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Can I turn my AC on while on the track?

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Tucson 302

2013 Black LS #439
I would assume it would cause the motor to work quite a bit harder and you really wouldn't benefit from it since you have to leave the windows down in my opinion
 
The windows are open but oh boy when that cold air hits your face or arms!!
Will try it out this session and see.
I am at Grattan with Porsche club. I am going to watch my oil temp gauge...
 
Oh good point!
I turned it on for half a session it felt coolish, but it is not worth the slight temp increase and getting the track wet.
 
I attended a Ron Fellows driving school earlier this year and they wanted the window up and A/C on they could talk to us on the radio. Our cars disengage the A/C at full throttle so your car may not overheat. Give it a try and see what happens.
 
Rick is right! I tried it, in the begining it was cool then it felt as if there was no cold air anymore.
So likely it gets turned off when full throttle / high RPM
 

BLAZN BOSS

Loss of AC at full throttle has been happening on Ford vehicles since they had ECU's.
 

576

During WOT acceleration a/c will be turned off. The reasoning is if you are demanding the most out of your vehicle during acceleration, a/c comfort is not important. Think of an emergency acceleration scenario. This applies to all modern vehicles. Not as noticeable in a Boss, but disengaging the a/c during WOT in an econobox makes quite a difference. Will the a/c performance be less during a track session? Of course. A/c systems are slaves to the environment. Hotter ambient, coolant temp, 8000 rpm shifts and just about anything outside of a "Normal" driving parameter will alter the ability of the system to cool. Overall, I think the a/c system in a modern mustang is quite good.
 

Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
BLAZN BOSS said:
Loss of AC at full throttle has been happening on Ford vehicles since they had ECU's.

This. If you are driving slow enough to let your A/C engage at all...you're doing something wrong!!

But as mentioned above, A/C is frowned upon for dropping condensation (water) onto the track from the evap core.
 

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