Hey people, I never my a/c as it sucks down on power, and plus-- thats what T-Tops are for The compressor is run by the engine belt right? So if I take it out and remove all of the other misc pieces that go along with it-- will it give my car any additional power? It'll save a lot of weight as I'm sure the pieces are feather-like. any input is appreciated- also, if you've done this before, let me know how difficult it was. thanks

 

A/C weighs 30 lbs
less weight = more performance

might as well can the power steering pump while you're at it to make it really worth the effort. Swapping to a manual box will save another 30 lbs. Then you'll also notice a power gain from less drag on the crank pulley.

 

Well I've heard this question go both ways.. Thing is...it IS a pulley,but at the same time, when the A/C isn't operating, the clutch is disengaged, therefore the pulley has no LOAD. So..if you do gain power out of it, it's very minimal. I would leave the A/C in. It's good to know that when it's 100 degrees out and your nuts are sticking to your legs, that you can flip that a/c on and be done with it. Believe me, I'm a power freak too and NEVER used the A/C on my Camaro..but there were a few days that I was VERY thankful that I had it. In other words..power gain will be minimal-leave it in. What to remove: Smog pump. Add underdrive pulleys and you'll be good to go! Word of the wise...stay away from the alternator pulley unless you plan to get a new alt...the stock alternator probably doesn't output enough to be able to withstand the slowed accessory speed by the pulley.

Don't know how heavy the A/C itself is, so I can't tell you how fast you'll get out of that alone..but through parasitic power loss via the pulley system, I doubt you'll gain much.

 

A/C I think when you remove all is closer to 50 or 60lbs.

for every 100 you get .1 in th 1/4 and less weihgt in our noise heavy F-body's helps weight transfer and handling

 

It's easier to just turn the AC off. When it's off, the clutch isn't engaged, and not turning the compressor. So, it's just a wheel spinning on a bearing. Almost no drag. The only advantage you would gain is a little less weight. 50 pounds or so off of a car that weighs 4,000 pounds isn't going to make a difference. You could save weight in other areas like less gas in the tank, or kicking your girlfriend out and making her walk. Also, if you ever want to sell the car, you'll have a LOT less interested buyers if you ripped the AC out. Even if you save all the AC stuff, nobody wants to screw with the AC. I wouldn't buy a car where somebody had ripped the AC out! Matt

 

.25hp is my guess. oh and about 50lbs. so for a overall .015gain in the 1/4 a little less air in ur tires to help with the 60' times will give u .05, imo its not worth the times it takes to pull it out. nore to have no a/c on 100 degrees days

 

50 lbs = .0659 reduction in E.T. and 0.449 mph

but the A/C is only 30 lbs, not 50 lbs.

 

thank yall for the opinions and suggestions-- as it stands right now, i've removed about 100lbs off extra weight from the car. it makes a little difference, but nothing remarkable- Eventually, i want to get fiberglass door panels etc.. to lighten up the car. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know

 

Well if your on a diet I would pull it, but if you live in an area like Florida or Cali, you might want to keep it.

but every pound counts and in a nose heavy car removing even 30 pounds will help.

Unless it gets hot hot more then 3 times a year I would get rid of it.

 

i live in albuquerque NM and it gets hot in the summer, but of all the cars i've had, i never use the a/c, cause i know it make me slower-- and slower is no fun.. i just roll down the windows and now i get to take the t-tops off.. so who knows..

 

I never liked using the A/C on any of my cars. I live in FL now and I ditched it. Won't give you any noticeable performance but my main reasons were for better cooling/airflow without the condenser in front of the radiator, and also to free up some space in the engine bay. Since the A/C can't work without a condenser, I got rid of everything.

 

was it difficult to remove? how much weight did you save? what kind of car did you take it out of?

 

I have a 91 Formula 350. Nah it was pretty easy. I have no idea how many pounds I saved, but it looks much better without all the lines and stuff there. Also the car used to run at about 200-220 on hot days. Now it's usually at about 160-180 (I have a manual fan switch to turn one fan on anytime).

The only thing you gotta make sure of is to evacuate all the freon from the system before removing anything.

 

how did you wire your manual fan switch? do you have a close up of your engine bay without all the lines and stuff?

 

91 IMO dont remove your A/C unit. In the overall picture removing your A/C and related units will not benefit you at all in "The Real World". Now if this car is a "Drag Car" sure have at it. Trust me I live in georgia and could not make it without my A/C..just to damn hot for me. It's your ride 91 and you do as you see fit..but if you are looking for "Real" performance gains stick with the tried and true. not to much fun sweatin your ***** off ya know. Later

 

Hung Start- i understand where you're coming from-- but i'm from florida originally, and i KNOW what heat is like i'm just looking at cleaning up the engine bay and savin weight-- everylitte bit helps, like i said before, i've gotten rid of about 100lbs so far and it made a little bit of difference

 

If that's the car you take dates out with you'd might want to keep the ac..

 

if they dont want to :cough: bone :cough: cause i dont have a/c--then screw em, right? lol, hope i dont get in trouble for that

 

I just got done putting the A/C back on my car. I was tired of no air in the summer. It will not rob power unless it is turned on. Do you race with your A/C on? I thought it was worth the trouble to take it off but now I don't. Just my.02

 

It depends on what you're doing with the car really. If you're making it a performance car then yank it and save yourself around 50-75lbs depending on year (I weighed my 84's a/c setup and got a little over 60lbs for all that garbage) You'll also have a MUCH more attractive engine bay, less weight in the car, and less drag on the motor. You won't see any seat of the pants gain but if it doesn't work anyway you might do well to pull it, if it works and you actually use it (hard top car) and you aren't planning on making your car a race car then leave it in. It's up to you.

