I know there has been a lot of threads on the MINI & AC problems. In my case the MINI loses RPMs and/or stalls when idling in 1st gear. So I've done a little study. I've noticed when outside temp is high but humidity is normal-no problems!!! But when temp is high & humidity is high the MINI is gasping for breath. Just like humans do when the conditions are the same. The air is less dense when temp & humidity is up so it is lacking in oxygen. Cars need oxygen just like humans to function. So my question is-Are MINIs super sensitive to this condition? Can this be fixed in a car? Or do I have to buy my MINI a portable oxygen tank with MINI nose cannulas on bad oxygen days? Any other thoughts out there....

Lois

 

>> But when temp is high & humidity is high the MINI is gasping for breath. Just like humans do when the conditions are the same.

thus the reason a mini has feelings..cuz its human

 

In PHX today I ran the AC. It was 112F with 8% humidity. It's just too small of an engine with that AC unit running. I don't think it is due to high humidity.

 

>>In PHX today I ran the AC. It was 112F with 8% humidity. It's just too small of an engine with that AC unit running. I don't think it is due to high humidity.

That's pretty darn hot. But it's a dry heat right?
Do you have the same problem? This is blowing my theory to hades. Temp got to 90 here today but low humidity(about 40%-that's low for St. Louis) & I had no problems. I also wonder about high elevations where the oxygen is lower. How do the MINIs run in the mountains?
Thanks,
Lois

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>>This is blowing my theory to hades.

I don't know if it does or doesn't. That has been my experience with it.

>>How do the MINIs run in the mountains?

I took my MCS up to Flagstaff (7000 feet) a few weekends ago. It was about 80F or so. No noticable loss of power. But I wasn't running the AC. It was much too cold out for that...nearly had to roll up the windows and close the sunroof at that temperature.



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Happy Motoring!

 

I dont have stalling with a/c, but I do notice that sitting in traffic with the a/c running in hot weather makes the take-off rather sluggish.

My take on it is the much greater heat load in the engine compartment with the a/c on, the engine working harder, higher ambient temps and no movement of air through the intercooler. In fact, the intercooler becomes an air charge HEATER because of the engine compartment heat drifting up and out the hood scoop. The entire intake tract become superheated after a few minutes of hot idling that upon taking off, the hot, low density intake air does nothing but sap performance. Once under way, with the proper airflow into the intercooler, you regain most of the lost performance. Our little engines suffer from heat soak.

This is where the Buick T-Types and Grand Nationals had it going... the intercooler had an separate, independent, engine-driven fan which was always pulling cool air through the intercooler. There is no way to do this on the MINI, there is just no room.

 

I wonder if the AC and idle problem is related to the computer software for your MC (CVT?)
Needs yet another software upgrade if you ask me.
In my MCS I have never had a problem with my AC.
But in my 4800 miles I have turned it on just a few times and that is only if my wife (Boss) is riding with me. Otherwise -forget the AC- turn on the stereo first.
Hawaii has tradewinds and those are free.

 

Interesting about the A/C on the MINI. I remember, back in the old days when we wrote on rocks, I had a Mazda RX-2(Yes, the model numbers did originally go that low), that had a novel way to prevent rough engine idle with the A/C on: below a certain RPM (1200, I think) there was a compressor cut-off. To keep cool at stop lights you had to rev up the engine. Those crazyAsians

 

>>I know there has been a lot of threads on the MINI & AC problems. In my case the MINI loses RPMs and/or stalls when idling in 1st gear. So I've done a little study. I've noticed when outside temp is high but humidity is normal-no problems!!! But when temp is high & humidity is high the MINI is gasping for breath. Just like humans do when the conditions are the same. The air is less dense when temp & humidity is up so it is lacking in oxygen. Cars need oxygen just like humans to function. So my question is-Are MINIs super sensitive to this condition? Can this be fixed in a car? Or do I have to buy my MINI a portable oxygen tank with MINI nose cannulas on bad oxygen days? Any other thoughts out there....
>>
>>Lois

you know what?, I'll try that, swipe an N size tank from work along with a couple of yards of 02 extension tubing. feed it just out the window driverside and put the tip over the air intake....

It'll be just like the time I told my COPD patient not to smoke but he still sneaked out an lit up. BOOM a few fried nasal hairs, but he was lucky.

or then again we might have found something better than NOS

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This is a subject that concerns me greatly because I am a big proponent of AC. Here in New England, it has been in the 90's and extremely humid for the past week. It gets like this every summer. Since AC has been big in cars since the 1970's, you'd think that manufacturers would have it worked out by now. I'd hate to think that I've ordered a car that has taken a monumental leap backward when it comes to AC.

But assuming the worst, does anyone have any ideas as to how to cool the engine compartment effectively while the car is idling in traffic on a hot, humid day with the AC on hight? Should MINIs have bonnet vents or could some type radiator fan(s) be used to blow air out of the engine compartment? I haven't seen anything at any of the performance sites to address this problem.

 

I have absolutely ZERO problems with the A/C and engine performance in our '02 Cooper CVT with 9K+ miles. After we got update 33.2 the car is running smooth as silk. The A/C does not cause any noticeable loss of performance from the get go and the car accelerates strongly from any speed.

Temperatures here in Miami have been in the low 90's with over 90% hunidity.

It sounds like some of you need to schedule a trip back to the dealer.

 

>>I have absolutely ZERO problems with the A/C and engine performance in our '02 Cooper CVT with 9K+ miles. After we got update 33.2 the car is running smooth as silk. The A/C does not cause any noticeable loss of performance from the get go and the car accelerates strongly from any speed.
>>
>>Temperatures here in Miami have been in the low 90's with over 90% hunidity.
>>
>>It sounds like some of you need to schedule a trip back to the dealer.

