[DeTomaso] Moving ac condenser to front of car., no, don't.
Charles McCall
charlesmccall at gmail.com
Wed Jun 4 06:45:53 EDT 2014
I've read over the years numerous first-hand reports of people who have
mounted the condenser up front and have not noticed overheating problems,
but have noticed improved A/C performance. I even remember reading an
objetive report from someone who measured the temperature coming out the
vents before and and after moving the condenser, both at around-town speeds
and highway speeds. A/C efficiency was equal around town with both setups,
but the effectiveness dropped measurably with the rear mounted setup as
highway speed increased, and they only measured up to 60 mph or so. A/C
efficiency would no doubt continue to drop, and perhaps even exponentially,
at sustained 150 k/hr cruising.
Based on the number of reports I've read over the years, I have filed away
in my mind that this was a good mod for cars used at higher cruising
speeds, and would be of limited value for cars that just cruise around
town.
Names of the people who have tried this may be found in the archives. (And
Mikael will have the opportunity to talk to some of them next month at Le
Mans)
Just another perspective
On Wed, Jun 4, 2014 at 7:30 AM, Mikael <mikael_hass at mail.tele.dk> wrote:
> Boyd, allow me to paste in my earlier input on this. Nobody disagreed back
> then, that could of course be because they think I'm beyond repair... :-)
> Please read below...
>
> --
> It pops up once in a while: the idea of front mounted A/C. Before you
> spend the time and money (unless you’re rich and retired and needs to get
> through the day), consider this:
> It would have been easier and cheaper for DeTomaso to have the A/C in the
> front, so why did they go to rear mounted? Very simply because having two
> hot things close to one another doesn’t help.
>
> A/C:
> 1. If going slow or standing still in stop and go traffic, which
> would you rather have? A rear mounted no restrictions system is for sure
> better than a front mounted where it would be sitting next to a hot
> radiator and airflow would be restricted by having to pass through both of
> them
> 2. If cruising or going fast, the extra air flow from the car moving
> MIGHT give better A/C cooling. I’ve never seen figures to document that,
> and my own rear mounted A/C deals with German/French highways and stop and
> go in summer, without me having to turn the knob to full cool, it’s just
> working as designed
>
> Engine cooling:
> 3. Who would dispute that the risk of overheating the engine is
> bigger when a hot restrictive A/C system is placed in front of the radiator?
>
> So what are the pros and cons? There are two definite “cons”, 1. and 3.,
> and one maybe “pro”, 2. Do the math, and save the time and money, and spend
> it on getting the original system to work as designed. Be cool
> Mikael
>
> -----Oprindelig meddelelse-----
> Fra: Boyd Casey [mailto:boyd411 at gmail.com]
> Sendt: 3. juni 2014 01:15
> Til: detomaso at poca.com
> Emne: [DeTomaso] Moving ac condenser to front of car.
>
> As some of you may recall I blew up my engine and was considering
> installing a Coyote engine. As much as I think the Coyote is a great engine
> I have decided to stick with a Cleveland. I have always wanted 180 degree
> headers and having just installed a super deluxe new AC stem last year the
> prospect of moving the condenser and hoses to the front of the car is the
> only thing that is standing in m way. When I upgraded I installed a very
> thin parallel flow condenser . I was wondering how much air flow
> restriction mooing the condenser to behind the radiator will cause. I have
> a "True" lay down radiator and sucker fans. Is there anything else I should
> worry about or take into consideration. I went 5 years with out having
> working AC and the new set up was blowing cold air at 42F so I don't want
> to go back to the "Sauna".
> Boyd
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> Detomaso Forum Managed by POCA
>
> DeTomaso mailing list
> DeTomaso at poca.com
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-------------- next part --------------
I've read over the years numerous first-hand reports of people who have
mounted the condenser up front and have not noticed overheating
problems, but have noticed improved A/C performance. I even remember
reading an objetive report from someone who measured the temperature
coming out the vents before and and after moving the condenser, both at
around-town speeds and highway speeds. A/C efficiency was equal around
town with both setups, but the effectiveness dropped measurably with
the rear mounted setupA as highway speed increased, and they only
measured up to 60 mph or so. A/C efficiency would no doubt continue to
drop, and perhaps even exponentially, at sustained 150 k/hr cruising.
A
Based on the number of reports I've read over the years, I have filed
away in my mind that this was a good mod for cars used at higher
cruising speeds, and would be of limited value for cars that just
cruise around town.
Names of the people who have tried this may be found in the archives.
(And Mikael will have the opportunity to talk to some of them next
month at Le Mans)
A
Just another perspective
On Wed, Jun 4, 2014 at 7:30 AM, Mikael <[1]mikael_hass at mail.tele.dk>
wrote:
Boyd, allow me to paste in my earlier input on this. Nobody
disagreed back then, that could of course be because they think I'm
beyond repair... :-) Please read below...
--
It pops up once in a while: the idea of front mounted A/C. Before
you spend the time and money (unless youare rich and retired and
needs to get through the day), consider this:
It would have been easier and cheaper for DeTomaso to have the A/C
in the front, so why did they go to rear mounted? Very simply
because having two hot things close to one another doesnat help.
A/C:
1. A A A If going slow or standing still in stop and go traffic,
which would you rather have? A rear mounted no restrictions system
is for sure better than a front mounted where it would be sitting
next to a hot radiator and airflow would be restricted by having to
pass through both of them
2. A A A If cruising or going fast, the extra air flow from the
car moving MIGHT give better A/C cooling. Iave never seen figures to
document that, and my own rear mounted A/C deals with German/French
highways and stop and go in summer, without me having to turn the
knob to full cool, itas just working as designed
Engine cooling:
3. A A A Who would dispute that the risk of overheating the engine
is bigger when a hot restrictive A/C system is placed in front of
the radiator?
So what are the pros and cons? There are two definite aconsa, 1. and
3., and one maybe aproa, 2. Do the math, and save the time and
money, and spend it on getting the original system to work as
designed. Be cool
Mikael
-----Oprindelig meddelelse-----
Fra: Boyd Casey [mailto:[2]boyd411 at gmail.com]
Sendt: 3. juni 2014 01:15
Til: [3]detomaso at poca.com
Emne: [DeTomaso] Moving ac condenser to front of car.
As some of you may recall I blew up my engine and was considering
installing a Coyote engine. As much as I think the Coyote is a great
engine I have decided to stick with a Cleveland. I have always
wanted 180 degree headers and having just installed a super deluxe
new AC stem last year the prospect of moving the condenser and hoses
to the front of the car is the only thing that is standing in m way.
When I upgraded I installed a very thin parallel flow condenser . I
was wondering how much air flow restriction mooing the condenser to
behind the radiator will cause. I have a "True" lay down radiator
and sucker fans. Is there anything else I should worry about or take
into consideration. I went 5 years with out having working AC and
the new set up was blowing cold air at 42F so I don't want to go
back to the "Sauna".
Boyd
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References
1. mailto:mikael_hass at mail.tele.dk
2. mailto:boyd411 at gmail.com
3. mailto:detomaso at poca.com
4. mailto:DeTomaso at poca.com
5. http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
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