This is for all you guys that have taken out your A/C. Has it actually given you a performance gain? And if it has, do you think its because of the weight drop or because there is one less thing for your engine to turn. I kinda dont want to lose my A/C so I was thinking that I could run a shorter belt and route it around the compressor (obviously in the months that i dont use it) if its not the weight that makes the differnce. Well anyone, please just let me know if you think the amount of power you have gained from removing it is actually worth losing the luxury of air conditioning. thanx a lot
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1993 GT Hatch: 306 with Twisted Wedge heads,TFS stage one cam,TFS upper/lower intake, 190lph fuel pump, 30lb injectors, 70mm TB/EGR plate, Granatelli MAF= now using Pro-M, Lakewood upper/lower control arms, powertrax diff, subframe connectors, Eibach springs, aluminum ds, t56 trans, Eibach swaybars, Flowtech LT's, Magnaflow CB, 17x10.5 deep dish cobras in rear, 17x9 cobras in front.
Marine Detachment, Keesler AFB, Biloxi MS
OOORAAHH!!!
If you disconnect the electric cable at the AC compressor, the AC pulley works like an idler pulley. This would be almost as if no AC would be installed.
(minus the weight of the AC system 20# and minus the friction at the AC pulley "now an idler pulley" -> 0.25 HP)
Just use a shortbelt. You will regret not having AC
But will it really do that much, is it worth even buying a second belt?? If it doesnt give any power or anything, then its pretty much pointless and I'd rather just leave it how it is.
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1993 GT Hatch: 306 with Twisted Wedge heads,TFS stage one cam,TFS upper/lower intake, 190lph fuel pump, 30lb injectors, 70mm TB/EGR plate, Granatelli MAF= now using Pro-M, Lakewood upper/lower control arms, powertrax diff, subframe connectors, Eibach springs, aluminum ds, t56 trans, Eibach swaybars, Flowtech LT's, Magnaflow CB, 17x10.5 deep dish cobras in rear, 17x9 cobras in front.
Marine Detachment, Keesler AFB, Biloxi MS
OOORAAHH!!!
Next time you need to replace your belt and have it off, take your hand and spin the AC pulley. Watch it keep on spinning. This is all the engine is driving when the AC is turned off. You will certainly gain some underhood room and shed some weight by removing the AC system, short of that I wouldn't worry about it.
This is for all you guys that have taken out your A/C. Has it actually given you a performance gain? And if it has, do you think its because of the weight drop or because there is one less thing for your engine to turn. I kinda dont want to lose my A/C so I was thinking that I could run a shorter belt and route it around the compressor (obviously in the months that i dont use it) if its not the weight that makes the differnce. Well anyone, please just let me know if you think the amount of power you have gained from removing it is actually worth losing the luxury of air conditioning. thanx a lot
Honestly, only the ricers (4 cylinder cars) gain anything from this type of mod. Since a Honda type car only has 125hp or less, the little friction from the A/C will actually find a hp gain. But since we have 4 extra cylinders, and actually have something called torque!, no measurable gain can possiby be made.
AC compresssor off has no more drag than a idler pulley. Save your money on a belt and leave everything on the car. you would only gain .02 in the quarter because of the weight drop. lol
Unless you have an older AC compressor like I used to, which didnt spin all that well, then it could help to get the belt. For me my compressor didnt turn all that freely, but it was still giving me cold air so for me it was worth it to buy a bypass belt for the track rather than replace the compressor. My belt would bypass smog, and AC but only for the track. That combined with removing excess weight: spare tire, jack, rear seats, passenger seat, mats, etc loose stuff seemed to improve my track times (by how much I cant say, I used to have pretty erratic times back then)...
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Sonic Blue 2003 Cobra - Autlogic chip, Magnaflow x-pipe, mufflers, 2.9 inch pulley, CAI
Black 1991 GT - 347 twin turbo 6-speed distributorless ignition - nothing stock
well i think im just going to take the whole A/C system out for now because it isnt all that cold and there is a kit that converts the system from the old refrigerant to the more up to date stuff. The kit includes condenser, canister, compressor and all lines and its like $400. I believe its from 50resto. So ill just take it our for now and replace the a/c with an idler pully til i get the money for the new kit. Thanks for all your info everyone!!
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1993 GT Hatch: 306 with Twisted Wedge heads,TFS stage one cam,TFS upper/lower intake, 190lph fuel pump, 30lb injectors, 70mm TB/EGR plate, Granatelli MAF= now using Pro-M, Lakewood upper/lower control arms, powertrax diff, subframe connectors, Eibach springs, aluminum ds, t56 trans, Eibach swaybars, Flowtech LT's, Magnaflow CB, 17x10.5 deep dish cobras in rear, 17x9 cobras in front.
