All of mine worked about as well as any 911, which is better than any BMW since the E36.. talk about worthless climate control

Re: A/C or no A/C for daily driver?
 

If you drive your current daily driver comfortably all summer without using the A/C...it is likely that you will not need it in your 911. Otherwise you should probably expect to want it. All 911 A/C can be upgraded/modernized to work quite well if you spend the money. Even POS cars like KIAs have working A/C. Surely a 911 should.

When I'm driving with the windows down listening to the music from the premuffler/sport muffler, I can't even hear my phone ring...as it should be :)

No, but I used to have a Grumman with a bubble canopy that made me feel like an ant under a magnifying glass on hot summer days. I am 40 and have owned and driven many cars without AC. I have worked construction jobs, worn mop suits on hot days in the Army, raced MX in August etc etc. I just get a kick out of folks who because they don't know how to fix something, say that that component is worthless dead weight. Maybe you track your car or truly enjoy driving home 40 miles in 100 degree on the pavement temps. I myself chose the challenge of fixing my once defunct AC and I am more than happy with the results. Believe it or not, I am pretty old school when it comes to alot of the high tech crap put in cars these days and I have only owned a cell phone for two years, but AC has been around for a long time and if my car has it, I am going to use it.

I wonder how many folks who poo poo AC in daily driver cars have AC or whole house fans in their homes? Ok, we probably don't want to go there:D

Ultimately, I don't care what someone else chooses, but this thread asked for opinions, and he is getting them. I called you a liar, you called me a puss.....it's all good
:p :D

:D

Must be nice to not have to be within a phone calls reach away at any time!

I used to be tied to my cell phone years ago... I don't miss those days :)

If this man and this car can have working AC, then so can you!

http://www.hotrodbuick.com/racerguys...20Portrait.jpg

Drove my 85 model daily for 5 years in Dallas where its hot and humid. Then moved to Phoenix where its an oven in the summer and drove it daily for another 2 years. Could it have been better? Hell yes but it worked and did a descent job.

Agree that the 86 and newer models are better in this area but find a good car in the 85 or newer area and you should be ok. I say 85 and newer as 1984 was the first year of the DME cars and I like to stay away from any "first year" car.

Ahhh puss and boots, the hearing in my left ear is down 8% from flying DC-3's and listening to the wind noise and radial engine throbbing 3 feet from my head for many years. Believe that I might have a bit of experience here from this.

Close the window and turn the A/C on! The reason why the "Diesel 3" did not have A/C is that you can climb to an altitude where its cooler. When your 911 sprouts wings pls show us otherwise we can do without the puss comments.

Not all of us live in a forest in upstate NY. Those of us who live in Arizona, Nevada, Texas, LA and Florida do not have much choice during summer and need A/C.

Hi Tim,
I finally got some cold air now. And yeah, only on the freeway with high speed moving. On local road, it's just cool, not cold. Why?
I got 134 now and the condensor on the engine lid is the "procooler" or something like that, not the stock one. I also add a big fan inside the tea tray tail, blowing air into the engine through the condensor. Honestly, I don't feel the fan helps.

A/C is necessary even in Michigan from June to September. It frequently in the 90's and 90% humidity. I do a fair amount of e-way driving and I don't care to go deaf on account of wind noise when I'm doing 100.

You should be out here in CA today.. I had A/C on the entire time.

I also find that A/C works great for quick window defogging in the winter

Guys,
My ac in my 88 never really worked so one nice fall day I removed it--all of it. Last Sunday we went on a 4 hour drive through the mountains and it was in the mid 90's with humidity in the 90's. The future wife was miserable and honestly I wished we had taken the Jeep with its wonderful ac. I was just glad that it wasn't my idea to drive the Carrera. So, this is the last summer I am going to suffer through without the ac. This fall I am going to get the Rennaire system with new hoses and put it all back. For me it will make the car that much more enjoyable even if I do add 50lbs back into it.

For those of us in the south you really don't have a choice unless you just don't drive the car from the end of June to the first of September. Night runs are ok but if you get stuck in traffic--which we have more of everyday you will get drenched in sweat.

Hell, she probably won't marry you until you get the A/C back in... I'd leave it out.

