i need some insight PLEASE

[soldierZ33]

Hey guys, Ive abused the search button as much as I can. I want to take the A/C out of my Z to clean up some of those unsightly hoses under the hood. I know some people take it out for the little to no power its suppose to add, but id rather have less clutter under the hood. If anyone knows how much this will actually help or have done this themselves it would be alot of help and give me a better idea at what i can expect. Thanks guys anything is helpful

[Z31toZ32]

i dont understand why people would take their ac out. for what, a physiological increase in hp? gl trying to sell it.

[BusyBadger]

i dont understand why people would take their ac out. for what, a physiological increase in hp?

I know some people take it out for the little to no power its suppose to add, but id rather have less clutter under the hood

And I think you're looking for the word "psychological".

[soldierZ33]

hey badger im not sure if you were looking out for me or not. but yea reading the whole post helps people under stand the question alot better and the reason i would take it out i guess is because i live in upstate NY and yes the weather gets pretty toasty in the summer for the region. i freeze my butt off 5 months out of the year so i dont use the A/C to start with. It also weights atleast 20 pounds when you take everything out (condenser, compressor, a/c lines) and so forth. and with a lighter car even if it is 20 pounds thats weight i dont have to lose myself haha. so badger if you were looking out for me, Thanks bud.

[BusyBadger]

Sappers, Rangers...we're all on the same side. Well, we were...I've been out for a long time. Anyway, there's a couple of things that bug me in that post.

First, what someone does with their car is perfectly fine up until the point it jeopardizes the safety of others on the road - my main problem with a lot of the VIP cars out there). Second, even though it didn't need explaining you said exactly why you wanted to remove the AC.

I live in Tennessee and usually vacation in Charleston, SC so I'd never even consider it...in fact I'll start sweating just thinking about it. New York, huh...you must be at Ft. Drum. Don't let them fool you...there's nothing light about light infantry.

[spitalul2bad]

I wouldn't do this, not for a second. Even if the weather around my area was fine, and the A/C would never be on... Consider
that at a future point in time you'd sell the car... Are you going to put the A/C back? If so, it's a useless hassle. You won't sell
the car without the A/C...

Furthermore, the Z is not the lightest sports car around, not by a long shot. Making it lighter with 20 pounds is not going to
undo your big lunch or the friend you picked up as a passenger. Heck, you could get 20 pounds just by taking out the spare
wheel and other things in your trunk.

If the power vs. weight is bothering you, add a plenum spacer, or some headers. You'd get 5-10 hp more, and outweigh the
A/C entirely with more power.

Finally, if the hoses are what's bothering you... either replace them with some "good-looking" ones, or re-route them (but
you'll have to fabricate that yourself). Taking out the A/C should be a last resort, even for track-minded enthusiasts. Just as
a quick reminder... Porsche make the 911, right? Then, they make the GT3, the lightened, tuned, sports focused version...
then, they also make the GT3 RS, the destined to be on the track, heavy-minded version, which has a factory roll-bar, no
sound proofing, no stero, nothing... however, it DOES have air conditioning. What does that ultimately tell you?

[BusyBadger]

^^^ Made me think of Saving Private Ryan

"Reiben, I want you to listen closely to Jackson. This is the way to gripe. Jackson, continue."

Heck, you could get 20 pounds just by taking out the spare wheel and other things in your trunk.

Using this logic he could save 40 pounds if he did this and pulled the AC. How much weight does it need to be before it's considered significant?

they also make the GT3 RS, the destined to be on the track, heavy-minded version, which has a factory roll-bar, no sound proofing, no stero, nothing... however, it DOES have air conditioning. What does that ultimately tell you?

Porsche drivers can't hear and can't take the heat?

[spitalul2bad]

Heh, I liked that line in Saving Private Ryan... I'm not an expert, but I would say around 100 pounds for it to start being significant... 200 or more until you notice
some good 0-60 improvements or faster lap times on a track. With 200 pounds or more off, if you have a good Zeal or other highly adjustable suspension set-up, you
could even start to compensate for the reduction in weight... With more than 200 pounds you could even start thinking about perfect weight distribution throughout
the car... But this is all fantasy... As per my earlier post, removing the A/C isn't the first way to go.

From an aerodynamics point of view, the 7hp or so that the A/C compressor uses is less than the power loss from the simple drag of your windows being down. So,
roll up your windows and you'll outweigh the A/C power "loss".

From Jay's post, here is the way to go with weight shaving on the 350Z:

What, you want superior lightness in your car and who cares about comfort, ok:
(This list goes from things that are easy to do and most people can do this - to complicated and only people tracking their car will do this.)
-Remove all your crap from the car first of all, this includes that owners manual too
-Go on a diet there tubby. Your weight gets factored into the equation
-Don't fill your gas tank up: 1/2 will get you to where you need to go
-Take out the spare tire and jack
-Remove all engine plastics
-Get lightweight pullies and a flywheel
-Look for lightweight wheels (Magnesium?) and brake components (Carbon/ceramic?)
-Make sure you have that CF hood, trunk, fenders, doors, and CF seats I was talking about
-Remove window washer tank and lines
-Remove all interior plastics and carpets
-Remove the headliner
-Remove stereo components
-Remove the exhaust and run open headers
-Remove AC and heater components
-Remove all sound deadening
-Remove power door locks and alarm
-Replace all windows with lexan (you may use NACA clear ducts to get air into the cabin)
-Remove side window motors and interior door components
-Remove windsheild wiper motors and wipers (front and rear)
-Replace the steering wheel to remove the airbag, remove passenger and any other airbags
-Remove front and rear bumper supports and door reinforcements (make sure you have a full cage)
-Remove the passenger seat completely

[simplewon]

When your window fogs up and you have to see clearly, you turn the defrost on. This clears the window by automatically turning on the ac and blowing cold dry air on the windshield to almost instantly clear the moisture.

[orangeNblue]

if the hoses are bothering you that much, you could also add a couple of simple mods that would help take the focus away....
-colored radiator hoses
-grounding wire kit (I have blue and it looks amazing)
-powdercoated plenum (did mine wrinkle black, made a huge difference)
-oil, radiator, and other misc caps (zeetoys, greddy, nismo)

As far as taking it out for power reasons, I'm with spitalul2bad on that one. A lot of mods will help overcome that power difference without sacrificing the convenience of having cold air on a hot day. trust me you will miss the a/c for the couple of months that you will use it. Nothing sucks more than showing up somewhere with sweat stains on an extremely hot afternoon.....ha

[soldierZ33]

thanks for the thoughts and seggestions guys, I did how ever take the A/C pump out along with most of the lines. it was a total of 14 pounds of saved weighted plus the weight i saved from the spare tire, tool kit, jack and random so my Z is 48.7 pounds lighter. The only thing i can see other then the Z being lighter is that i added on average 3 MPG city/highway. If i can figure out how to get my front bumper off ill take the rest of the A/C for more weight loss. not sure ill miss the cold air...NY summers hardly get the heat needed for A/C. again guys, thanks for your thoughts and info.

[carbon z]

Racing? Track? Street?

[soldierZ33]

a little of everything

[Scott@ETtuning]

I am around drag racing more so you will see a lot of people taking out the A/C. Would I? Not at all! Its less load on the engine and less weight. Mostly done for the weight taken off the front of the car. It does clean up the engine bay but do you drive around with the hood up for everyone to see? I would guess not. Not worth the time IMHO


Scott