Marine Detachment, Keesler AFB, Biloxi MS
OOORAAHH!!!
My mistake, it's actually $699.99 for that kit, I just looked it up. But I think I'll still go with my plan. There are actually 2 options for the belt, a shorter one to bypass the smog pump (which is what I am doing) and one with a stock length belt. So thats better than buying another belt too.
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1993 GT Hatch: 306 with Twisted Wedge heads,TFS stage one cam,TFS upper/lower intake, 190lph fuel pump, 30lb injectors, 70mm TB/EGR plate, Granatelli MAF= now using Pro-M, Lakewood upper/lower control arms, powertrax diff, subframe connectors, Eibach springs, aluminum ds, t56 trans, Eibach swaybars, Flowtech LT's, Magnaflow CB, 17x10.5 deep dish cobras in rear, 17x9 cobras in front.
Marine Detachment, Keesler AFB, Biloxi MS
OOORAAHH!!!
By the way-
You may be tempted to remove the AC system (piping, wiring, condensor, blah blah blah) but leave the compressor mounted until you figure out if your going to bypass, move the power steering pump, or whatever.
Just make sure if you do leave the compressor mounted that its not still turning from the serpentine belt. I have a buddy who did the same thing you are thinking about and was lazy and left his compressor mounted with the serpentine still turning the compressor pulley. A few months later the compressor siezed on the highway and shredded the belt, which overheated the engine and drained the battery, and left him stranded for a few hours.
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Sonic Blue 2003 Cobra - Autlogic chip, Magnaflow x-pipe, mufflers, 2.9 inch pulley, CAI
Black 1991 GT - 347 twin turbo 6-speed distributorless ignition - nothing stock
By the way-
You may be tempted to remove the AC system (piping, wiring, condensor, blah blah blah) but leave the compressor mounted until you figure out if your going to bypass, move the power steering pump, or whatever.
Just make sure if you do leave the compressor mounted that its not still turning from the serpentine belt. I have a buddy who did the same thing you are thinking about and was lazy and left his compressor mounted with the serpentine still turning the compressor pulley. A few months later the compressor siezed on the highway and shredded the belt, which overheated the engine and drained the battery, and left him stranded for a few hours.
wow thanks for the heads up. But I am going to just take out the entire a/c system for now, compressor and all. Then I'll get that kit and put all the up to date parts in.
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1993 GT Hatch: 306 with Twisted Wedge heads,TFS stage one cam,TFS upper/lower intake, 190lph fuel pump, 30lb injectors, 70mm TB/EGR plate, Granatelli MAF= now using Pro-M, Lakewood upper/lower control arms, powertrax diff, subframe connectors, Eibach springs, aluminum ds, t56 trans, Eibach swaybars, Flowtech LT's, Magnaflow CB, 17x10.5 deep dish cobras in rear, 17x9 cobras in front.
Marine Detachment, Keesler AFB, Biloxi MS
OOORAAHH!!!
Sure if you want it, ill send it to you after I take it out. But Im not sure what else you will need. but ill send all the parts that come out of the engine bay if you really want them
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1993 GT Hatch: 306 with Twisted Wedge heads,TFS stage one cam,TFS upper/lower intake, 190lph fuel pump, 30lb injectors, 70mm TB/EGR plate, Granatelli MAF= now using Pro-M, Lakewood upper/lower control arms, powertrax diff, subframe connectors, Eibach springs, aluminum ds, t56 trans, Eibach swaybars, Flowtech LT's, Magnaflow CB, 17x10.5 deep dish cobras in rear, 17x9 cobras in front.
Marine Detachment, Keesler AFB, Biloxi MS
OOORAAHH!!!
Don't remove your A/C, converting to R134A is quite easy(provided you have the proper tools). If your current A/C unit runs on R12 which uses mineral oil, reclaim the refrigerant from the system and drain the oil from the compressor. Install polyol ester (POE) oil which is compatable with R134a (http://www.technicalchemical.com/products-10a.htm (scroll down to POE oil) add the same amount of POE oil that data plate states, vacuum down the system for at least an hour and charge the system with 2lbs of R134a. Done.
You can as a bit of a safety measure replace the filter/dryer.
I did this for my dad on his 86 5.0LX about two years ago and it's still running strong. Also I didn't replace the filter/dryer, based on previous experience in the refrigeration industry you can have up to 5% mineral mixed into the POE oil and you won't have any problems.
Does removing your A/C really do that much? 
now using Pro-M, Lakewood upper/lower control arms, powertrax diff, subframe connectors, Eibach springs, aluminum ds, t56 trans, Eibach swaybars, Flowtech LT's, Magnaflow CB, 17x10.5 deep dish cobras in rear, 17x9 cobras in front.
