Procooler results, sort of

greglepore · 06-24-2003, 05:49 AM

I've finally gotten around to having my Procooler installed-with the weather in the NE until this week, a/c has been totally unnecessary.

The car is an 85 Targa, well maintained by p/o. Has 128k, had a front condensor done by a dealership approx 2yrs/5k ago. When I got car, after replacing a fuse a/c was functional. On an 80 degree day it was doing approx 55 deg. I have all receipts, and couldn't find one for a recent charge, and car had not been driven at all for at least a year, so I believe this is not "baseline" as the system could almost certainly have used a shot of R12. Hence the "sort of" in the title, as I don't really have a baseline for this particular car.

I had a local a/c shop that does a ton of custom a/c work on street rods/muscle cars do the work. They, nor any other local shop, wanted to mess with any propane blend, and I tried in vain to convince them to use autofreeze. They promised satisfactory results with 134, and I caved.

Results? On an 80 degree day with 90% humidity plus (ok, I know the temp is on the lowish side, but the humidity gave the system a workout) I was getting dash vent temps between 42 and 39 degrees by digital thermometer. The higher temps were while sitting, lower temps reached after a several minutes of 50 mph driving. Best temps were achieved on fan position "2".

Am I satisfied? Yes, particularly in light of the fact that this is with 134 and it was installed at simply the weight as recommended by Ron Maxwell. My shop thinks that by tweeking the charge a bit we can get lower temps, we just ran out of time on the day of install. The cost was not inexpensive-around $450, total, including the 134 fittings and charge. I don't know that I'd spend that kind of money on the Procooler + install alone, but keep in mind that most of these cars could use a new drier anyway, so really the algebra should deduct the cost of that + install.

All said, though, I suspect that a second condensor would achieve similar or better results, and that a Procooler + second condensor would totally kick butt, but at a hefty price. Here in Pa, the Procooler alone is enough for me.

It is totally amazing the difference simply removing the bowtie made. What was Porsche thinking?

RickM · RickM's Garage

Greg,

Are you running the original Compressor and hoses? Also, have you (or other members) considered a Parallel Flow Condenser as an upgrade? They seem to be relatively inexpensive.

Thanks

http://www.ackits.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Parallel

greglepore · 06-24-2003, 07:22 AM

Thanks for the link! I'm all stock, but have heard good things about the parallel flow. I had no idea they were that cheap.

Something else I've thought about-I'm running a tail, so a significant portion of the air drawn by the engine fan bypasses the condesor in the rear. I'm tempted to block that off, forcing all the air thru the condensor, but I've got really nice oil temps at the moment and am hesitant to trade engine longevity for a couple more degrees in the cabin. Thoughts?

RickM · RickM's Garage

Greg,

I'd leave the configuration of your engine bay the way it is. The air will travel right through the condenser when the car is moving .

By stock do you mean all original?

scottb · 06-24-2003, 08:02 AM

Rick: Do they have parallel flow condensers that are drop-in replacements for the front and/or rear factory condensers in the Carrera? Or, will I have to fabricate brackets?

Thanks for your input.

greglepore · 06-24-2003, 08:06 AM

Yes, all original.

clnilsen · clnilsen's Garage

Anyone know what it would take to mount one of these as a belly condensor (to get the condensor out of the tail on an 80 SC)?

Chuck

scottb · 06-24-2003, 09:32 AM

The belly condenser is bullet-proof (sort of). My guess is that the parallel flow condenser is not designed to take the abuse of the Performance Aire belly condenser. Go to www.scottsind.com to see the construction of the belly condenser.

I've been debating whether to install the belly condenser or put one in the front left fender, with a cooling fan attached. I'm leaning toward the front left fender. Anyone have any experience or thoughts?

RickM · RickM's Garage

I don't know if the Parallel condensers are drop-in. I would suggest calling the folks at ACKits.com. I understand they are very nice and willing to go the extra mile. They may also have a solution for under car or fender installations.

BTW, they have a tech forum for questions.

ChrisBennet · ChrisBennet's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by scottb
The belly condenser is bullet-proof (sort of). My guess is that the parallel flow condenser is not designed to take the abuse of the Performance Aire belly condenser. Go to www.scottsind.com to see the construction of the belly condenser.

I've been debating whether to install the belly condenser or put one in the front left fender, with a cooling fan attached. I'm leaning toward the front left fender. Anyone have any experience or thoughts?

Scott,
I recently considered putting an oil cooler in the left front front fender. The washer bottle and gas tank overflow would need to be moved. The batter box also protrudes into that area.
I wonder how the belly condenser would fair in an off track excursion?
-Chris