Does Acceleration make a difference with more passengers on Board ?

Question

Does it make a difference to the speed / acceleration if more passengers are on board or if Air Condition of the car is switched on etc.

In Infiniti QX4 Automatic, 7 seater, will the acceleration be more if only 2 passengers are on board rather than 7 passengers ?

Thanks for your replies.

Answer 1

Acceleration is directly affected by the weight the motor is trying to propel. The more passengers and/or weight in the vehicle will make the the car accelerate slower. In regards to the A/C being turned on this also slightly affect the car. When the air conditioning is turned on a clutch on the compressor is engaged drawing a little power from the engine, usually a very small amount .5-2 horsepower depending on the system. So remember the more weight the slower the accleration. This is why race cars are as light as possible and with no A/C.

Answer 2

The more weight the less acceleration. Additional braking takes longer with more weight. Also the A/C costs power especially when running at highest level as will a 2000 Watt stereo.

Answer 3

less passengers means faster acceleration. the extra weight holds the car down and bearing in mind that cars nowadays are built to be as light as possible, yes weight does affect it.
and yes the aircon does affect the power even if its just you in the car with no passengers. in south africa we have some really really small engines and i remember specifically in a little ford fiesta 1.3 i had to switch the aircon OFF just to be able to get up a hill.... and its got nothing to do wtih the way i drive, i drag regularly and i know how to get power out of a car. it was actually pathetic....

Answer 4

of course that more weight. less people less weight more people more weight the harder it is to accelerate or the more power it takes.

Answer 5

Lighter is always faster