Vehicles with the Coldest A/C Systems?

John105 said:
Was there ever a time when you turned off your AC, prior to shutting off the vehicle? I did that until 10 years ago, because it was a habit I picked up from my parents....pretty sure their first 2 cars with AC (Toyota Celica and Camry), had rocker switches to turn the AC on and off. And they always turned it off, prior to rolling into wherever it was they were parking. I guess 10 years ago I learned that action is totally not necessary today.
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That was a general consensus to keep the evaporator from getting moldy. Modern cars have "afterblow" where the computer runs the fan to do this.

My 1989 Mazda 323 had port-installed AC, and pushing the master switch turned it into just venting with the blower motor.
 
John105 said:
Was there ever a time when you turned off your AC, prior to shutting off the vehicle? I did that until 10 years ago, because it was a habit I picked up from my parents....pretty sure their first 2 cars with AC (Toyota Celica and Camry), had rocker switches to turn the AC on and off. And they always turned it off, prior to rolling into wherever it was they were parking. I guess 10 years ago I learned that action is totally not necessary today.
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I still do that always. Don't want that ice cold evap freezing then marinatiog in humid soup. I Shut the AC off a couple miles from my destination - but leave the fan on at least med to bring the evap up to ambient.
 
slo town said:
Like my Dad's 1965 Pontiac Grand Prix Tri-Power 389 with those big Fridgidaire compressors. I remember that thing use to frost the dash vents.

Scott
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Geek alert.

My dad bought the Chiltons for his 1969 Buick Sportwagon. I’d look through it as a little kid, wishing he had something bigger than the 350 4 bbl.

In the repair instructions would be pics and one of them showed a 403 with the Frigidaire compressor. I also wished we had that…AC.

In a very weird sense, that longing as a child, is really the same as today. Wanting a L87 Tahoe and even wishing for six piston Brembos knowing those brakes are not likely…

Edit more questions lol
I see online that the Sportwagon had a 400 as it’s largest engine. If I’m not mistaken, the 400 is a big block and the 403 a small block. I also believe the Vista Cruiser could have a 455 but could be wrong. How much work is same or different among small and big blocks? I’d be curious to see that Chiltons today and remember being 5 and looking at it

Edit 2 when I say 403 I am skipping ahead to a different generation, so I should have said 400 above, and the Olds did have the 455 available. I actually like and liked the Vista Cruiser better as the rounded rear 1/4s are nice. I get all this from the word Frigidaire lol 😊
 
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The best performing A/C system bar none, was in my (long gone) '63 Bonneville. I think this was true of all GM A/C of that era; and most all cars in general. The Lexus A/C is also pretty decent by today's standards.

The Highlander A/C performance will deliberately choke itself off for fuel economy. When the drive mode is set to ECO, it automatically puts the AC system into it's own ECO mode. This is when the compressor performance is throttled back. I don't drive in ECO mode anymore; there's no way to customize the AC settings to default its ECO mode to off. I just manually turn the ECO off.

Still, there needs to be airflow across the condenser for the system to really start blowing frigid air. It really starts to work above 35 MPH. At the coldest setting, the cold air blowing against my hands makes them sore.

For whatever reasons, there are numerous complaints about 4th Gen Highlander A/C performance at Toyota Nation. 🤷‍♂️
 
John105 said:
Geek alert.

My dad bought the Chiltons for his 1969 Buick Sportwagon. I’d look through it as a little kid, wishing he had something bigger than the 350 4 bbl.

In the repair instructions would be pics and one of them showed a 403 with the Frigidaire compressor. I also wished we had that…AC.

In a very weird sense, that longing as a child, is really the same as today. Wanting a L87 Tahoe and even wishing for six piston Brembos knowing those brakes are not likely…

Edit more questions lol
I see online that the Sportwagon had a 400 as it’s largest engine. If I’m not mistaken, the 400 is a big block and the 403 a small block. I also believe the Vista Cruiser could have a 455 but could be wrong. How much work is same or different among small and big blocks? I’d be curious to see that Chiltons today and remember being 5 and looking at it

Edit 2 when I say 403 I am skipping ahead to a different generation, so I should have said 400 above, and the Olds did have the 455 available. I actually like and liked the Vista Cruiser better as the rounded rear 1/4s are nice. I get all this from the word Frigidaire lol 😊
Click to expand...
Wiki is a good source. There were two groups: 64-67 and 68-72. The second group had a Rocket 455 available and also a Rocket 400. The first group had a Oldsmobile 400 as the top dog.

88509AFE-47D9-4AC3-90F9-E49189681BF2.jpg


51E49717-C0CA-4715-B928-93ECB49C298E.jpg
 
John105 said:
Geek alert.

My dad bought the Chiltons for his 1969 Buick Sportwagon. I’d look through it as a little kid, wishing he had something bigger than the 350 4 bbl.

In the repair instructions would be pics and one of them showed a 403 with the Frigidaire compressor. I also wished we had that…AC.

