Race car's A/C died, should I fix it or not?

I think it's just a blown seal and can be converted to R134A and resealed, but I was wondering if it might up the car's performance if I removed it. Do you guys think I could knock a consistent 10th of a sec or more off of my times if I removed it? I saw what Dan Sly did with the tensioner and a shorter belt sans compressor and I could do this if it would help. Keep in mind, this Georgia and it gets really hot and humid 6 months of the year and the A/C really comes in handy at times.

You run bracket races so isn't consistancy what matters and not so much raw 1/4mile times?

If so, I think you just answered your own question.

On my own car, especially if I was living in your climate, I'd get the A/C fixed if it was easily done. Unless the car is getting trailered to the track, it would be nice to keep it functional.

cheers,
Ed N.

Having AC in race car?

Roll your windows down when you get warm.

kuhnga said:

Having AC in race car?

Roll your windows down when you get warm.

Click to expand...

Spoken from a true champ

I had a felling Gary would say that.

Mike,

The last time I saw your car, it didn't have any interior not even a passenger seat, just a dash and a steering wheel. Clearly you have stripped out everything possible to reduce the weight of the car for racing.

I'm with Gary...ditch the AC and make it a little lighter. I've got AC on my car, but I never use it because it makes the engine run about 20 degrees hotter. The next time it breaks, it's going bye bye.

David

Not to mention you will increase the efficiency of your IC.

MIKE
If you remove your A/C & condensor.Your coolant temps will drop
and the intercooler will run cooler,and the trans temp will also drop.(auto)
And for every 1lb spinning wt. removed you will pick up a couple horses.

When you take this all in consideration you could pick up a tenth.

When you remove the compressor ,this makes it easier to get to the plugs
on the passenger side of the motor.Even more so if you trim some aluminum
off the side of the A/C bracket.That held the compressor.I don't remember
what the complete A/C unit wt was,but maybe 40lbs.

And the cost is only the price of a shorter belt,and labor.$30.00 gets you
a tenth.

RANDY

Hey, I've got a power racing seat, too. I decided I like to be able to adjust the seat angle so I'm not going to get a lighter manual seat base. If I tilt it forward enough I tend not to miss shifts because I can push the clutch in easier but I can also tilt it back for cruising. Those plastic seats are actually quite comfortable with some extra padding. The window motors are shot, too, so it's hard to run them up and down. I'll need to fix one or the other. Consistency indeed is the name of the game but I really get a charge out running faster than the big block V8's and being the quickest car in the trophy/street class. None of the small block V8's can touch me. I'm limited to 13.0 min and tend to run 13.4/5's in the heat. Just running cooler might get me a 10th. Track temps average 140`+ in the summer. When I eventually move up to the Sportsman class I'll need all the extra I can get so I can run in the 12's consistently. But it does get awfully hot and humid down here sometimes and the A/C is nice. Of course I do spend all day sweating my tail off at the track, so what if I start an hour early, hmmm. I'll have the week off next week so I'll have time before the next race. I can cap off the lines to save the accumulator. I can always put everything back together later if I want. I'll let you know how it works out.

Unless I had a serious AC problem I would keep it......You can get that smaller condensor to open up some room for the IC to breath. I guess maybe if you removed teh condensor..Compressor..All lines and internal dash componants you could get a tenth possably from weight reduction..Would that = up to 100lbs?

Here are some of the numbers from Mansier building up his car. Couldn't find a weight for the condensor.

Climate Control - 3 lbs
Heater Motor - 4 lbs
A/C Comnpressor - 13 lbs
HVAC Plenum/Heater Core - 16 lbs
Evaporator - 6 lbs

3 + 4 + 13 + 16 + 6 = 42 lbs

I agree with what Randy said, it's only about 40 lbs most and forget removing the evaporator it's not worth the effort. The temp gauge runs on the N during races so if it dropped to the space in front of the N that should help. The intercooler sure could use some help too. Maybe the fan will finally do some good with more air.

Did you see this thread? You can get a shorter condensor to clear some room for the intercooler. Since it sounds like you need to purge and re-fill anyway, it might be a worth while investment if you want to keep the a/c.

http://sccoa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45986&highlight=condensor

Mike I just removed All the A/C parts under the hood.I payed about $5.00
for the plastic tool to remove the lines.So I can reinstall the A/C any time
I would want to.

My compressor was shot as well as a hole in the condensor.So I just did not
have the money to fix.And I do most all of my own work ,so I hate that the
compressor is always in the way.It is nice since I deleted all the A/C parts
under the hood.Easier to work on,the motor looks cleaner to me.I don't have
a suit&tie job to drive to,so I care less about the A/C.I have another bird
to drive if I need air.I did fix my motors in my windows though.Tried to find
some hand cranks for the window,no luck yet.

My temp gauge droped about 1 1/2 times the width of the N in normal.

I do not know if it took any time off my ET slip.I don't race a clock enough to know.

I have March under drive pulleys.With stock alterntor pulley.You can slightly
slot the alternator hole for adjustment of the shorter belt.You can also cut
the stop tang of the belt ajuster to make the belt tighten auto like stock.
I have inclosed a picture.You can see the belt size for my UD pulley size.
In the picture you can see that I cut off the bracket that held the compressor.
You may not want to do this.But either way you can now see
the spark plugs on the passenger side on the motor.

I vote you go for it.Take the junk off,if your mostly racing.You can always put the parts back on later.

Thanks guys. I downloaded several photos from previous posts so I've got lots of info on it now. I've got a couple of spare tensioners that spring in the right direction so I'll play with them and see what I can do with the shorter belts. Even if I leave the compressor on I should see some benefit.

The compressor free wheels...Would there be a gain in doing that?

Thumb Rule:For every one pound of reduced spinning wt.= a couple horse
can be gained..
Randy

But is that very light spinning ring on the compressor that much lighter then the tensioner youd be adding? I;m sure it be a little lighter..But I have pulled apart an SC compressor from an SC and the ring doesnt weigh all that much,,,Well under a pound I'd say.

Damon There is no addition of a tensioner.If you use the stock water pump pulley,or even a march UD pulley.Besides deleteing the A/C you can also delete a tensioner pulley.I have kept the tensioner pulley on mine.

But for racing,The A/C compressor ,one alternator tensioner,& the water pump pulley with water pump,& jackshaft bracket,& oem jackshaft tensioner pulley.
will be deleted.

Thats two drive pulleys & two tensioner pulleys deleted on my set up.A total of 4 pulleys.And about 60lbs+

RANDY