The Waiting, The Sweating: Air Conditioning Poll

[Sharondippity]

I am a fragile flower. AC on instantly. Anyway, I don't think Corvettes are owned by the most patient people... are they?!?!

 

[Cool Driver]

This morning, BTW - on the way in at 6:15 a.m. - the temp was 95 degrees!:ugh

This is why I do NOT missing living in Phoenix!!

When it's hot here - which it has been a lot lately - I generally put the windows down to let the hot air out and turn the A/C on a minute or two later.

Barbie

 

[blacksedan87]

This is why I do NOT missing living in Phoenix!!

When it's hot here - which it has been a lot lately - I generally put the windows down to let the hot air out and turn the A/C on a minute or two later.

Barbie

I agree, Barbie - summers are absolutely miserable here. I'm in the middle of my 15th summer, and regardless of what "they" say - you never get used to it.

But this three months of misery is the price we have to pay for the other nine months of paradise....top down weather all year!

 

[AZMike]

GO Lumberjacks!!! Thats where I went to school.

That's also where I work now!

 

[DRTH VTR]

GO Lumberjacks!!! Thats where I went to school.

I was a Bengal from Idaho State University, also a member of the Big Sky Conference!

 

[Eric]

I voted for the 5 minutes, not for the reason stated though. My car is rarely parked outside for long since I park in a garage at home and work. Unless rain is in the air, I roll down the windows and take the top off before I even open the door to get in. Once rolling the air turbulence is all I usually need. If it feels hot at that poing, I'll crank the AC with the top and windows still open wide. The heat just doesn't get to me like it used to and besides, I get bad headaches if the AC is cranked too much.

 

[Patrick]

Not to diminish your discomfort, Patrick - but here in the Valley of the Sun....today it's going to be 115F. Inside the car, it's about 50 degrees hotter than that! so in answer to your question, at least in Phoenix - the A/C goes on before you start the engine!

Also - contrary to common belief, July August and September are not a dry heat here! I know it doesn't compare humidity wise to places in the midwest and the deep south, but our humidity is in the 30% - 40% range (and higher early in the day), plus 110+ heat.

This morning, BTW - on the way in at 6:15 a.m. - the temp was 95 degrees!:ugh

Randy,
I know all too well what summers in Phoenix are like. I graduated from Arizona State. I remember arriving there, just before the start of my freshman year, in August. The heat and monsoonal humidity were awful. It's a very unusual feeling when you leave your home at 7:00 in the morning, and it's already 90 degrees. The asphalt is so hot, you swear you can feel it squishing under your feet as you cross the street, and wearing loose shoes is a sure way of stepping right out of them, as the softened asphalt tries to grip onto them.

I don't miss it. I don't miss the fact that the interior of a car in the Phoenix area in July is so hot, you can't touch anything on the inside when you first get in. I don't miss the fact that you have to be quick with the motion of inserting the key and starting the engine, because the heat transfer from the hot car to the key will make it too hot to touch in just a couple of seconds. I don't miss the fact that you go into siege mode to try and find a covered parking place. I don't miss the fact that it's October before the daytime highs stop hitting triple digits. So I'll leave the Valley of the Sun to the brave sorts who can survive the summers down there.

There's an ulterior motive to why I asked this question.

Operating the AC in any car, including the Corvette, puts a strain on the engine. Setting aside whatever performance loss this translates to, operating the AC forces reduces your fuel economy. With gas at an all-time high, I thought it would interesting to see if anyone has modified their AC usage in an attempt to be a bit more abstemious with the gas, or if the desire for immediate comfort would over-ride that.

And the majority opinion appears to be that a moment longer than necessary to get the interior of the car temperature down is a moment too long.


-Patrick

 

[Pseudomind]

From what I have been hearing, reading and if one does a few searches, what is being said is that using the air condition basically makes basically no difference.

Much also depends on whether it is stop and go driving or driving (city) above 45 MPH (highway)

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2006-09,GGLG:en&q=gas+savings+air+conditioning+versus+windows

http://www.lifehacker.com/software/top/gas-saving-tips-and-myths-172215.php

And if I am going to be so concerned about the fuel usage, then I guess it is time to sell the Corvette and get a moped, even though the Corvette gets better mileage then many vehicles.

For now I am keeping the Corvette

 

[65-to-00]

Down windows, air on high, wait with the door open for a few moments if it's that hot ... and with a black on black with a tinted top ... it's hot, then go.

In 1990 my wife bought a VW Wabbitt, and we took it on a trip to DC in late July during a screaming stinking humid heat wave. She refused to put the air on in her new car because "I don't want to start wearing things out .."

