Retro fit Air Con

[JB 3.2]

Hi,

I'm looking at purchasing a 993, and one of the requirements is that it must have Air Con.

So two questions.
Is the standard air con any good? I have heard that even when its working the air vents are too small for it to be effective.

Secondly, there are some nice cars which don't have air con fitted as standard. Is it possible to retro fit it and if so is this likely to be an effective system?

Regards...JB

 

[AlexG]

My standard aircon seems to be as good as any of my previous cars [shrug].

There are some earlier threads on retro-fitting air con, if you have a dig around you should find them.

 

[Blade_uk]

Ring Noel (very respected member of R26) he will give you the above answers as he is experienced in retro-fitting complete systems into Porsche's

http://www.coolitautomotive.com/

 

[dparslow]

Mine works ok, no problem keeping cool on even the hottest days here and abroad.

 

[Mark Elder]

The air con in my car is the original except it was regassed 13 months ago. It's very effective. I never need to press the "double snowflake".

It's probably not as powerful as my modern Toyota, but I have a white box in the kitchen for frozen curries, I don't need to keep them in the car.

The problem (apparently) with the 993 air con is in cars where the owner did not use it. The seals in the pipe network dry up and then start to leak. Once that has happened you have to regas too often and the only choice is an expensive refurbishment of the pipe network. I leave my air con on all the time and just let the "climate control" keep the temperature right.

 

[Guest]

I believe that a retro-fit can be done, but it's a pretty major job, involving dash out etc. and ££. I can see why you might want A/C on a daily driver these days, but I'm happier without it on my 911, which is a weekend car only...no smells, leaks etc to contend with & these systems are expensive to fix. I drive with windows/sunroof open a lot anyway & enjoy those great-sounding RSRs & that flat six!

Everyone has a different view on this though, just my angle on it, for what it's worth. []

 

[craig2105]

The standard aircon is just fine - sometimes we have to turn it off to warm up a bit...

I'd look for a car ready-equipped rather than retro-fitting it. By the time you've spent out on a retro fit you'll have spent more than any saving you got on a non AC car

 

[Dave Wilkinson]

My concern - quite apart from the cost - would be how it would integrate with the original car and, to some degree, the state of originality of the car prior to the install.

If the car is in a reasonably original state any aftermarket add-on would have to be done sympathetically using Porsche orignal parts - otherwise it stands out a mile that it's an add-on and more likely to reduce it's value than add to it.

Using Porsche original parts is going to cost a lot more that £2500 if you include the labour to fit it. By the time you have sourced compressor, condensor, receiver/dryer, expansion valve and evaporator as well as the extensive pipework and electrics (the Porsche CCU is around £1500 on it's own) I think you have every justification for buying a car with it fitted already - if that's what you want.

The a/c in my 964 cost me around £1500 just to get working - which it has now been doing for more than 2 years - so don't expect the job to be cheap.

Regards

Dave

 

[John Maddox]

Totally agree with Dave - my a/con cost about £3k to put right - luckily under warranty/goodwill of dealer I bought from. Everything but the compressor had to be renewed before it worked properly.

 

[Dave Wilkinson]

Curiously there is an identical question been raised on the 964 forum (here) and there is a complete 964 aircon system on eBay at this very moment with starting bids at £500. I have a suspicion that the two systems are NOT identical so it may not be of use - but it does show that they come up from time to time.

Regards

Dave

 

[JB 3.2]

Thank you all for your prompt and informed opinions.

As we wish to use the car on a daily basis, I will wait until a 993 with air con is available and will also be checking that it works correctly.

 

[Mark Elder]

ORIGINAL: JB 3.2

... and will also be checking that it works correctly.

Fairly uncommon with 993s - I'd look for a car with it fitted and, if all else is right negotiate on a non-working aircon and then get it repaired. Expensive ok, but not worth missing an otherwise good car for. The way the seals go when 993s are not used often means a nice low mileage car may have this as its only problem.