Not sure if this is a silly question or not but here goes........ When your driving your Mini with the roof down is it ok to have the AC on as well or is it a waste of time ?

I live in NYC and with the stop & go traffic and the humidity, the temps can get into the high 90's & 100+ sometimes. Especially when you get stuck next to a NYC bus exhaust or a truck. I like driving with the roof down ALL of the time but someone told me that its putting a stress on the AC unit if you drive your convertible with the top down and have the AC blasting.

What do you think ? I use my AC in the city but as soon as I get out onto ther open road or away from traffic (and catch a breeze) I turn it off.

Thanks

 

I think it'd be about useless, but guess it might help a tad. I don't do it but I also think it is crazy to have the top down and all the windows up in the fall/winter. Either all down or top up and all windows down for me..

 

I've done it but not real impressed with the results. On the other hand, hard core topless motoring has been extended around here to as cool as 28°, wool cap, wool gloves, parka and heater on full blast. Love the look on folks faces. Isn't that what hats, coats and gloves are for? My co-pilot is a bit of a whinger when it comes to the extreme so it usually goes up well before my tolerance levels.

Even sitting here, just the fact that in the garage the top is down now puts a smile on my face.

 

I use the AC with the top down on occasion (like this weekend). You're not cooling the car, but you can blow cool air on your face. It feels kind of wasteful, but I do it. I did it in my Miata too.

 

my wife runs here a/c at the foot level so the cool air rises but most times she just has the top down and cruising. She has the top down more than up!

 

I was thinking that the aircon compressor wouldn't "cycle" but my R52 doesn't have climate comtrol so I don't even know if the compressor would "cycle" anyway and whether that would mean any extra load on it.

Until I'd owned the R52 I never understood people who drove with the top down and the windows up, now I know why they do it!

 

If you haven't gotten one it can't be stressed strongly enough how much of a difference the wind deflector makes while motoring cross country. Conversation in a normal tone of voice is actually achievable.

We spent the 1st 2 years without. The contrast is indescribable unless purely pleasurable does it justice.

 

had I not experienced it myseelf I would have never thought t was that big of a deal but those wind deflectors make a big difference. Best money spent if you drive a convertible

 

...And friends they may thinks it's a movement. And that's what it is , the Alice..I mean the MINI wind deflectlor movement and all you got to do to join is sing it the next time it comes around on the guitar.

 

With Feelin

 

Officer Obie said "Kid it's says here in Section 158c3(i) of the Mini Guidebook to Life that you're required to have a wind deflector in a convertible. I'm going to have to take you in."

 

I like the idea of the wind deflector, but the kids don't want to have to duck for that long.

As for A/C, use it all you want. The A/C, whether climate controlled or not, doesn't cycle on and off. If you turn up the thermostat in some older cars, it did just that. However, in most modern cars, the compressor stays on and you use the heater along with it to keep from freezing yourself. Climate control is nothing more than temperature dependent movement of the heater flap. Unless you press an A/C off or economy button, the compressor is probably running.

Of course there is a gas mileage and power difference with the A/C on, and you probably knew that, but A/C use in a convertible is no different from in most other cars. Use it if you like, it won't be cycling on and off even if you only want a few degrees of A/C, and it puts no more stress on anything but the fan to have it running full blast than to have the defroster on (which also uses A/C to dry the air), or to have it cool just a few degrees.

 

My daughter is home from college for the summer, so I often have to remove the wind blocker. I have inserted a piece if plexi between the rear seats and the roll bar, and it helps a little to block the wind. I realize that I'm in the Gen 1 forum and this might not apply. I also saw a wind blocker that combined that with netting that goes over the front headrests and between the seats. I've been meaning to look for it.

Larry

Larry

 

I think Brownflyer might be the one who makes those.