Before And After Of Air Con Removal

[No Crust Racing]

I'm contemplating ditching all the engine bay components of the air con system but from what I have read through searching, there's only 10kg's worth of gear and bugger all gained from not having the belt attached. Sound about right?

My car is a dedicated track/fun S13 but it is still street reg'd (though not road worthy I'm sure). I've done some basic weight reduction stuff like removing all the boot stuff, spare wheel, jack, rear seats, rear speakers and parcel shelf, upgraded the drivers seat and put some volks on it but that's mainly in the rear so any more weight removed should probably come from up front.

Who has done this and what did you actually find afterward, worth the effort? The issue for me is not comfort as I don't drive it on the street but more about re-sale when it comes time to let it go.

FYI my car is only a CA18DET with a turbo back exhaust, front mount and a bit of boost. I realise I will gain more from a turbo upgrade etc and that's coming, just interested in the air con removal for the moment.

[sav man]

if your conserned about resale, just keep all the a/c bits, and put it back in when you go to sell it.

[R31Nismoid]

You've pretty much already slapped up what the gains are (nothing at all really)

Look, there is a gain... is it worth the time and effort?

Not really when you still have sound deadening material in the boot/rear and extra wiring, dash and other things which tip much more in terms of weight.

But as you don't wanna go to far - just do the turbo when you are ready.

If you really want gains, have a side pipe made up and drop the exhaust @ track days, you'll find a lot more than 10KG's there

[FineLine]

It depends on what you're looking for. the a/c on its own will make bugger all difference but if you combine it with the myriad of other little things that make bugger all difference it becomes a worthwhile collective.

My car is a street/track car as well and i have thrown out the a/c, the heater, all stereo equipment, rear wiper assembly, boot furniture, inner guards, rear seats, undertray, rear parcel shelf, rear seat belt asemblys, and so much more i cant think of atm. Next on the hit list is the sound deadening material and from there I will start replacing stock parts with c/f. first on the hit list is the boot and the hinge/strut assembly.

Weight removal is as good as a horsepower upgrade with the added benefit of being easier on suspension and braking etc. In the end it all comes down to how serious you are.

[badhairdave]

on an sr the bracket is a big hunk of cast iron so there is a reasonable weight saving

On an rb it's alloy so you save about 3kgs less.

On a CA i have no idea

If you have cooling issues remove the condensor, other wise leave it all alone.

Edited September 9, 2009 by badhairdave

[warps]

As far as weight saving goes, 10kg is hardly a deal breaker. As far as performance goes, well consider this: My PB at Morgan Park was set when I forgot to turn off the a/c on my second last run of the day. This was an otherwise stock WRX. So much for the a/c sapping performance.

Consider also the benefit off having a cool cabin when you're lapping on hot days. With the rest of the interior stripped out, the interior can get extremely hot on a warm sunny day. The effect of having a cool, alert driver will do much more for your lap times than stripping 10kg of dead weight out of your car.

My next rally car is going to have the A/C left in. Specially good for de fogging on those rainy night time stages.

[No Crust Racing]

You've pretty much already slapped up what the gains are (nothing at all really)

Look, there is a gain... is it worth the time and effort?

Not really when you still have sound deadening material in the boot/rear and extra wiring, dash and other things which tip much more in terms of weight.

But as you don't wanna go to far - just do the turbo when you are ready.

If you really want gains, have a side pipe made up and drop the exhaust @ track days, you'll find a lot more than 10KG's there

Side pipe is another option but that does cost more money, removing the AC in the short term is free. (Will cost to get re-gassed later though)

It depends on what you're looking for. the a/c on its own will make bugger all difference but if you combine it with the myriad of other little things that make bugger all difference it becomes a worthwhile collective.

My car is a street/track car as well and i have thrown out the a/c, the heater, all stereo equipment, rear wiper assembly, boot furniture, inner guards, rear seats, undertray, rear parcel shelf, rear seat belt asemblys, and so much more i cant think of atm. Next on the hit list is the sound deadening material and from there I will start replacing stock parts with c/f. first on the hit list is the boot and the hinge/strut assembly.

Weight removal is as good as a horsepower upgrade with the added benefit of being easier on suspension and braking etc. In the end it all comes down to how serious you are.

Sounds like you're pretty serious lol I think that's half my issue. Wanting to get busy on it but not wanting to go too far due to issues arising with re-sale. Sure it's reg'd but not many people will want a fully stripped out 'street' car lol

on an sr the bracket is a big hunk of cast iron so there is a reasonable weight saving

On an rb it's alloy so you save about 3kgs less.

On a CA i have no idea

If you have cooling issues remove the condensor, other wise leave it all alone.

No cooling issues thus far (did have some oil issues but fitted a cooler) but I bouht it in the cooler months, only had it since May or so? The radiator appears to be a brand new item.