I'd say those of us in the south still DO have a choice. My '82 is a daily driver and I pulled out the AC a few years ago. I think it depends on your expectations and preferences. I live in North Carolina, and the windows to my home office are open right now, and I the only reason I've had the top on my Targa all week is because of a little rain this afternoon. My wife, OTOH, almost always has the AC on in both the car and the house during the summer here.

Ultimately, I think it depends on your preferences. If you imagine a 90F humid North Carolina day in the summer, imagine yourself with a 911 Cabriolet with the top down and the windows down enjoying the wind. Now imagine yourself in a 911 coupe with the windows up, enjoying the sound of the engine and 72F interior temperature. Which would make you happier?

the targa and cab are only good for when you are actually rolling forward. sometimes i am stuck in over an hour of 5-20mph crawling

Use the sunroof on warm days. And run the ac blower w/o refrigerant to push fresh air through the center vents--which only operate thru the ac blower. AC heats up your engine, and you don't want that unless you are efficiently cooling that oil with a good heat exchanger on the front end. The "trombone" type I had on my SC is inadequate on hot days(Adrian Streather agrees in his SC book), and ultimately probably accounts for a lot of the oil leaks in older SCs.

Enjoyed your book, Steve, and agree that the 911 is more oil-than air-cooled. Though I've been told the cylinders are air-cooled. I wrote a thread on Rennlist about the importance of oil cooling vs oil leaks, which Steve Weiner seemed to agree with. You want to avoid oil temps much over 200F, or sooner or later (25 years!) the seals will go. Water cooling is more efficient than air or oil, which is one of the reasons I traded my SC for a Boxster. The Boxster is a heckuva car.

If you get a real front oil cooler with a fan, youre temps will drop dramitically.. even with my 3.6 and AC on I'm still barely over the first bar. The thermostat was even hot water tested for accuracy and it's dead on.

When it's 90 degrees outside opening the windows/sunroof only help turn your car into a CONVECTION oven. The black interiors seem to keep themselves disproportionately warm on sunny days somehow. There's nothing wrong with A/C for a daily driver. If you're tracking your car and only have to worry about 1 Hr sprints with ball-sweating, brain-baking heat then don't have it. If you have a 1hr commute in traffic after a hard day at work... keep the system charged, I say!

Addendum: I always switch mine off when getting ready to pass vehicles or driving thru a 'sporting' section of road. Need that extra 5 HP.

The A/C in my '74 works so well that I can drive with the targa top off at 95 and still be comfortable. Having a lot of 35 degree air blowing on you sure makes a difference.
If you have a good working A/C...youi can always choose to turn it of...but if you pull it out...you sure cannot turn it on.

I would say A/C in any car is only effective if you drive more than 15 minutes without the stop and go traffic as it pulls down your revs and reduced HP.
I have a Rotary compressor and tail condenser/underbelly condenser with aftermarket install system. It PUMPS ice cold air more than my 2002 VW GTI. I use it regularly to keep the seals good and it has not needed recharge since I bought the car in 2002!. The unit was installed by the PO and so it is even older than that!.
If your old 911 does not have A/C installed then you have to spend the $$$$ to make it even worth while.
This all adds weight to your performance car thus reducing performance (plus the compressor drag on the flywheel/motor).
If it had not already been installed (well) by the PO I would NOT have spent the money and would have lived with open top/windows down driving!.
Rgds Ben

Driving in down town Phoenix yesterday afternoon. Temp 111 degrees. I sat at a stoplight next to a silver 911t , windows down. Now I'm thinking that a real Porsche man!

Larry,

I spent a year in PDX. If you're willing to rough it a bit, you can use a non-A/C 911 as a daily driver in Lake Oswego. It's really only hot enough from July-Sept that you'd even contemplate using it (for cooling purposes). If you're willing to drive with the windows down, you'll survive. Maybe a little sweaty, but not too bad.

That being said, it's nice to be able to get into a car after it's been baking outdoors in the summer sun, flip on the A/C, and get instant cold. And it helps a bit (though not totally necessary) to have A/C assist in demisting the windows on those rainy days the other 9 months of the year.

HAHAHA!! I love it!

I'm smiling to myself because AC has only been around for a relatively (depending on how old you are) short time. What year was it first introduced, late 40s?

We have become soooo pampered and spoiled :)!

I know it's really a nice thing to have AC in hot sticky climates, but people DID survive and drive before AC (not to mention having no AC in their homes and workplaces either).

