Just wondering if its actully worth taking it off....has no refrigerant in it anyway and I dont plan to recharge it.
Will some power and fuel economy come back?

 

Well you may gain a miniscule amount of speed in acceleration due to the 30 lbs of components removed, but the system doesn't draw any power from the crank unless the compressor is engaged, and since you have no freon in the system it won't due that.

If nothing else it will clean up the engine bay. You'll need an AC delete pulley.

 

Would I really need the pulley?

Cant I just route a new belt ignoring where the AC was?

The engine does have a diaghram on how to route it.

 

What year is your car...single serpentine belt or V-belt system on your car? That'll decide if you need the A/C delete pulley or not. If you need it there's no rerouting for not having it.

 

its a 91 Firebird with a 3.1

Single Serp belt...

If it really wont free up much power or economy I wont even bother...

Thanks for responses

 

It wont do a thing but cause you a headache trying to find the right belt and what not, so just leave it. I have the same prob.

-Buck

 

All it will do is drop about 30 pounds and you'd have to buy the delete pulley.

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=272470

Other thread on delete pulley.

 

You get better cooling when you remove the ac radiator.

 

If you're gonna do other weight reduction, that's the place to start (assuming you can live without like me). You may be able to get away with running a smaller belt routed so that the water pump still rotates in the right direction, this way you wouldn't need the pulley. Drop another 40lbs other than that, and you'll shave a tenth or so off your 1/4 mile.

 

F-bod, you are far more manly than I, living in Houston and ripping out the AC!

I don't know what the humidity is like there but in Savannah it's in the 90 percent range with 90 degree temps in the summer-

I know when it rains hard here and you don't have AC (my S10, for example) your windows fog up and you either have to get soaked leaving a window part way down or keep a towel in one hand to keep wiping the inside of the windshield!

 

Well since it's not really worth doing..Once spring comes around ill get it recharged with refrigerant.

 

Well since it's not really worth doing..Once spring comes around ill get it recharged with refrigerant.

 

I wouldn't say that. The extra cooling is worth it. to me anyways.
These cars run much stronger when you keep the temps under 200f

I found once the ac radiator was removed, cooling to those temps was no problem.

 

It's usually about that here, but far hotter in the summer, 90-110. I'm a trooper tho, I just keep moving if it's hot outside :P

 

The extra cooling is worth doing it alone. Then you add in the weight factor.....Do it!

 

I love my AC, spent too many years driving beaters with no AC so I'll keep mine.

I'm putting it back in the S10 once I get a bracket and compressor for the V8. No more cojones glued to my leg on those August days!

But to each their own- if you feel it costs you power, cooling and adds wieght, take it out.

Our RS stays under 200 in traffic with the AC crankin' on a hot Georgia day.

 

Losing weight in the front, is ideal. Its the place you want to lose pounds. big or small. 30-40 is big. Move the battery to the back and you made that around 50. due to weight transfer moving it to the rear isn't really adding bad pounds. as you want to make the rear of the car heavier. 51/49 weight ratio front to rear.

Its how you can add weight to a car but have it beneficial. Just add it to the right place.