1990 Geo Prizm GSi sluggish acceleration

Had a problem with rough idle but my mechanic fixed it. Overall, the car runs really well. The remaining issue is slow acceleration from a dead stop with the a/c on. The a/c was just recently repaired after years of not running right. I can’t remember if the car was always sluggish from a stop with the a/c on. Turn the a/c off and the car wants to burn rubber from a stop. Could it be that the rebuilt compressor is just to much for the engine to handle?

You’re not used to having the A/C operating again with that small engine. You have to realize that an A/C compressor can rob 5-10 HP from an engine when it’s operating. So that’s 5-10 HP that’s not being used to propel the vehicle down the road.

Tester

A/c will bog down an engine, any engine. It’s much more noticeable in older cars (especially 4 cyl). My 95 Prizm had the same issue. It’s just the price you pay when you run your a/c.

How bad does it get when you have just one passenger? scary.