ok me and my friend came up with the idea to route the car ac with a electronic y splitter and run a hose to the air intake box on the stock intake right in front of the air fliter. the idea is to hit a switch and route all the ac into that intake box giving it a direct source of cold air. ok so heres some questions i have for you guys is there a main line AC line in the engine bay that branches into the car vents? and if so would it possible to remove the main hose with out doing any pernament damage to the AC unit. give me your opion on this idea.. i plan to start on this project as soon as i get some more information on the car ac unit it self...help me out guys!

 

you would have more power with the AC off.

 

ya, the ac kills because it take like 20 hp to run it.

 

When you're at WOT, the AC clutch I think disengages, so the AC itself wouldn't be doing anything when you're really pushing the engine, which I'm assuming is when you'd want to flip that switch and so nothing will happen. The AC will take up some power, though I'd say the 20hp estimate given earlier has got to be a little overboard... maybe 5hp I'd guess.

Also, and I'm not sure about this, but I don't think the AC actually cools any air in the engine bay. The AC will cool the coolant chemical and that chemical, when cold gets routed to the ventillation pipes to cool the air in there. So the best you could do is route the coolant next to your intake to cool it similarly, but I imagine this would produce no results whatsoever...
-N

 

Decent idea, but no, it wouldnt work. The extra HP used in running your AC is more than you'd get from "the direct source of cold air" into your Airbox.

 

Agreed. Interesting proposal, but the effects will not be beneficial. As for the A/C robbing you of horsies, the figure is high. 20 is not a bad estimate. At WOT, the clutch disengages, but you might feel a jerk when it grabs again once you get off the gas.

Although you would be pushing in cooler air, the extra work on the compressor will negate the effects of what you're trying, which at best probably isn't worth more than 5 or 6 ponies.

If you had an electric unit that worked efficiently, and didn't run off the motor, it might have a more interesting result. Of course, for the price, you could by yourself a CAI and have a nice looking, better sounding alternative.

 

Try being in third gear and punching it from about 3500 rpm's and turn on the AC. At least a 15 hp loss. Then if you think about the AC temp, its about 60 Dagrees, not cold enough to really make a difference. If you wan't to freeze the air as much as possible you can get the CRY02 kit. It sends CO2 through your intake in a sealed tube. Theres a thread about it somewhere here. It looks like a nitrous kit, but is street legal. I don't think anyone here has tried it, but it may be worth a shot.

 

Either you drive around on a dyno or you have an *** with an HP meter.

The AC temp is much lower than 60 degrees. Air does not cool or heat like a solid, so in order to reach 60 degrees in a reasonable amount of time, the air coming out of the vents is cooler. Otherwise if you set the AC to 60 you'd have one hell of a time reaching it. Agreed though it's not cold enough to cool the large volumes of air passing through your intake system to any significant extent.

In theory it's not a bad idea, but in reality if it were that simple you'd have seen people raving about their air conditioner intakes years ago. "Powered by AC" decals and whatnot.