In the summer time when the weather is...
Discussion
This summer a friend and I are taking a couple of older cars on a euro-roadtrip - meeting our families in a villa down on the FR/ES border.
Both cars (his '73 911 Carrera and my '80 M535i) are lacking in the icy cold aircon department.
Most of the time the weather will be mid to high 30's.
Does anyone have any tips on keeping the blighters cool?
Retrofit aircon is looking a little punchy. Are 12V fans any good?
Both cars (his '73 911 Carrera and my '80 M535i) are lacking in the icy cold aircon department.
Most of the time the weather will be mid to high 30's.
Does anyone have any tips on keeping the blighters cool?
Retrofit aircon is looking a little punchy. Are 12V fans any good?
Having used a non air-con car last year during the really hot summer what I particularly noticed was that you wanted to avoid using the cars in the afternoon, especially if it has been stood in the sun for any time.
The air temp in the mornings over asphalt is much lower and you can keep the vented air cool (even without air-con) until you stop; my Shogun has a foot-well vent that you can open for cold air to your feet and that works really well until post midday - you cannot get the vented air cool in the afternoons and not until the temperature drops again in the early evening so I'd travel mornings and evenings and sleep afternoons in the shade if you're really concerned.
This won't apply to the 911 so much but in the M535i you'll really notice the heat-soak from the engine, transmission & also the exhaust - it may be right below you; I have fitted sound deadening to the Shogun which also acts as heat barrier but you could wrap the exhaust and/or fit heat-soak material in the foot-wells if you really want.
The air temp in the mornings over asphalt is much lower and you can keep the vented air cool (even without air-con) until you stop; my Shogun has a foot-well vent that you can open for cold air to your feet and that works really well until post midday - you cannot get the vented air cool in the afternoons and not until the temperature drops again in the early evening so I'd travel mornings and evenings and sleep afternoons in the shade if you're really concerned.
This won't apply to the 911 so much but in the M535i you'll really notice the heat-soak from the engine, transmission & also the exhaust - it may be right below you; I have fitted sound deadening to the Shogun which also acts as heat barrier but you could wrap the exhaust and/or fit heat-soak material in the foot-wells if you really want.
That's very interesting, thanks.
The main problem with the beemer will be heat from engine in addition to the outside temps. It is a dark blue car with a dark blue interior, not ideal! The huge expanses of glass in older cars also causes a bit more heat that required.
Noted on mornings/evenings. We're away for nearly 3 weeks, the week in the middle in a villa with 4 adults and 4 kids under 8. Guess if we want to go out en masse we'll go early or late.
We'll also be doing boys only early morning hoons up to Gorge de Verdon etc.
The main problem with the beemer will be heat from engine in addition to the outside temps. It is a dark blue car with a dark blue interior, not ideal! The huge expanses of glass in older cars also causes a bit more heat that required.
Noted on mornings/evenings. We're away for nearly 3 weeks, the week in the middle in a villa with 4 adults and 4 kids under 8. Guess if we want to go out en masse we'll go early or late.
We'll also be doing boys only early morning hoons up to Gorge de Verdon etc.
The other option would be tinting the windows - I've not done that yet as its a very personal decision - I'd have thought the BMW has a green tint already so you could just make it a bit darker. The alternative is bespoke stick-on window shades but can't see these for an E12/28. Have a look on eBay as they do them for more modern stuff like my 9-5 Aero.
Re glass & windows, old cars are much better at coping without air-con - you get appalling thrumming in a modern with the windows open and by far and away the worst experience I ever had without air was with an E39.
Re glass & windows, old cars are much better at coping without air-con - you get appalling thrumming in a modern with the windows open and by far and away the worst experience I ever had without air was with an E39.
We took our VX220 down into mid France in mid summer during the really hot time. No blowers (to speak of) and engine directly behind your head plus stopped in traffic left it quite unbearable.
Travel time is important, but the simple sun screens also keep the car a little cooler before you entering it. We also put damp/ wet towels on the roof (fabric roof) and this seemed to cool the car slightly through the latent heat of evaporation. Put it on early morning before breakfast and left on for a few hours in the sun (Not sure if this actually worked or placebo effect??). It definitely worked to cool drinks/ beer/ wine down for the evenings (we were camping so had no fridge!)
Mike
Travel time is important, but the simple sun screens also keep the car a little cooler before you entering it. We also put damp/ wet towels on the roof (fabric roof) and this seemed to cool the car slightly through the latent heat of evaporation. Put it on early morning before breakfast and left on for a few hours in the sun (Not sure if this actually worked or placebo effect??). It definitely worked to cool drinks/ beer/ wine down for the evenings (we were camping so had no fridge!)
Mike
I had the same issue through the really hot summer last year in my old 'Tina. In the end I just accepted it and adopted the following tactics to try and make it bearable;
- always try and park in the shade during the afternoon
- one of those windscreen blocking cardboard screen things does make a difference
- take a spare shirt/trousers to change into when you get where you are going
S
- always try and park in the shade during the afternoon
- one of those windscreen blocking cardboard screen things does make a difference
- take a spare shirt/trousers to change into when you get where you are going
S
Swamp cooler. Filed with ice and straw. That'll work - find one on Ebay, may need to be .com.
Neck thing. You need a Cooldanna. These are a tie around your neck thing that have crystals that absorb a lot of water, then keep you cool for a day. I have a few left NOS for a tenner each. Probably find a pink one for you Ben, to match your eyes.....
Neck thing. You need a Cooldanna. These are a tie around your neck thing that have crystals that absorb a lot of water, then keep you cool for a day. I have a few left NOS for a tenner each. Probably find a pink one for you Ben, to match your eyes.....
I drove a 1970 Interceptor to and from and around Italy in boiling heat in 2010. No aircon (optional on Mark IIs, not present in that one). The windows were down all the time, even when parked up (we used a heavy duty steering lock, the door locks being useless anyway), and we had a picnic cooler filled with ice when we could get it, and even sat on ice packs sometimes. Plug in and battery fans didn't do much good. The car itself had one of its two rad fans on a go slow, but it never quite overheated.
gentlemen, I give you....."The Car Cooler"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_cooler
now where's that spare piece of 4" drain pipe....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_cooler
now where's that spare piece of 4" drain pipe....
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