A/C and manual transmission?

[Ps3alltheway]

Is it normal that the clutch on my car feels totaly different when my Air conditioning is on?
I know it takes a little bit of power out of the car , but man I swear is like the friction point is totally different when im driving with A/C ON

[Wes08M3]

Yes it dramatically changes the feel of the clutch. At least it does in my car, i find it quite annoying. I just try to avoid using the a/c if I'm driving in the city.

[Ps3alltheway]

thats exactly what I will do !

[Hoodzy]

That is very odd..

[Harbour Rat]

I don't notice any difference in clutch feel or take-up with the AC on or off but I do need to give it a bit more throttle to take off without bogging. The AC compressor does take a bit of power operate so this seems reasonable to me. With a big V8 with lots of torque it wouldn't be an issue but a little 4 banger only has so much grunt.

[Wes08M3]

I don't recall noticing too much of a difference (I still noticed some) in my 2008 but in the 2011 it is quite significant. It's a bit odd...

[Hoodzy]

Correct me if I'm wrong. But your clutch is simply powered by hydraulics which has nothing to do with your A/C compressor. It may effect your throttle but shouldn't effect the feel of your clutch.

[Wes08M3]

Correct me if I'm wrong. But your clutch is simply powered by hydraulics which has nothing to do with your A/C compressor. It may effect your throttle but shouldn't effect the feel of your clutch.

Well, the best way I can think to justify the reason is that when the a/c compressor is actually running (ie. electromagnetic clutch on the compressor engaged, not just the a/c turned on inside the car) there is an additional load applied to the crank. Since these accessories are driven by the crankshaft and the flywheel is also driven by the crankshaft there is an indirect connection between the two.

Why the clutch disc actually feels as if it engages the flywheel differently when the a/c is on, I don't know yet. Could have something to do with the transfer of torque, since the a/c requires torque, the energy has to be taken from somewhere which could be the flywheel... Dunno.

[bluemazda3]

I don't notice any difference in clutch feel or take-up with the AC on or off but I do need to give it a bit more throttle to take off without bogging. The AC compressor does take a bit of power operate so this seems reasonable to me. With a big V8 with lots of torque it wouldn't be an issue but a little 4 banger only has so much grunt.

+1

[seek]

should be normal, the matching speed between clutch and flywheel will be different as the flywheel speed is slow down by the drag of ac on crank pulley

[Nova 3 GT]

I assume that this "power loss" is less noticeable in a MS3 because of the much more powerful engine?

[Wes08M3]

I assume that this "power loss" is less noticeable in a MS3 because of the much more powerful engine?

It's unlikely to be all that much different. The ms3 engine only has much more power and torque (which is far more important here) when it's boosting. Under general/casual driving, I wouldn't think it would be much different. Could be a bit less noticeable though.