I was talking to someone about removing the A/C system from my car to save weight. They mentioned that Subaru engineered the engine to be balanced with the tension from that belt on the engine. So removing the A/C system would upset that balance. Since I am going to be tracking this car, it will see high RPMs all the time and I don't want to f-up the motor. I'm thinking about keeping the A/C in and using it until it doesn't work anymore and then figuring it out - but I would really like to save some weight and get some stuff out of the engine bay. Can anyone give me a heads up on what to do? Has anyone removed their A/C and had problems with the engine balance (or not)?
Seems like kind of a stretch to me. If the engine is balanced for this strain, when the AC is just free wheeling (clutch not engaged) it would throw it out of balance as it is not putting any load on the engine. OR, it would be out of balance when the clutch engages if that were the case. Engine balance does not work like that. Someone was feeding you some BS. With that being said, I can't see the weight really helping you ALL that much. Yes it will be lighter, but getting some track tires would probably make a bigger difference than removing 20 lbs. If you are at the point in your track career where every pound matters, then take it off, but at that point it will most likely not be a street car any longer.
Thank you for the quick reply! I forgot to mention that this is my track/weekend car. I have a different car as my daily driver. I also just got a set of used Hoosier R6s to use next time I'm at the track in March. Really looking forward to getting used to the increased grip.
we run our track car with no ac pump. MANY do and usually have a catch can in its spot. I wanna do that it looks kewl
this. think about a few pounds of belt tension versus cylinder pressures due to combustion. this is the primary force on the rotating assembly
Well, if the car is going dedicated track, you can definitely remove a good bit of weight by removing the ENTIRE ac system from the car
If you remove the AC, might as well do the Power Steering Pump/belt also. Coming from stinkin hondas, it frees up a couple ponies. LOL!
You need the power steering on a track car. You should stop by TopSpeed and talk to Doug, there aren't many people that know as much about tracking a Subaru as he does. I'm usually there hanging out and I've got a few track miles in one myself. Matt
Sounds like someone was just trying to sound like they knew what they were talking about lol. I took the AC out of my car, and I have had NO problems from it.
i had hose/leak issues with my a/c a few years back, then the tensioner broke. so i took the A/C pump and lines out. left the condensor and interior bits in. car ran fine, didn't notice any huge gain maybe a couple ponies on the butt dyno.
Thanks! I appreciate everyone's input, suggestions, and comments. It looks like I'll be removing the A/C this year after I get a shop to take out the refrigerant. Although, I might wait until after this summer. It was kinda nice to be in the staging area for HPDEs with the A/C running full blast on 100 degree days...