How to stay cool...

[rottie102]

As in temperature, not Steve McQueen cool

It looks like I'll be taking the corvette on the roadtrip to Italy. Over 3000 miles without aircon, mainly in the south of France and Italy in June is no fun. The fan kind of works, but anyone who has ever driven a classic american car knows that although it works, the cooling it provides is questionable. Another problem is - my vette has got sidepipes and as much I love them - they make it even hotter inside.

I would be happy to got the full kit from the states and fit a modern air-con, however I'm leaving on Thu morning so it's not gonna happen.

I will put styrofoam in the footwells under the carpets to prevent heat soak from the exhaust, also I will wrap the exhaust in exhaust tape. But for the interior, is there anything better than a pair of these:


Is there any portable in-car air-con that would be in stock in the UK?

[chrisxr2]

Open a window??

[TheHeretic]

chrisxr2 said:

Open a window??

This... It gets 30-35 degrees here in the summer, and a simple lowering of the window, and all is well with the world.

[fivetenben]

Agreed, open windows are the way to go. I can vouch for those fans being worse than useless once the temperature passes about 25-30°C...

[rottie102]

Thanks. Why didn't I think of that...

Anything else?

[lost in espace]

http://www.instructables.com/id/Portable-12V-Air-C...

Good luck with the build!

[martin84]

Any car without Aircon is stupid. All fans or even opening a window does is turbocharge hot air at you.

[Codswallop]

[TheHeretic]

martin84 said:

Any car without Aircon is stupid. All fans or even opening a window does is turbocharge hot air at you.

No, they don't. It's like wind chill. the flow of air will cool you. I know this because it gets silly hot here in the summer, and I have no AC. Open a window, and it is fine. It also worked in the UAE, South Africa, and Nigeria. Open windows work. Airflow is cooling.

[Caesar9]

TheHeretic said:

No, they don't. It's like wind chill. the flow of air will cool you. I know this because it gets silly hot here in the summer, and I have no AC. Open a window, and it is fine. It also worked in the UAE, South Africa, and Nigeria. Open windows work. Airflow is cooling.

Yes at speed but when your a lower speeds (>20mph) there isn't much wind to blow through.

[snotrag]

You need a Firestone Car cooler. Or build something that does the same job.

[Scuderia2112]

as air passes over your skin it draws out moisture with it, thus keeping you cool. Open windows all the way.

[mat777]

Whilst a small in car will will just blow hot air at you, a squeeze breeze fan works wonders (which I can vouch for having used both those and normal fans in very hot parts of america). Periodically spraying a fine mist of water through the fan blades, not only do you get a quick refreshing cool face mist to freshen you up, but wetting the fan blades also makes them cool the air significantly as they propel it towards you. it really makes a helluva noticeable difference! I've still got some original design ones in the shed from Disney in the mid 90s
it cant be that hard to temporarily rig one up on the 'vette dashboard/centre console either

http://www.acehardwaresuperstore.com/1916-clip-on/...

[fozzymandeus]

Scuderia2112 said:

as air passes over your skin it draws out moisture with it, thus keeping you cool. Open windows all the way.

Except if the humidity is really high.

You don't want a car without A/C in Beijing. Poor air quality + humidity + very high temp. means hell on earth.

[samdale]

Caesar9 said:

TheHeretic said:

No, they don't. It's like wind chill. the flow of air will cool you. I know this because it gets silly hot here in the summer, and I have no AC. Open a window, and it is fine. It also worked in the UAE, South Africa, and Nigeria. Open windows work. Airflow is cooling.

Yes at speed but when your a lower speeds (>20mph) there isn't much wind to blow through.

There will still be some effect from wind chill. Just how much greater than 20mph are we talking..?

[Mastodon2]

Caesar9 said:

Yes at speed but when your a lower speeds (>20mph) there isn't much wind to blow through.

On a 3000 mile trip to Italy, how long do you think he is going to be sitting at 20mph?

Just wind the windows down, you'll want them down anyway to hear the exhaust.

[rottie102]

Mastodon2 said:

On a 3000 mile trip to Italy, how long do you think he is going to be sitting at 20mph?

Just wind the windows down, you'll want them down anyway to hear the exhaust.

You would be surprised by:

a) how often you get stuck in traffic jams in and out of Italian and French towns.
b) how annoying and tiring is travelling with windows down in a loud car on motorways for so long

[ColinM50]

How about popping one of these in the back and when it all gets a bit too warm, just crack the valve open for a couple of seconds

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LIQUID-NITROGEN-DEWAR-CR...

[whoami]

TheHeretic said:

martin84 said:

Any car without Aircon is stupid. All fans or even opening a window does is turbocharge hot air at you.

No, they don't. It's like wind chill. the flow of air will cool you. I know this because it gets silly hot here in the summer, and I have no AC. Open a window, and it is fine. It also worked in the UAE, South Africa, and Nigeria. Open windows work. Airflow is cooling.

Until you stop.

Or are going slowly.

Or want to talk to your passenger(s).

[Spanna]

Wear a hat that has been dipped in cold water. Works for cowboys in Texas in the height of summer.