rotarenvy

are there any other lines to do? do you just let the aircon run for a while and insulate anything that feels cold?

Nubo

That's what gives me pause. Not sure that the insulation is THE fix, since if it were the missing piece, we wouldn't get the "my AC is great in 100 degree heat" posts. But, it's simple enough. Between this, insulating the center tunnel, and heat-rejecting window film one can probably make do with the "sucky" AC that most (but not all) RX-8 seem to come with.

rotarenvy

I just had a look and the aircon line is already insulated on my car with foam all it needs is some reflective material

Tigster

Here is the difference that I felt, in the mornings the ac was fine. On my way home (I live in Orlando FL) I found myself having to turn the fan up higher and the car never had real cold ac. Now it runs great and took only about 10 minutes (be sure not to drop any of the cable ties onto the motor).

As for the heating issue in the center console I recently put my nextel phone into the cupholder and closed the top. When I got home I got my phone out and the hinge on the flip top on the phone broke and the phone never worked again. After ordering another $250 on a new phone I am going to tackle the heating issue inside the console. I plan on putting lining on the underbody of the car using the self adhesive kind. I will write up a DIY for this. I just have to find the time since I have been working 6 days a week.

Ninja

This is cool, Tigster. Is this the only line you insulated (the one visible in your photo) or were there other lines?

foxman

Perhaps this one then which can be slit.

http://www.thermotec.com/products/full/17062/17062.html

MTLbroker

Plastic cable ties are durable enough for this application?

G8rboy

Quality ties are made of nylon and can definitely handle the heat and stress of the underhood environment.

Tayninh

Just be sure the tie part is not sticking up as I might get in the way of putting the engine cover back on. Not sure how close the cover is to that rear AC hose but one might want to keep the lock tie part to the side facing front of the car. Its a good idea though and makes sense as the engine sure puts out tons of heat.

SpinninAgain!

Tigster,
Many thanks for a very cool DIY. It's late in the season up in the NE so I don't need the AC any more, but I'll remember this thread next Spring or Summer.

Great job and thanks for sharing. This should be moved the the DIY forum, and maybe stickied for awhile now and especially next Spring.

Tigster

The only line I insulated is the one shown. the rest on the line is insulated with a rubber insulation on mine. The cable ties I used were the smaller ones (about 3" long) so the heads are not so big and the engine cover does fit over it, I just turned the little heads down to make it look a little better. Also if you look under your hood they use cable ties all over the place so they can with stand the heat

Jazper

Bare with me because I am new to the forum and new to RX-8 (I bought mine 2 weeks ago)... question... is the purpose of the reflective heat wrap to keep the exhaust heat away from the AC lines? Please explain!

Thanks,
Jazper

Tigster

Jazper,

If you were to open the hood of your car and remove the engine cover there is a a tube that is used to bring cold air into the cab of the car. The motor produces heat (espically a rotary) and will heat up the outside of this line hence heating the air that has been cooled. By insulating the tube you are helping retain the coldness of the AC. Most of this pipe is already insulated by a foam type of insulation from the factory, so not a large portion of the tube needs to be covered. Hope this helps. :o

G8rboy

I believe the tube in question is carrying refrigerant back from the condenser to the evaporater in the cabin (which is where the air from the outside gets cooled). Since refrigerant has such a low boiling point, I'm guessing this mod will help keep the refrigerant in a liquid state until it reaches the evaporator.

starbucks

It's amazing that Mazda hasn't figured this out already and made the mod to the 2005 models, especially under the center console.

I live in So Cal and the A/C worked fine even on the hottest days when driving out of a shaded garage. However, once I parked, even out of the sun, and let the car sit for a bit before getting back in, the heat from the center console heated up the interior to the point that the A/C needed quite a bit of time to cool the interior even on max/recirc.

On warm evenings, the heat radiating from the center console made using the A/C a must if just cruising on surface streets.

I'll try this mod, but it'll have to wait until next summer to see if it helps. I looking forward to lining the underside of the center console with the reflective heat blanket.

beachdog

Correct. The only place you'll find cooled air is in the cabin.

If I recall the mechanics of refrigeration correctly, there is a manifold in the evaporator that distributes the refrigerant to each of the evaporator tubes/coils. The pinhole in each of the manifold legs allows the refrigerant pressure to drop as it enters the evap.

If you ever find the refrigerant line that tigster insulated iced-over, it means that there is a refrigerant leak because the refrigerant pressure drop occurred before the manifold.

TheDosDog

Are you insulating the larger suction line that goes from the evaporator to the compressor? If so, I don't see what that would accomplish. Has anyone put a set of gauges on the A/C to see what effect this mod has on line pressures?

NavyDood

That definitely is a good idea. I think you could get by with just regular foam insulation wrap too. (Wouldn't look as nice). Your goal is to keep the heat from under the hood off the line so it's not getting heat soaked. That line gets ice cold when the A/C is on.

ezrider55

It is starting to warm up so Bump.

______

Where and what is liberty 1 in naples???

fullsmoke

Not sure why Mazda didn't do this in the first place. However, I know that insulation around a wire (or in this case, rod-like object) could possibly have no effect or so little it's not worth it. It's based on some heat transfer formula I wish I could remember, which gives you a critical radius of how thick the insulation can be until it is useless or harmful. This is all just theoretical **** though. In real life, I think the insulation will help

FS

Tigster

Libetry 1 is a tuner shop in Naples Fla, he builds very fast cars.

Chrisbert

We talked about this before - Megau brought it up and I never tried it yet.
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ighlight=A%2FC

Guess I'll give it a go.

brillo

are you guys running the cloth down all the way to the compressor on the right side? I've done the mod from the left side firewall all the way to where the hose goes from aluminum to rubber, but not down to the compressor attached to the engine.

Tigster

I only wrapped the line where it is shown in the photo, I may have to look into adding the heat insulation on the side as well... I also used the same insulation under the center console to try to keep the temps down when the center consloe lid is closed.