328 AC not to great?

Without tinted glass, if you leave a 328 out in the sun, the black parts of the interior are going to take a while to cool off, even in a freezer.

And if you're stuck in traffic, remember that there's a 190 degF engine bay about six inches behind your back. Without airflow to move the heat out the back, that heat radiates forward.

Then there's the thermostat. It uses vapor pressure in an ammonia filled capillary tube to remote sense temperature. If you read the application notes on the GE 5ART series thermostats, they tell you not to mount the end of the tube vertically, as gravity will interfere. But in the 328, the tube runs from the center console, along the floor, and up to the evaporator -- yep, vertically.

And that center console gets pretty hot when it's parked. So if you wind up with ice on the evaporator, you get less airflow and less actual cooling to the cabin.

Oh, and the application notes also indicate the design application: a "drinks machine". Yep -- it's out of a coke machine.

So where was Enzo's priority on engineering?

It doesn't work all that badly for an afterthought.

 

I found that the only time that any of my 328's were effective with cabin cooling was at night. Seriously. During a hot sunny day you can forget about the A/C in those cars being very effective.

 

I have always thought of the a/c in a 3X8 as something that you only realize is working (somewhat) when you turn it off on a really hot day.

 

I installed a rotary style compressor and larger drier in my 78 308 and it made a huge diff. in cooling. I also have high speed fans on my cond.

 

I tinted the windows on mine 50% i wish i would have done it at 35%. Just a thought if you are going to tint them. It helps, but 35% would be much better i think. The problem isn't really with the 2 door windows it is with that damn windshield that is parallel to the ground. I actually got some quotes on tinting the front windshield but haven't pulled the trigger yet.

Dan

 

Try one of those folding sun screens first. They don't impair your night view, and you can evaluate the improvement before taking the bigger leap.

Or just get a car cover.

Another approach might be some kind of treatment for the dash -- maybe a polarizing thing -- if you could reduce the sunlight absorbed while cutting the glare on the windscreen from the instrument surround, it would be a double edged improvement.

 

I'm a bit surprised by the comments so far, as over the years I've had several 328GTSs, and in all of them the A/C cooled superbly, including in very hot summer traffic jams in places like Missouri & California. Some random thoughts:

(1) Are both of your "regular" vent controls and fans completely off when you're using the A/C? If not, you may be getting unwanted un-A/C outside air coming in as well.

(2) Check to ensure that your A/C coolant is completely full. Even a slight leak/lessening, I have found, has a significant impact on the coolness of the air coming in.

(3) As you live in Sacramento, you're not too far away from Premier Protective Films in Fremont. They can install a clear protective film (not tinted) on your windshield. Primary function is protection against rock chip damage. However it is also said to cut both UV radiation 99% and heat 12%. For info call Sammy Yu at (510) 390-6920.

(4) Front seat window tinting is not legal in California. The CHP and some local police will stop/ticket you for this.

Good luck!

 

Calibrate your heater/fan switches, too. Makes a difference.

 

Properly sorted, the 328's AC cools the cabin air just fine. But if you leave the car out in the sun without a cover, the cabin surfaces have a long, long way to come down before they're comfortable to touch. (That's one of the differences between a leather interior and a plastic one.)

I keep my old driving gloves (originally for the Alfa's wood wheel) for dealing with that black leather steering wheel cover when I've parked in the sun with the top off. Even my tan center console reaches 115F in direct sunlight.

If you're in a 70 degF cabin, sitting on 100 degF upholstery, you still feel hot.

(I should say that the AC cooled the air just fine before some shop filled my AC with R134 ... without my permission. (grr))

The best answer is still a car cover. But it doesn't take very long in the sun during a "quick" stop for the interior to heat up.

 

I own the 328 that Gus didn't buy and can confirm, my A/C "works" but if it's midday and warm outside it's nothing great.

 

Yes. If you can't find a source online, call AutoAffair in Danville, and they can order one for you and UPS it to you if desired. Or you can pick it up there and enjoy their wonderful Ferrari-intensive store:

http://www.auto-affair.com

 

Details of the upgrade or point us to a previous thread if already discussed ..thanks.

I would drive my QV to the beach and once I got there I would pass out on the hot sand to cool off....( I have black interior!)

 

I honestly don't think there is a 'fix'. You have 2 tiny dash vents and the 3 larger defrost vents as the only place to get air into the cabin. You have a windshield the size of a parking lot that lays flat over a black dash. You have cooling lines that run from the radiator in front of you through the cabin to the heat generator behind your right ear. My a/c blows plenty cold, it just can't move enough air in the cabin to be effective. At it's best, it freezes my right arm. At it's worst, I can't even tell that it's on.

 

"Staples" or "Office Depo" for poster board, scissors, and a straight-edge. It's not quantum physics.
(Gluing a large inkjet Ferrari logo in the middle could get a bit artistic, ...)

But given the windscreen area, just putting the car cover on might be as easy as unfolding a windscreen shade.

Of course, if you wanted to get fancy with an inflating frame and a cloth shade, ... you could spend a lot of time in the air conditioned shop working out the details.

(Whatever happened to the idea of using liquid crystals inside double pane glass to make built-in shades?)

Me, I just park in an underground garage.