airconditioning performance NB

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 5:04 pm

My impression is that the performance of the a/c on my NB is not as it should be. The air is cool and just comfortable an a 32 to 35 deg day with the top up. Fan set on 2 on recycle and max cool- I could not see a setting of 1 on fan at this outside temp without feeling it was inadequate. Also is there any reason why not to use the a/c on a hot day say on feet- I understand that face setting is not going to do much. I do not know when the a/c was last serviced though the operation is not noisy.

JBT · Postby **JBT** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 5:15 pm

Mr Morlock wrote:Also is there any reason why not to use the a/c on a hot day say on feet...

Works for me :wink:

but performance and economy will suffer.

wun911 · Postby **wun911** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 8:53 pm

Yeah Im the same

On a days >35 deg the air con just doesnt cool enough to be comfortable.

On days that are around 30-35 would rather have the top down than spend petrol and performance on air con.

I hear you can get kits to re gas them.

Garry · Postby **Garry** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 9:26 am

I spent a heap of time and effort on improving the efficiency of my A/C. It now works extremely well in temperatures up to 40deg. It still struggles in heavy stop start traffic at temperatures over 35deg. But I think the intercooler may be restricting the airflow in my car.

Firstly get the system evacuated and regassed, not just topped up. (This will probably solve your problem but if it doesn't)
Secondly insulate the A/C pipes in the engine bay
Thirdly add some sealing material to the edges of the cooling fan shrouds so that they suck air through the radiator and not just around the edges of the shroud.
Fourthly make sure you still have the foam seal that seals the bottom of the radiator to the plastic splash tray. This prevents the hot air from the engine bay being sucked back through the condensor/radiator when not moving.
And finally if you are really keen make up some ducting to stop the incoming air going around the sides of the condensor/radiator and seal the radiator to the condensor. You will need to remove the bumper to do this properly though.

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 3:46 pm

thanks for the comments Garry in particular with the specifics of \"how to\". I got the evacuate and re gas done and there is a definite improvement and the setting of 2 is back to 1 on todays humid conditions. I checked the foam seal ok under radiator and will add some polyurethane foam seal on each side of the shroud. Another happy customer. Much as I like the top down anything much over 30 it gets uncomfortable and a/c's are terrific.