I'm CA coastal, don't have AC and really don't need it as long as I stay within 8 miles of the coast on hot days.

And I have vestigial Luddite leanings that I kinda take perverse pleasure in preserving :).

you'll burn up your engine if you kick in that AC compressor, sonny!

With this global warming ****, I think Ill move coastal too so i can dump my AC

Yeah...modern conveniences like AC are just not necessary. I think you should get rid of the big screen Plasma TV before the Superbowl and play with your sock puppet...maybe get rid of the 911 and get a horse and wagon.

This Sunday's sermon will be entitled "Air Conditioning and the Fall of Man," subtitled "It'll be a cold day in hell..."

I just thought I didn't have AC because I'm too lazy to put the top on, and too cheap to fix the compressor, but now I see that it's because I'm as noble and righteous as I am hot and sticky. ;)

Finally! Someone who understands!

Proud to say I haven't succumbed to buying a big screen plasma TV - my 14" B&W works just fine, thank you.

I don't watch the Superbowl (some have labeled me Un-American) but I do watch boxing. I'm trying to get that awful, brutal sport banned but haven't moved on that yet (there are some good bouts scheduled that I don't want to miss).

I have a great collection of sock puppets including a left and right hand pair of Porsche mechanic puppets named Klich undt Klach (actually, they are typing this post).

I'd get rid of my 911 but I can't keep a horse in Carlsbad. I'd have to move 8 miles inland.

Can't do that because it gets hot there and I'd have to get AC.

Vestigial Luddites have it tough in this high tech world gone mad!

For those of you watching your weight you could install one of these. It just hangs on the window. Environmentally friendly too just runs on water.:D

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1182637730.jpg

That contraption looks like a huge old radar camera!
Perhaps instead of AC one could place the windshield washers on the inside, on the dash, and aim them directly at our faces! Aahhh, refreshing!

I never had AC in my sports cars until I got married. I was driving my new bride in my Fiat spider on interstate 90, near Syracuse, NY, when we got caught in a traffic jam that lasted three hours. Cars were overheating left and right, but my trusty Fiat never did.

My wife however, needed me to put the top up. Then she turned pink. Then red. Then I started to get scared, and she started to get real quiet. When the traffic cleared, I floored it, and took the next exit. We spent a quiet hour in a Dennys, until I was sure that my wife was OK.

That day I vowed my next car would have AC. My SC does not have it, but it iis a Euro, and never did. My rather fast 951 does have it, and it is a meat locker on low.

Technically, I would say in my case AC is for pussies. However, I am in construction, and there have been times in my life where I have had to drag men out of the sun, and even resort to pouring a bucket of water over my own head. Real men have been known to die for being too damn macho.

Mad dogs and Englishmen aside, I'm sure that the artist formerly known as Steve is prolly a whole lot tougher than my wife, and probably me too. I do however seem to enjoy the benefits of having working AC when touring America with my wife, on my all too infrequent vacations. I even got some for my house, and I no longer have to worry about the sofas going musty or the dining room table turning green.

It is good to know that there are real men still out there. It is even better to know that I could have AC in a 911 if I so choose. Otherwise there could be a Boxter in my future, adding to the wussification of America as we know it. I'm afraid I would prolly like it too. As a matter of fact, My wife wanted me to buy a Boxter instead of a built SC, but hey, we have to draw the line somewhere, even if a Boxter can prolly lap as fast as my SC with the AC on. Um, it sure is easier to get to the engine in my SC, isn't it ? Much more raw. When it isn't overdone that is.

Boy, you are really asking for it with that Boxster comment

lol

Yes indeedy! Some folks are more heat tolerant...I never used my a/c (and it worked fairly well), and don't miss it.

My stock R12 Carerra does an acceptable job up to about 85 degrees as long as the car has good forward motion. It may be able to get away with 90 degrees on a mostly cloudy day at highway speeds. This requires the highest fan setting which is rather noisy. I normally turn it off in stop and go traffic on a 95 degree day because it causes oil temp to rise too much. In Atlanta I use the car a lot more often than if it didn't have A/C.
I have a line of oil on the deck lid from the compressor seals. When it stops cooling I will probably try a Sanden compressor and eventually a pro-cooler with new barrier hoses.