Cars with combustion engines and electric cars perform less when the temperature rises and also get less far. In short, all cars cannot withstand the heat, but the causes are different.
The temperature can rise to tropical values next week, but cars don’t like that. In internal combustion engines, the drop in performance is due to the fact that warm air has a smaller density than cold air. As a result, warm air contains less oxygen and because an internal combustion engine needs oxygen to ignite the fuel, less oxygen means a less powerful combustion and therefore less power.
Intercooler
The importance of cold oxygen is evident from the power increase that a so-called intercooler makes possible. Turbo engines blow extra air into the engine via a rapidly rotating paddle wheel, but because that air heats up, the effect is not optimal. That’s why many turbocharged engines have an intercooler, which cools the air and leads to much better performance.
Cold mornings
Yet the turbo engine with intercooler – just like that of ordinary cars – is not immune to extreme heat. Sometimes the power drop is even noticeable. Especially when driving away when the car has been in the sun for a long time. The reduced amount of usable oxygen also has an effect on consumption. The downside is that on a cold morning you partly recoup that ‘loss’ because engines then perform better than average – and the Netherlands has more of them.
Air conditioning also causes reduced performance
Not only the engine, but also the air conditioning provides extra consumption and reduced performance during the summer. In cars with light engines, the drop in power can even be felt as soon as you switch on the air conditioning. This is because the air conditioning pump is often directly connected to the engine and the engine therefore has to work harder.
Up to 17 percent less range in the heat
With electric cars, it is mainly the range that suffers on tropical days. The American Automobile Association (AAA), which reports that charging times are increasing and that the range can be reduced by up to 17 percent at outside temperatures of 35 degrees. In contrast to combustion engines, you do not recover that loss on cold days, because the batteries also perform less well when it is cold.
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2023-09-03 16:15:27
#heat #consumption #performance #car