In a very weird sense, that longing as a child, is really the same as today. Wanting a L87 Tahoe and even wishing for six piston Brembos knowing those brakes are not likely…

Edit more questions lol
I see online that the Sportwagon had a 400 as it’s largest engine. If I’m not mistaken, the 400 is a big block and the 403 a small block. I also believe the Vista Cruiser could have a 455 but could be wrong. How much work is same or different among small and big blocks? I’d be curious to see that Chiltons today and remember being 5 and looking at it

Edit 2 when I say 403 I am skipping ahead to a different generation, so I should have said 400 above, and the Olds did have the 455 available. I actually like and liked the Vista Cruiser better as the rounded rear 1/4s are nice. I get all this from the word Frigidaire lol 😊
Click to expand...

The 403 is an Oldsmobile engine.....400, 430, & 455 Buicks have a different bore spacing IIRC than Buick 350's. Buick Sport Wagon is also A-Body based.
GM had a agreement to limit engines to 400ci in intermediate chassis during the latter half of the 60's

Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser is based on a Intermediate A-Body platform.. Olds didn't have a B-Body wagon for a few years then debuted the 98 based Custom Cruiser in '71 that came standard with a 455.
 
edyvw said:
Last 20yrs or so, BMW’s have really good AC systems.
The whole saga around BMW AC systems is coming from 1979 I think when BMW NA hosted German executives in Dallas in the middle if the summer and shovel them in black 7 series. They boiled on the way to hotel.
Hence, every BMW having MAX AC button after that.
On MAX AC mine will cool down fast interior beyond being comfortable.
But, I had better AC systems.
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Last week I drove my 2013 BMW X5 to southern Florida. And its a black SUV. I set the AC at 70 degrees and was quite comfortable while outside it was 97=101 degrees and humid. When I would have to leave the car at rest centers to visit the john, I would almost die until I could get back in the car. And that MAX AC button was great when its use was necessary at the beginning of the ride.
 
k1xv said:
Last week I drove my 2013 BMW X5 to southern Florida. And its a black SUV. I set the AC at 70 degrees and was quite comfortable while outside it was 97=101 degrees and humid. When I would have to leave the car at rest centers to visit the john, I would almost die until I could get back in the car. And that MAX AC button was great when its use was necessary at the beginning of the ride.
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I did 5,200 mls road trip with my 2013 BMW X5 35d NOLA,Cape, Homestead, ATL, Montgomery, AL, July 2018. AC worked really good! Especially MAX AC function.
 
Rand said:
They started going downhill with r134a (vs r-12)

but a properly designed system will still freeze you out.

the coldest car I'd had in recent memory(2010+) was the loaner 24 elantra SEL. It would just about put frost on my legs.
My recent subarus -22forester FB25 24 outback FA24DIT- haven't been terrible but they definitely take a few mins longer to be comfortable in a "heat soaked" interior.

Surprisingly one of the worst has been the 2020 ram. Even with a fresh cabin air filter.. I had it cranked almost the whole Canada Trip even though it was driving at night. Might have to check and see if its full of bugs.
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Rams are terrible, universally hated here by my field team.
 
I live 40 miles from the Texas coast (dead center for storm) and don’t recall any vehicle that could not cool very well unless it had a leak that was repaired and system re-charged/tested …
 
Snagglefoot said:
Wiki is a good source. There were two groups: 64-67 and 68-72. The second group had a Rocket 455 available and also a Rocket 400. The first group had a Oldsmobile 400 as the top dog.

View attachment 228956

View attachment 228957
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The 403 showed up later on but still did service in a Vista Cruiser and many other cars including the Firebird for a while. Here is where they used the 403. Enjoy.

Olds 403.webp
 
John105 said:
I can't stand the idea of blending in heat, seems wasteful. Imagine using both AC and the furnace at home, to get the correct temp...
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Man I know what you mean. my wife will blend heat into the AC often even on hot days which seems totally counterintuitive to me. When I turn on the AC I want COLD only dammit! Lol. :D

And as someone else mentioned. I do think bigger vehicles with bigger motors do have better compressors. It makes sense. Nice powerful motor has no trouble turning a hefty compressor to really cool things down. Versus say my Miata's anemic 1.6. You don't want to be behind me (with my wife in the car as well) on a 95 degree day as we drive up a steep mountain grade, lol.
 
Speedbird001 said:
FWIW: one third of the reason I will probably never buy another Mopar is because of the crap HVAC. Both in terms of effectiveness and lack of even a hint of reliability. Multiple Experiences and $$$$’s in repairs soo bad would rule the whole brand out. Thats saying something.
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The online thing Mopar/Dodge That I'd ever buy in the future if I had the money would be a Dodge Viper ACR or a Hellcat with a manual transmission. My neon has had alot of weird quirks. The trunk taillight bracket cracked recently causing the taillight to fall out of its notch in the trunk. Gorilla tape currently holding until i can plastic epoxy it. The paint hasn't held up, cheap interior plastic.
 
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