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Well after doing a series of tests I have finally put an end to some of the myths here on the forum.
Recently, many users have expressed interest in making their sunshade more effective when they park and leave their car. Well I purchased one of those reflective dash covers and cut it so it would fit between the sunshade and the polycarbonate roof. Here are my results:
Trial 1: Sunshade pulled with reflective material installed.
Outside Temperature: 81*F Inside Car Temperature: 117*F
Trial 2: Sunshade pulled without reflective material.
Outside Temperature: 81*F Inside Car Temperature: 126*F
Trial 3: Sunshade retracted. Outside Temperature: 80*F Inside Car Temperature: 138*F (The max temp the thermometer can read)
Trial 4 (Day 2): Sunshade pulled fully w/o reflective material and windows cracked by 1 inch.
Outside Temperature: 80*F Inside Car Temperature: 107*F
So that's the results, the temperature probe was inside the car, not in any sunlight. And I was parked in the same spot with the same objects around me both of the days. (On the left was some wood chips and landscaping, and on the right was a black trailer) The wind speed both days was very similar, as well as the cloud cover. The high temperature both days was around 82-85*F but I took the readings at the same time both days (except the 70*F reading) to get an accurate result.
So now I hope these numbers will help answer the questions on all of your minds. I got my sunshade from Target, its the jumbo sized auto-shade brand and it sells for $8.
i bought a couple of sheets of white poster board from a craft store for $1.20.
cut them to fit and taped them together, then slid tem in between.
no scientific data, but it did make a noticable difference to keep cooler.
Interior temps on the things we have been driving can exceed 200 deg and the AC can cool things off. Do we need to resort to craft store solutions to get our cars to work? A cover will help any car, are we saying we have to do this because smart AC is not up to the task?
Karl
Well after doing a series of tests I have finally put an end to some of the myths here on the forum.
Recently, many users have expressed interest in making their sunshade more effective when they park and leave their car. Well I purchased one of those reflective dash covers and cut it so it would fit between the sunshade and the polycarbonate roof. Here are my results:
Trial 1: Sunshade pulled with reflective material installed.
Outside Temperature: 81*F Inside Car Temperature: 117*F
Trial 2: Sunshade pulled without reflective material.
Outside Temperature: 81*F Inside Car Temperature: 126*F
Trial 3: Sunshade retracted. Outside Temperature: 80*F Inside Car Temperature: 138*F (The max temp the thermometer can read)
Trial 4 (Day 2): Sunshade pulled fully w/o reflective material and windows cracked by 1 inch.
Outside Temperature: 80*F Inside Car Temperature: 107*F
So that's the results, the temperature probe was inside the car, not in any sunlight. And I was parked in the same spot with the same objects around me both of the days. (On the left was some wood chips and landscaping, and on the right was a black trailer) The wind speed both days was very similar, as well as the cloud cover. The high temperature both days was around 82-85*F but I took the readings at the same time both days (except the 70*F reading) to get an accurate result.
So now I hope these numbers will help answer the questions on all of your minds. I got my sunshade from Target, its the jumbo sized auto-shade brand and it sells for $8.
Nice job! Now....... imagine how some of these people who live in very hot climates like AZ, Nev, TX, Fl, CA (and others) and how they deal with outside temps of 90-100+ degrees!!!! Improved reflectivity (mirror-like foil as compared to the typical sunshade flat aluminum colored side) will net even more solar heat rejection and a cooler inside temperature will result.
My compliments on this info and post...helps me alot with my efforts to try to minimize cabin radiant heat buildup given off by the black sunshade.
Interior temps on the things we have been driving can exceed 200 deg and the AC can cool things off. Do we need to resort to craft store solutions to get our cars to work? A cover will help any car, are we saying we have to do this because smart AC is not up to the task?
Karl
It's a matter of cooling efficiency. If the AC does not have to work as hard to cool the cabin off, the AC compressor doesn't load the engine as much and the result is better gas mileage. You know that the AC compressor can amount to a pretty sizeable parasitic load in very hot weather.
This is research.......It's not that the cars don't work....we just want them to work better, that's all.
Surely you can see the method to the madness here. Not such a big deal in MA or Upstate NY but in states that have much higher temps....it can be a big deal.
Covers are effective but can be a PITA to put on and take off the number of times needed to effectively keep the cabin temp down. OK for during the day if it's parked but not so good if you're out and about. ;)
thanks for the research. This helps as I park my car in the sun all day at work and for me its a matter of trying to keep temp in the car lower to slow down the degradation of the interior from the sun and heat.
btw from the last few 90+ days in LA i can say the AC works fine, its not the most powerful, but it'll definitely keep u comfortable.
I expect a car to get hot inside sitting in the hot sun. But Jefferio's test was valid and usable.
My original post was about cabin comfort while driving in mild weather WITHOUT,our AC's or blowers on all the time.
I believe we have direct cabin outside air intake, but very little outside air seems to come in. Is it "over filtered" ? Can this closed system be improved?
Some good news here for those who think their AC is under powered. The Canadians report much colder air coming out of their AC with Duracool after the R-134 leaked away A2Jack
I tried smartie's AC one day when it was hot. worked fine. Jefferios' test shows, however, that you can always make the inside cooler on a hot day with a bit of planning.
A2Jack
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