As far as weight saving goes, 10kg is hardly a deal breaker. As far as performance goes, well consider this: My PB at Morgan Park was set when I forgot to turn off the a/c on my second last run of the day. This was an otherwise stock WRX. So much for the a/c sapping performance.

Consider also the benefit off having a cool cabin when you're lapping on hot days. With the rest of the interior stripped out, the interior can get extremely hot on a warm sunny day. The effect of having a cool, alert driver will do much more for your lap times than stripping 10kg of dead weight out of your car.

My next rally car is going to have the A/C left in. Specially good for de fogging on those rainy night time stages.

I didn't know anyone ever ran with the a/c on for track days. Am I alone in thinking that seems a bit 'soft'? Sorry no nice way to say it =\

[warps]

I didn't know anyone ever ran with the a/c on for track days. Am I alone in thinking that seems a bit 'soft'? Sorry no nice way to say it =\

Haha no need to sugar coat it - yes I have grown soft in my old age and am very proud to admit it.

What happened was, as I was sitting at the start, I had the air conditioning on (was a hot day, wearing long sleeves and jeans, black interior yadda yadda). Yes - I like to keep cool while I sit at the staging area. When my session started, I forgot to turn off the a/c, like I normally do once I hit the track. That was my point - the one time I forgot to turn off the A/C was the session that I recorded my PB out there. Obviously the A/C coultn't have affected my performance too much.

It might be soft to try and keep comfortable, but when you eliminate one source of potential brain fade (specially in long rallies in the middle of summer) I'm more than happy to be called soft.

Track days on the other hand, well yeh no need to leave it on while you're out there racing.

[No Crust Racing]

OK I'll turn the knife a bit more then and say maybe you're just not consistent enough with your lap times to get the gain Though I'm saying that purely for the comical value as I'm in the exact same boat

Hmm...

[FineLine]

Sounds like you're pretty serious lol I think that's half my issue. Wanting to get busy on it but not wanting to go too far due to issues arising with re-sale. Sure it's reg'd but not many people will want a fully stripped out 'street' car lol

Like i said mate, its free horsepower. You wouldnt know it was missing by just looking at the car, And i have kept it all if i ever want to return it to stock.

The car is loud but hey, I freakin love it. i can drive it for hours at a time and never get tired of the sound of an angry RB. It shits me when i get near home so I usually take the long shortcut just so I can hear it some more.

[warps]

OK I'll turn the knife a bit more then and say maybe you're just not consistent enough with your lap times to get the gain Though I'm saying that purely for the comical value as I'm in the exact same boat

Hmm...

Yeh probably not. I'm not used to this black sticky stuff where going sideways actually costs you time

Still, even allowing for a bit of inconsistency, it shows that the power loss from A/C on hardly has a huge impact on lap times. Just for the record, my times on the day were 4th fastest outright, beaten only by two very modified GTR's on slicks or semi's, and the same model WRX as mine but with about 400HP and mega dollar suspension work. Mine was bog stock, still with spare tyre and kiddy seats in the back. I must've been doing something right.

[phunky_monkey]

Rip it out Dan, AC in an S13 is balls anyway! 10kg's is still 10kg's... hard to get that loss in other areas.

[No Crust Racing]

lol I take it you're not the type to us AC while staging Dane?

[phunky_monkey]

I like it hot and sweaty

[S13Deviat]

Rip it out Dan, AC in an S13 is balls anyway! 10kg's is still 10kg's... hard to get that loss in other areas.

I love my A/C in the failvia S13...

I just lost 10kg's in body weight over the last 3 months so that justifies leaving the AC IMO

lol I take it you're not the type to us AC while staging Dane?

Im with you mate, noice n cool whilst waiting to hit the track!

But on topic, i am in the same boat. Have a road registered S13 that only comes out for track work and to the mechanics. So trying to get the most out of the car whilst retaining re-sale ability is a fine line! I have just stripped the boot and rear seats. Sometimes passanger seat comes out for a few kg's of saving... But going to the next step of carpet, sound deadening, parcel shelf etc etc is one i am a bit dubious about....

[phunky_monkey]

I can't recall ever using it in the 180, even when it was a daily. It killed performance way too much for me... and windows are aaaaaaaalright

[badhairdave]

I was the opposite.

I used it all the time in the skyline until it ran out of gas, then removed it

[R31Nismoid]

I can't recall ever using it in the 180, even when it was a daily. It killed performance way too much for me... and windows are aaaaaaaalright

you could do with a bit of a tan aswell, that is a key point.

Although you probably had shit gas if the A/C was poor - thats another issue all together

[phunky_monkey]

C'mon Ash, you know you enjoy my white glow, it drives the girls wild

But yes, no doubt the gas was no good but I'm not a big AC fan. I'll only use it if I have to. The Clubbie loved it though, it was like it wasn't even on.

[R31Nismoid]

LOL

Ye older Nissan compressors do suck a bit, but that is again related to the gas, better gas makes the compressors life easier