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weight/power savings from a/c delete?

9

98TredSVT

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
Apr 26, 2007
Messages
540
Location
Plainfield, IL
How much weight is saved by taking out everything a/c related? Is there a way to re-route the serpentine belt without going over the a/c pulley to make more power? I'm not sure I want to do this yet but I'm thinking about it. I never used my a/c even though it does work, it just needs a recharge every two weeks.
 
98TredSVT said:
How much weight is saved by taking out everything a/c related? Is there a way to re-route the serpentine belt without going over the a/c pulley to make more power? I'm not sure I want to do this yet but I'm thinking about it. I never used my a/c even though it does work, it just needs a recharge every two weeks.
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You may gain a few ponies by thowing the shorter no A/C belt on and calling it a day. You won't notice much of a difference if any at all because when the A/c is off, it doesn't take much power at all to spin that extra pulley. You could gut all your A/C, but I never have because A/C is a selling feature that most people want. At least you can sell your car with A/C even if it does need a recharge or a slow leak that needs to be fixed. At least it will have A/C. You won't loose much weight to notice a difference either. The a/c compressor weighs about 10 pounds I would say. The A/C condensor weighs about the same. The A/C dryer doesn't weigh much at all and the lines don't weigh much either. I think you would only be saving your self about 30 lbs or so. Just buy the no A/C serpentine belt and throw that on while avoiding the A/C compressor if you want to mess around with it.

I'd say leave A/C. Everyone I know who has gutted it, later regrets it and it is a SOAB to put back in!




Reebs
 
The biggest benefit to be gained is easier access to other parts of the engine bay by removing all the lines and an easier time removing/reinstalling the engine. Pole120 might have the total weight of the AC system from when we dismantled and weighed the PRT track car interior.

I would never buy a car without AC unless I was planning on it being a full-time track whore.
 
i pulled mine. you might see 1-2 WHP on a dyno. not much at all. like they just said, it doesnt take much to freewheel. however, i removed the condensor, the lines, the pump, and everything else included in it. total i saved about 20 lbs and the car runs cooler without the condensor dealio in front of the radiator. plus i have room for boost goodies and stuff up there now. :) i don't miss AC, i never used it.
 
Kremit ripped his entire system out, and saved (IIRC) 24 pounds, including all hoses, etc..

that is the same savings as removing 24lbs of crap from elsewhere in the car, or.. the same as filling your tank up, 4 gallons shy of full.

When you fill ALL the way up.. and drive it, then compare to after you've burned 4 gallons.. does it FEEL THAT much faster? no? that's because 24lbs isn't a GREAT acheivement.

Now, you want to try to sell a car with NO A/C for THAT kind of gain?

nu uh.. not for me.
 
yeah. i forgot to mention that. it'll be harder to sell the car without A/C. good thing i dont plan on selling my contour. i dont suggest anyone take it out unless its a race-only car or something of that sort. to most, i suggest you fix any leaks, and recharge it, and turn it on! ;)
 
I removed mine and was a bit dissapointed in how light the equipment actually was... it was kinda like DAMN, if I knew it was this light, I would've left it as is.

But reguardless, I've owned the car 3070 days so far, and I can say it has never once been used, so I am sure its not something I was going to miss.


BUT TAKE NOTE, EVEN IF YOU SAY YOU DONT USE THE A/C, The windsheild defogger WILL NOT WORK without A/C [well it will but it wont do jack]. I learned that the hardway when I was caught in a torrential flood literally 2 days after I removed it.


anyways the only real benifit of removing it is better cooling to the radiator and a bit more room to mount cooler accessories.
 
the compressor I want to say is about 10 pounds.... everything else under the hood totals out at about 5 pounds... it isnt much.
 
bensenvill said:
the compressor I want to say is about 10 pounds.... everything else under the hood totals out at about 5 pounds... it isnt much.
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I'll post up tonight. I weighed every piece of the system independently. I did this for all components removed from the car with the sole intention being developing a detailed reference guide for those interested in contour weight savings. :cool:
 
Pole120 said:
I'll post up tonight. I weighed every piece of the system independently. I did this for all components removed from the car with the sole intention being developing a detailed reference guide for those interested in contour weight savings. :cool:
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damn your on the ball man.........excellent, the info gained from your build should be great:cool:
 
bagged said:
damn your on the ball man.........excellent, the info gained from your build should be great:cool:
Click to expand...

I've said it to Hetfield a few times, I'm not building this car entirely for myself or for the sake of PRT. It's hopefully going to be a learning experience and tool that all of CEG can benifit from in the end. I think it's going to have a few drivers at Waterford Hills other than just myself. :cool:
 
finally....

Total HVAC system: 50.75 lbs

Plastic ducting behind dash: 4 lbs
All lines in engine bay: 4 lbs
Condenser: 5.75 lbs
Accumulator: 3 lbs
Compressor: 13.5 lbs
HVAC unit behind dash, houses both cores, blower motor and more related to HVAC: 20.5 lbs.

Sorry for the delay guys.
 
I ditched my AC system, but so I could increase cooling to the motor and gain more room for a turbo setup. That was the only worth while aspect of it's removal in my case. BTW, my defogger still worked fine w/ heat.
 
Thanks for that info Swazo, I was gonna ask why my defogger wouldn't work with heat if I took the A/C off. I just want mine gone because I NEVER use the A/C, that's why I have 4 windows, and the next owner of my car will be a junkyard. I personally don't care about weight savings or anything like that, I just don't see a purpose for it if I don't use it, just another thing for my engine to spin.
 
DUDE NO WAY! just get a mad shorty intake for that tight throttle response! (i cant believe he used more than 4 words in a sentence)

do not take ac out!

so many idiots at UTI (civic/integra) take the ac/power steering out to save weight and hope for performance and in the winter it looks like they are trying to roll a 100ft snowball up a hill, they freeze there asses off while working up a sweat turning the wheel. but they get 5 hp though so its worth it plus better throttle response....





SIKE!
 
A/C is for pu55ies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I yanked out all the stuff under the hood. Haven't yanked it all from behind the dash yet. The condenser not being in front of the radiator was the main point of note for me (plus added room for bolt ons such as the accusump) as it runs much cooler now. Kudos for a/c delete if you can deal with it! LOL!
 
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