Corrado Air con systems. Just how good are they?

[Rawhide 0]

Reason I ask is that all cars I've had the air con has been variable. The modern cars seem to have fridgelike air con that works really well and doesn't make a big dent in the MPG. Older cars the air con does the job eventually but realy isn't great and sucks juice.

 

I am toying with the idea of moving to Spain and I will need a car. My Vr6 doesn't have air con but if possible I would like to keep with the corrado. However if it's more trouble than it's worth I won't bother.

 

Whats the verdict?

[vr6storm 0]

don't get confused between A/C and climate control tho.............most of the newer hi-spec type cars these days have climate control rather than "basic" A/C......and do deffo feel a lot chillier IMO

[Andi 2,147,483,647]

My a/c gets suitably fridge-like, but surely its going to depend on the install and the components used?

[MoonlightVR 0]

Nah mate, other than efficency there's no reason why Climate should outperform standard air con. All climate control does is maintain a preset temperature you dial in eg. 20 deg C. So it will heat the interior or cool it depending on the ambient temp. It will also take care of the air flow by adjusting the fan speed as necessary.

Air con is all manual so if you want it warmer you have to turn the dial!

 

As long as the air con system fitted to your Corrado VR6 is correctly installed with a good quality system you should have an efficent and reliable set up. When new the air con fitted to RHD Corrados was typically a Diavia, through the dealerships. Factory air con was only availble on lhd cars. Unfortunately the Diavia kit is now no longer available, but a competent air con engineer will be able to make a custom kit for around 1000ukp.

 

When I bought my car the air con was not working. It took alot of effort to sort as the original kit had been porrly fitted and so need a solid overhaul. 2 years on it's still running 100%, thanks to the air con engineer doing a spot on job. The air con on my car is able to get the air temp out of the vents down to 1 deg C, which is bloody cold! So it can be done.

[G60Jet 1]

I had my A/c recharged back in april is like a walk-in freezer with the remote start!!

 

Rawhide, And where in spain are you thinking of going?

[vr6storm 0]

its just that most of the older cars ive been in with A/C as opposed to climate don't seem to give the chillier enviroment........or of course its more than likely the gas is needing re-charging.......

[Tempest 0]

Fairly happy with my AC on my US-LHD Rado as well, had the system recharged back in April with RG24 (replacement for the now illegal R12 refrigerant), but not done any temperature measurements yet. It did require me to sort out my ISV, though, as the extra load caused the engine to stall when declutching :oops:

 

Tempest

[dinkus 10]

My standard fit AC is bloomin cold, as G60Jet says, it's proper walk in freezer temperature. You do have to faff around with the temp to make sure you don't freeze, but it sounds like G60Renshaw is thinking of putting together a climatronic kit for the C to retrofit to your existing air con system... http://the-corrado.net/.archive/forum/viewtopic. ... 4&start=20

 

That way you still get the icy cold of the standard air con system and temperature controlled too!

[Rawhide 0]

I had my A/c recharged back in april is like a walk-in freezer with the remote start!!

 

Rawhide, And where in spain are you thinking of going?

 

I'm thinking of Marbella area. My girlfriend lives there and the airfares are getting a bit expensive :? Not got a job to go to though so it's just an idea at the moment.

 

Thanks for the info. Sounds like the system is up to the job :D Any ideas how much of a dent in the MPG it makes? We're probably the wrong lot to ask living in blighty where you only use the air con once or twice a year :)

[dinkus 10]

Thanks for the info. Sounds like the system is up to the job :D Any ideas how much of a dent in the MPG it makes? We're probably the wrong lot to ask living in blighty where you only use the air con once or twice a year :)

 

No idea on mpg, but you feel a definite drop in power when the compressor kicks in. I actually have my air con on quite a lot because it dries the air as well, so it's good for wet days to clear the mist. (if you turn the heat up with the air con on, you just get dry warm air, you don't have to have cold air coming out)

[MoonlightVR 0]

I'd say the mpg drops by about 2-3mpg. If you do alot of city driving it may be a little more. The biggest difference is to operating temps, both oil and water go up a notch or two. The cooling fan often goes into mental mode in stop start traffic with air con on!