removing AC on a 3.2 ?

[mwbaum]

I live in the Northwest and rarely need AC....and the OEM AC doesn't work too well anyway. Would there be a noticeable difference in performance if I removed the AC from my 85 Coupe?

thanks for any opinions.

[carnut169]

Unless you plan to keep the car forever I would not do it. It really effects resale value more than performance. You might think you can feel it but.... are you planning on racing the car? If not, just leave it alone. My .02

[andyu911]

I've removed mine and feel no different what so ever. Car may be a little lighter but can't tell. My opinion is not to remove it unless you race or autoX your car while every ounce counts and for easier frequent maintance.

Andy
'87 Carrera

[mwbaum]

thanks....I'll leave it the way it is.

Marc

[Kurt B]

Naw, get rid of it. You engine can't possibly cool as well with the manifold below the grill like that. And you can't get cold air in the airbox as well with that stinking manifold.

Your Porsche is a performance machine. You owe it to yourself and the engineers in Stuttgart who unwillingly added it merely for sales to preppies, to rid your loved one of the AC albatross.

AC is for sissies. Remove the hosing too. You can save like 50 lbs removing everything!

[Doug Zielke]

By all means, remove this useless crap. It would cost you over a $k to get this $hitty system upgraded and working properly.

Out of respect to the Porsche Gods, carefully pack all the parts, and store them for the next owner (or the onset of global warming, not that it would help you a bit). If you're careful in your removal, you have not molested anything you can't restore, hence you have not devalued your car.

What you lose:
Approx. 75 lbs (quite a bit of it from the tail)
What you gain: A less cluttered and more maintenance-friendly engine room.
Win win.

[II6]

Mine is gone. No regrets. This piece of crap is not worthy of Porsche.

[liskeard]

I'm up for the removal also. It's on my top 5 list of things to do. I agree with Doug as it's got to be at least 75 lbs worth of crap.

ted

[KTL]

Don't procrastinate Ted! If it doesn't work and you don't use it, give it the heave-ho. In other words, i'm with Ted, Doug, and II6. Got rid of mine since it wasn't doing me any favors. I rarely use A/C in my daily driver except for rainy/humid days or just to keep it working (so it doesn't fail when I would like to use it).

Did as Doug said. Saved all the goods in a box, put the condensors in a safe place, and dumped some weight from the car as a result. Really cleans up the appearance of the engine bay and makes services such as right side spark plugs, air filter change and cam or tensioner line stuff much easier to do. Makes less work for your engine lid struts as well!!!

[Kevin Stewart]

Trust us you will be sorry if you take it off, its not hurting anything, the 75 lbs, (more like 30) you will not notice at a race track, unless you are a professional, i would never buy a car with out a/c, even if it didnt work i would still buy a car but, no way without. The avarage first time buyer wants a/c and if its on he'll have it fixed. Its not hurting you leave it alone. Kevin

[MBlake]

No-one expects to see AC on a '73 car, especially in the UK where we seemed very slow to adopt the technology. Therefore the barely functioning AC is going to come out soon.

For an '82 car in the US I guess that AC would be pretty much expected - that will make this one a bit more of a tough decision!

Another benefit though is a bit more leg / shin room in the cabin if the vents are slung under the intrusment panel.

[curtisaa]

LOL.......I love the "trash it" attitude. I, quite frankly have been having this internal A/C battle for last 3 months. I also have a '88 Carrera and also feeling like heave-ho'ing the AC. DILEMA, I live in LA ??? This is not a daily driver and only for RGruppe "fun".

Thanks for that little bit of inspiration from ALL concerned. This Sunday, is the Pomona Swap, and you will be able to buy my entire AC system CHEEEEP !!!

THNAKS GUYS........

[BK911]

You might want to hang on to the components. If you are going to sell it cheap, you obviously don't need the cash. For potential resale alone it's worth keeping. And if you decide to race, you are bumped up to the prepared class if you remove your compressor. I removed my compressor for DE's and didn't notice a difference. But I'm not that good. Better drivers might notice the difference. I removed all the AC components from the rear of the car along with the rear seats and seat belts. The total weight savings was ~50#'s. But the engine did look much nicer without the compressor there.

[BER]

I have an '84 Carrera Targa and I removed the entire a/c system, hoses, blower, etc. a couple of years ago. The a/c never worked very well anyway. No regrets. If it's warm out, I take the top off.

I measured about 60 lbs. of stuff that came out of the car. The best benefit is the car is so much easier to work on now, especially the right side of the engine compartment. Engine temps are a little lower because of better airflow through the engine lid grill.

Bruce

[rscupper]

Yahoooo Curtis. That's the right stuff. I don't know where it's hotter, Pasadena or Simi Valley. Who cares?! Open the windows and keep moving - the faster the better for cockpit airflow!

BTW - I've always lived in SoCal, none of my 911s have ever had A/C (I either bought it without or pulled it), and I never had a problem with sales. Also, you can sell an early A/C system at a GREAT price if you include the under-dash ventilation pieces (for top dollar don't separate the package) - and the solid under-dash replacement pieces look cleaner and offer a bit more legroom.

Bottom line - it's your car, do what you like. Life's way too short to fret about such little things.

[89911]

Take it out and cart it up to the curb on garbage day!! My brother just bought an 87 that we are striping out for track use. Believe it or not, it actually works too. I have an 89 that has never worked but I never missed it either. If anyone was seriously looking at buying a 911 and knew a few things about the car, they would'nt give a crap about the AC. Come on, it was designed by inhabitants of the Black Forest, not Africa.

[Eric Coffey]

I agree with Doug and the gang. Take it all out. However, if you don't want to take the plunge and remove everything, I would at least remove the compressor, and rear condenser (cleaner, more user-friendly engine bay). Just make sure to cap and secure the lines in place. Or if you don't even want to go that far, at least take off the belt and eliminate the parasitic drag on the crank, and reduce wear on the compressor.

-Eric

[curtisaa]

I'm not saving my stuff. You've seen my car, it could NEVER be a 88 Carrera again. I had Behr air on my 73 S, the first thing we did was yank that "dealer added" crap out. I feel like some of the others, if it gets a little warm I'll open the sun roof, roll down the electric windows, and pretend I'm at Malibu beach.................

Now if say, "what 'bout the electric windows....they stay"!!!!!!!

Curt

[Fred Birnbaum]

I don't recommend removing the AC if it is factory installed. If you insist, then I would remove the compressor and rear condensor and cap the lines. The ventillation on 911's is awful and I think AC is the only "option" that you can't do without if you do any long distance driving. Here in Idaho, summers are hot and driving on Interstates (the limit is 75 mph) is simply too noisy with the windows open at speeds over 70 mph. Do this for several hours and the fatigue is awful. Early 911's had vent wing windows and rear windows that swung open. Without these features, newer cars need the AC for long distance cruising. I say this because I have comtemplated taking my AC out too. I believe the systems in the 78 -89 cars can be made to work well enough, if properly maintained.

Just my thoughts,

[Doug Zielke]

Originally posted by Kevin Stewart
...Trust us you will be sorry if you take it off, its not hurting anything, the 75 lbs, (more like 30) ....

I removed the compressor, front & rear condensers, front condenser motor, brackets, dryer, (all) hoses, fasteners. Only the evaporator in dash and associated controls and wiring remain. WEIGHT: 74.5 lbs

Don't tell me that doesn't make a difference!