Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Zetec Maintenance traveling in hot weather should i run the heater?

im gonna be traveling 900 miles and this one part of california gets really hot like more than 100 degrees. my gauge runs at almost 1/2 maybe an 1/8 below. i just dont want to overheat. no point on running the a/c i by passed the belt cause the ac was making noise. thanks.

im also thinking i may drive through there in the night time or early morning. i dont feel like roasting lol

yeah you can to release some heat, but a properly working cooling system you shouldn't need to do that

also running the AC run sthe fan all the time which should help cooling

thanks. my ac isnt hooked up, no belt running it.

I live in Tucson/Phoenix AZ. It is not uncommon to go over 115 degrees in Phoenix. Even at this temperature, I could sit in traffic for hours at idle, even with the a/c on, and the car would never overheat.

As long as your cooling system has been maintained it will handle this with ease.

If I were you I'd go at night though, like you said... so at least it's cooler for you!

Don't forget you are talking about dry heat, which is a whole lot different than 100+ degrees and high humidity. Should be fine w/o running the heater. But if it is an actual desert-like climate, then driving at night will make you want to run the heat to keep warm, and there would be no chance of overheating.