This weekend I took a heat reflective cloth and wrapped the AC line under the hood that is exposed, I put small cable ties approx. every 2-3 inches. and cut a small square out for the little valve on the line. Today I drove to work and the AC was the coldest it has ever been and remained freezing cold for my 25 minute drive to work. Easy mod and takes about 15 minutes, it even adds 100 HP!!!!! J/K :D :D :D

I'll post pictures once my car gets back from getting the windows tinted.

 

Sounds interesting and looking forward to the pics, this would be a good DIY, pardon my ignorance, but what is heat reflective cloth and is this some you can get at an automotive store or what? Thanks.

 

All of foxman's questions are mine as well. Also, does anyone know AC well enough to comment on if this is a "safe" thing to do ...?

 

This is something that Miata owners have been doing for years, espically when they are boosted and are producing much more heat under the hood. I figured if the rotary made more heat than a normal engine it should work great. I used to have an 02 Black Miata and did the same thing. As for the cloth it is a silver reflective on one side and made of a fiberglass. I bought it at a Speed Shop and I think it was called heat cloth.

 

Can you post pics so we can see which line to put it on? I'm generally happy with my -8's AC performance, but with a black leather interior and no tint, could use all the help it can get.

 

Sound like a good MOD for South florida

 

can't wait to see the pics, I know i need to do mine here in TX...

 

Is that the same stuff used to wrap headers?

 

How about a move to the DIY forum when pictures are added? Can't wait to try this...

 

G8rboy,

It is the same idea of the tape used on headers but I didn't use a tape it was a 2 x 2 foot square piece I started with and cut it to the size I needed. It is more like a flexible thicker fabric, some auto makers use it to line the underside of the hood and underbody where the trans runs under to help control heat. I am thinking of putting some above my trans to help keep the tempatures of my cupholders down a bit.

 

Gotcha- I used some of that on my Miata underside (I had rattling heat shield above the cat which I removed and used this stuff instead).

 

where did you guys get the stuff? I did a seach on Miata.net but couldn't find anything under heat cloth.

 

How much colder would you you say the air was coming out of the vents? Was there any difference in the "cycling" that you noticed? How hot was it outside?

Thanks!!

 

I called a local performance shop and they recommended I call Thermotec (www.thermotec.com). Thermotec recommended I use the thermoshield tape (part number 14002) which reatils for like $17 for a roll. Would this work? My worry would be the condinsation would cause the tape to fall off.....they have some other products on the site as well I'm looking over

 

Ok, I put a call into the speedshop where I got it from they are calling me back. They use it all the time espically on his 10 second civic. I would say it makes easily a 5-8 degree difference. Tonight I will put a therometer and check how cold the air is.

Anyone in the Naples Fl area can get it from Dave @ Liberty 1.

I pick my car up at 5:30 from the tint place and will post pics when I get home.


EDIT:
Here is a link to the material I believe: will confirm it tonight

http://www.thermotec.com/products/full/14003/14003.html

PS The outside temp this morning was 76 degrees and I had the air on recirculate. on the low setting.

 

http://www.thermotec.com/products/full/14005/14005.html

This one looks like it has potential for the application in question.

 

Those are nice but since they are seamless, they would require the a/c system to be drained, the line disconnected and then the system recharged. Obviously do-able, but not a DIY for most.

 

I found this line of Thermotec products at JC Whitney...

http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/C...&searchbtn.y=5

Regards, Art

 

Attached is a photo of what I did, it is a strip of heat cloth, I fastened it with small clear cable ties approx 2-3 inches apart. This method you do not need to remove the tubing just wrap around it.

Sorry for the photo it is taken with a camera phone.

 

Thanks for the pic. Looks like a winner to me. Thanks for taking the time to tell us about it.

 

This is great! (looks like an easy fix that Mazda should do themselves.) Can you please describe how your A/C was before this fix? Were you in the group that felt the A/C sucked?

I'm generally content with my A/C (no A/C amp) as is, and I always keep my A/C on fresh air. There are a few times in the middle of a blazing hot Hawaiian day, only when I'm stuck idling in traffic, that I think it could be a little colder. But most of the time, I think it's actually too cold. This fix looks like it might regulate the cooling affects of the A/C better.

 

Tigster:
Thanks so much for this info. I think you're also really on to something about heat shielding the cupholders and the center console in general. This would help decrease heating the passengers and their drinks. Ipod users have also discussed malfunctions when putting their ipods in the center console, because of overheating. This heat shield could help with that too. I wonder what is involved in getting to this area. Would this be an exterior mod, or an interior mod?

 

Good tip. I've been lucky, my A/C seems very cold even on 100 degree days here in SoCal.

 

I've been planning to do this for some time now, but I work 12 hr. days.

 

Pegasus Racing carries the stuff you're talking about, too. Check out the link below and there are both cut-to-fit and self adhesive aluminized heat barrier cloths.

Pegasus Racing Heat Barrier page

Those of you thinking about using it to insulate your center console, it should work fine. I insulated the entire area above the downpipe and catalytic converter on my RX-7 and it did wonders. You need to make sure you place it so the reflective side faces the heat source (your exhaust system), but it can't touch the exhaust.