hours before any of my co-workers or boss arrived. I refused to get up at that time and kept it at 4:15 am and sure enough, the van took off just as I arrived...the person driving that day? The person who took the earlier shift. Did an email blast to the group and told them I was off the van and it took off just as I was parking and no one bothered to look. Got an apology from the driver and the coordinator asked if wanted to "cool off" before I made that decision. Nope. I was done.

Next day, got up way up later (and ironically, there was less traffic) so I arrived at work that still allowed me to leave at the same time the van did. Plus at that point, I was already working twice a week from home. Did that for a couple of years and then COVID hit. Eventually left the company for a better opportunity and its 100% remote, in fact, I asked if I could come in the office from time to time (as I could use public transportation to practically deliver me right to the front door), was told absolutely not and they will let me know if they need to call me in for a meeting.

Thought about getting rid of the car and getting something nicer and more luxurious (I've been looking at used Jaguars), but then common sense hits me, the car is paid for, its not giving me any problems and maintenance is low. So, sure, I like to get better AC, back up camera, etc. But I only use the for local errands and occasionally out of town errands. Road trip, I just rent a car as I get a decent discount.

[Ron Green]

22. Any cylinder car puts most of its energy into heat,

and that’s not a good thing nowadays.

[Kennah]

23. My 2017 4 cylinder Honda Accord has the horsepower of an early 80s Mustang GT 5.0L V8

It cools just fine. And it's a stick.