I'm not unrealistic enough to expect that AC won't impact performance. Of course it will, but I just want the AC to work reliably when the car is idling in traffic on a 100°F day with 80% humidity. At that point, you're not ******* the car anyway; you're just trying to stay cool. Don't most compressors use 8-12hp? It's horsepower well spent in awful weather.

 

This has to be something that can be easily fixed.

I live in Texas. We have 95 degrees and 90 % humidity and even a junky 1988 olds can have it's AC running full blast and run normally. There are 1000s of cars on our Texas roads that do not stumble because it's humid.

MINI needs to get it together !

 

>>This has to be something that can be easily fixed.
>>
>>I live in Texas. We have 95 degrees and 90 % humidity and even a junky 1988 olds can have it's AC running full blast and run normally. There are 1000s of cars on our Texas roads that do not stumble because it's humid.
>>
>> MINI needs to get it together !

Pebbles,

That junky '88 Olds most likey has a V8, with lots of underhood room for the heat to dissipate, an AC compressor running on a V8 does not make as much difference as it does on our relatively torqueless 4 cylinders.

X2

 

>>>>This has to be something that can be easily fixed.
>>>>
>>>>I live in Texas. We have 95 degrees and 90 % humidity and even a junky 1988 olds can have it's AC running full blast and run normally. There are 1000s of cars on our Texas roads that do not stumble because it's humid.
>>>>
>>>> MINI needs to get it together !
>>
>>Pebbles,
>>
>>That junky '88 Olds most likey has a V8, with lots of underhood room for the heat to dissipate, an AC compressor running on a V8 does not make as much difference as it does on our relatively torqueless 4 cylinders.
>>
>>X2
>>

Even my 5-year-old anycar Mazda Protege with its unimpressive 4-cylinder can still keep the cockpit cool at idle on a very hot, humid day. It's slow, but it works.

 

i currently have a 02 cvt and have had the latest software upgrade. my car is extremely slow when taking off. when i use the manual shifting it makes a howling sound. i'm extremely disappointed in my cars performance with the A/C that i try to keep it off.. but i end up sweating buckets. :evil:
and the fact that my friends 98 monte carlo performs better with the AC on (rather than off in hot weather) pisses me off even more!
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feel the sunshine on your face, its in a computer now, gone to the future way out in space

 

Like I've said before, my 97 Miata with it's 4 cyl 120hp engine keeps us cool with the top down, with the top up we get icicles on our noses.And NO LOSS OF POWER. The explanation of it being a small engine just doesn't buy it. BTW,90 degrees & 80% humidity today, engine shuddering


Lois

 

I live at around 6500, and drive to work over a 7400 peak each day to work, i do find that it runs smoother in the morning when its cooler. The dry climate but high heat of Salt lake which is at 4500 there have been quite a few times i have scared myseif silly , with loss of power from pulling away.
So now when i know i really need the power from standing still i turn the A/C off for moment. It.s just part of her personality.
One day there will be a fix .....right

 

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In PHX today I ran the AC. It was 112F with 8% humidity. It's just too small of an engine with that AC unit running. I don't think it is due to high humidity.

agree...don't think it's the humidity....but the blower is just not powerful enough...the air coming out of the vents is cool enough, but just not enough of it.
Most of Bimmers early tests on the minis were in very cold climates in the Scandinavian countries, surprised there were not more extensive tests in the desert aka the sun roof with no solid closure, the A/C compressor and blower, etc....live in Phoenix and remember right before the Boxster hit the market I saw at least a dozen of them being tested through the summer here....when my son was looking for a car, we test drove the Mitsu Lancer, not the Evo, but the reg version with 4 cyl and 120 hp, 5 speed. I said to the salesman I could not believe how powerful and cold the AC was, that we had to turn it down because it was so cold inside on a day when it was 105 in Phoenix....he showed me the engine that the car had 2 blowers which made the AC so powerful & efficient...the car also had a flexible raditor system that expanded with the heat, etc....obviously the japenese did some testing here in the desert....very impressive and thought out car, my son eventually bought a used Jetta..did drive the Evo for kicks, no way I was letting my son purchase that rocket...incredible straight away speed, but the wing is God awful looking, laugh !

 

I agree with Miniblues, while the very high temp may have some negative effect, a 115hp, 4 cylindar engine is really just wee bit small to be carrying ac.
Even with my Cooper S at 165hp its a tiny bit slower off the line when the ac is going.

 

>>I agree with Miniblues, while the very high temp may have some negative effect, a 115hp, 4 cylindar engine is really just wee bit small to be carrying ac.
>>Even with my Cooper S at 165hp its a tiny bit slower off the line when the ac is going.

Then why does my 4cyl 120hp Miata have no problem at all. We ran AC today,temp 90's, humidity up,top down with no chugging or putting in 1st gear idle,no problem off the line. Ran it in a rally & did well. Is it because the engine is Japanese? I really love my MINI & hate to compain about it. Actually I am concerned about it.Not really complaining. And why is it some of the MINIs have the problem and some don't? Basically all the MC's have the same engine. Mine is a 5 speed. So I'm still not buying the small engine bit. BTW,the Master Tech told me that high temps & high humidity both have an effect on the engine & it's performance. And I am taking in it next week so he can drive it & try to diagnose.

Thanks,
Lois

 

AC? what is that, i dunno about mini's yet but i know in my jetta it kills my acclerration so i opt for windows down and sunroof open, unless stuck in traffic