I lasted through the Baltimore Tunnel in the heat and fumes until I decided to rebel against this lunacy and turned that sucker on high with the threat that if she dared to turn it down, I was getting out and getting on a train ....and I fully meant it.

Remember to cycle the AC a few times during the winter too .... "to keep the seals lubed" .... or is that just another myth? I do it and that drives her nuts too but I've always wondered if that is just another "Urban Legend"?

:confused

 

[vettepilot]

Keeping the A/C in the auomatic mode, or ON continuously does absolutely no harm, adds no extra "drag" at start-up, and at highway speeds reduces fuel consumption over having the windows down.
The respective reasons for this are; cycling the A/C keeps the A/C oil circulating that's why it's good to run it during the winter, being in the AUTO position does the without thinking about it. The circuit to the compressor clutch as well as other non-essential electrical acessories are disabled during the start sequence, once key is released to the "run" position the circuits are then reactivated. Generally speaking, at speeds above 35 MPH the aerodynamics of the vehicle are disturbed when the windows are down, fuel efficiency usually increases or at least gets no worse when running the A/C. Also, a trip to the emergency room for heat exhaustion because one refuses to use the A/C in the interest of fuel conservation will cost considerably more than a few extra gallons of gas....

 

[geekinavette]

What vettepilot said...

Having the windows and/or top down at highway speeds has a very drastic effect on aerodynamics.

Bill

 

[MoeJr]

I have not repaired the AC in my 84 yet so I never use it. And to be honest I probably wouldn't use it even if it worked. Up here in NH we have relatively few days where it is so hot you need AC. I just put the windows down,cruise and let mother nature cool me.

 

[Val]

Remember to cycle the AC a few times during the winter too .... "to keep the seals lubed" .... or is that just another myth? I do it and that drives her nuts too but I've always wondered if that is just another "Urban Legend"?

:confused

The defroster will accomplish the same thing. Using the defroster will engage the compressor for short bursts and move around the coolant and oil.

 

[jrose7004]

Mine is on from the start even though it takes a few hundered yards before any thing close to cool air comes out of the vents!

 

[BigMike5]

a/c

If you have a model like the C-5 you can get the module from Top Down Technology that lowers the windows while you are 30 yards from the car so the hot air gets out before you get there to crank it up. I use that approach all the time in the hot weather.

 

[TheSearcher]

Never heard of anyone waiting to turn on the AC in any vehicle - absurd. The AC is not like your heating system which uses engine coolant that the engine must heat up before you will get any heat. The AC begins working immediately when the engine starts and the compressor starts turning; waiting to turn it on just lenghtens the elapsed time to get the interior cool. And assuming you have a C5, you have way more than enough power to run your AC and still blow the doors off your rivals.

I once bought a new car set up for drag racing with no AC, just to save about 5 hp; a major mistake on my part as it was also my daily driver and I lived in Memphis, TN.

 

[Bradleywrench13]

Seriously, what are you guys talking about. Here in balmy Baqubah the temp with the heat index yesterday was 136. I can't wait to get back to the relatively cool 90 of Colorado Springs. But I don't turn my a/c off when I get out of the car either. It just stays on till I don't need it anymore. I've never had any problems.

 

[mqqn]

Hi Patrick -

The temps have to be pretty high - I am definitle a windows down kinda guy - but....

with it being in the 100's nad high humidity - I have to use the AC when I am going to work and between buildings for meetings -

I voted instant on AC.

I make my own gravy when it's this hot out.....

best regards -

mqqn

 

[DocOhm]

My 2001 Coupe is a daily driver and here's the technique I've used for many years here in Oklahoma where it's been 100+ for the last 12 days or more.
When I get in and start her up the A/C is on MAX fan speed, outside air and my passenger's side window is cracked about 1/4". A/C is a heat pump, the lower outside air temp works better than using the recirculate mode, that's because it's only 105 or so outside and 130 or even 140 inside the car! So the A/C set on outside air is taking 105 air and cooling it down instead of the 140 degree air inside the car. Then, after a few minutes, when the inside has cooled down some, I close the window and put it on recirc. I keep it there until it gets too cold inside and then slow the fan down some. My commute home is only 10 minutes so it seldom gets too cold inside, that only happens on longer drives when I'm headed out of town.
I do like how well the A/C works in the 'Vette, much better than some other cars I've had but of course, there's not much interior space to cool down either!
Save the wave....
Doc

 

[Remo]

I've seen my wife put on the A/C even with the top down.

Remo