 

Mostly it will make the interior of your car dirtier faster, make the seats smell of BO faster, and otherwise make it lose value faster. If it's not a strictly race car, I don't think the weight benefit is worth trashing a car that way.

 

I don't follow... How would it make the car dirty or smell of BO? If you don't USE it anyway then how would it hurt anything? Unless you're suggesting that you would leave the hole where the blower goes open then there's no way that would occur.

 

i think the weight benefit IS worth it. i know i have been in many many many cars that have not had AC in years (mine) and they dont smell like BO. maybe a shower and some old spice would help that tho....

 

No BO in any of my previous 2 Firebirds. Like I said before, no HP gains, but if you're interested in cleaning up the engine bay, it helps.

I just got done changing the oil dipstick tube. Had to loosen the passenger side header bolts and move the header out of the way a bit. If I had all my A/C crap still in the car I wouldn't even be done yet.

 

This thread should help with the fan:

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=162642

I don't have any updated pics yet. I'll be taking some more after I install the lowering spring kit I ordered.

 

I pulled my A/C out and the engine bay looks much cleaner. It never worked properly, anyway. All of the freon was dried up and I tried an R-134a conversion kit but it didn't work too well. It was far easier to pull the A/C than spend $200 on new parts to get an R-134a-native setup. For my year, it's supposed to be about 45 lbs. in weight savings. Keep in mind that the weight reduction is coming from the front of the car, which will shift the weight distribution very, very slightly. Depending on the car's application, it could provide additional traction (minimal, though).

My car is a street/strip car, but it's nowhere near a full-fledged racer. I've survived no A/C in a Jeep (the fact that it's a convertible doesn't necessarily help matters, either), no A/C in my father's 1967 Camaro, and no A/C in my friend's 1976 Camaro. For me, it was worth it and I can deal without the luxury.

 

Isn't that the truth. I rarely ever use my heater or my a/c for that matter, but there were about 2 days last summer when the t-tops just weren't cutting it and I had to turn on the a/c.

 

bought my a/c delete box here http://members.***.net/iroczdave1/index.htm i should have it by next week.

http://www.gmpartsdirect.com/ bought the a/c delete pulley here.

total was about 125 bucks and my engine bay will look better, who needs a/c!

i dont even use my heat at all, even when its like 20 out, well maybe i use the window defrosters.

 

A/C will only make your car slower if you have it turned on

some cars also have it setup so the AC gets turned off when you hit wide open throttle


the wieght savings is minimal


you might as well keep it if you are looking for straight line performance. your car is heavy enough as it is so taking off 30lbs is going do to very little, so again prolly best just to leave it.

but then again it sounds like you had your mind made up before you even asked.


granted mine is taken out but I'm a crazy man.
when I get the turbo motor I am stripping my engine bay.
soon plan on removing the front and rear bumper, going under the car and removing all heat shielding, remove the sound insulation, basicly a very strong street stripping of the car. getting a light weight batt moved to the trunk, alum hood, different seat, anything I can go without giving up too much creature comfort or looks goes.
but this isn't just a tad little piece or work...

but then again I want the lighter weight because of the type of racing I do. weight is important on a straight line run... but even more so in the turns and I run the turns all the time .


but honestly unless you are wanting to go all out, it's not worth it, and even with what all i'm doing guess what. I'm driving an unsafe kinda uncomfortable car down the road for less then .5 in the 1/4 I bet

 

Quote:

granted mine is taken out but I'm a crazy man.

lol, i'm a crazy man too-- i'm not just going to be taking the a/c out-- EVERYTHING is coming out-- well, everything except the creature comforts-like you said.. the rear seats are already taken out, and anxiously waiting my 2 10lb nitrous bottles


This is my daily driver, however, i'm willing to sacrifice a/c(i never use it anyway) to make up a little in weight savings. I'm not going to be selling this car anyway cause then i'd just be throwing away all the money i invested. hopefully she'll be with me on my death bed-- or at least my future son(cross my fingers) will get to have it. of course by then, they'll probably be teleporting everywhere they go and wont even be able to spell a-u-t-o-m-o-b-i-l-e. anyway, i'm loving your replies-- it keeps me on my toes-- be sure to write back PEACE
-justin

 

ripp it out!!!!!!!! if it doesnt work then why have it? according to the tech data on this site the ac system is a 42lb reduction in weight, also not to mention that not having the ac radiator infront of the coolant radiator will allow the car to run cooler and cool down quicker!! and its less cluster **** under the hood without the ac there. u can take out ur emissions crap while ur ad it so ac delete serves three purposes: cosmetic, cooling, weight reduction. i even went the step farther to pull aprt my dash and take out all the vent ducts, vaccum whodingys, metal gates, etc, just leaving me with defrost. my rear seats are gone to, as well as my jack and spare tire. the car weighs 3350 with me in it, not bad!





before:


after:

 

I weighed every single piece, including the condensor in front of the radiator. The total came out to 40lbs.

Check this out:

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=163176

 

Great job SLP irocz
good to see someone not afraid to do what it takes.