XK8 / XKR ( X100 ) 1996 - 2006
View Poll Results: Do you use the a/c when the top is down?
Yes
44
66.67%
No
22
33.33%
Voters: 66. You may not vote on this poll

Air Conditioner Survey

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  #21  
Old 06-03-2011, 08:21 PM
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Howdy Folks:
No guilt here. I drove ~20mile this afternoon for some BBq---Top Down A/C on.
oh yes--- just did 1885 mi road trip to Key West --virtually all of FLA A1A US1 at 20-55mph with top down and A/C as needed.
 
  #22  
Old 06-04-2011, 07:06 AM
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Very interesting responses, I'm glad the uses out weigh the non-users. What did we buy the car for? My moto " Don't worry....Be happy"
 
  #23  
Old 06-04-2011, 12:28 PM
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Guilt! Haw-Ha!

I run the ac or heat almost every time I have the top down, just depends on the outside temp and amount of sun. I only care about my comfort. As I see it, I am helping the environment by driving my XKR as it gets twice the mileage as my SUV. So there. ;-)
 
  #24  
Old 06-08-2011, 11:21 AM
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We went from drowning to boiling here in the Cincinnati area, so the other day I was happy to take my XK8 topless down the river road for a while - it was sooo hot and very sunny that I did have the air on. After half an hour I wimped out and put the top up. In my book, best times during the summer are early morning and late afternoon/evening runs with the top down. This is my first convertible, so I'm still experimenting!
 
  #25  
Old 06-08-2011, 11:38 AM
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never thought of using it with the top down. When i want to save gas I drive the diesel. 40 mph turbo charged.
 
  #26  
Old 06-08-2011, 01:55 PM
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Originally Posted by Beav
I just have one question: What is 'guilt'?

Hmmm.... sounds like a personal issue.

BTW, get your finger out of my pie!

;-)
Quite right.

It appears that people can no longer bear any variation in temperature from their desired personal temperature. People used to open windows or put on sweaters. No more.

Air conditioning is basically a heat pump. Move the heat somewhere else. That is why large cities are noticeably hotter than the surrounding countryside in the summer. Everyone is pumping the heat from their personal space somewhere else. It has a beggar thy neighbour effect because the neighbour will then have to pump the heat somewhere else as well.

The worst are the people who buy black vehicles and then idle them next to the sidewalk with the air conditioning at full blast while they wait for the little precious ones to emerge from the shopping mall.

Walk past a line of these on the sidewalk and you will know the real meaning of heat. The comfort of passersby is of no consequence to these self absorbed idiots.
 
  #27  
Old 06-08-2011, 02:53 PM
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Originally Posted by ExKay8
I feel like it's a big "screw you" to the environment, as if driving an 8 cylinder vehicle for one person with no cargo isn't bad enough.


The A/C system in my 1981 Supercharged Porsche 928 ate up a whopping 7rwhp on the dyno.

I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

Adjusting your driving style will save a tree faster. My mother averages 32mpg with her 169,000 mile XK8 Cabrio on her 45 mile daily commute.
 
  #28  
Old 06-08-2011, 03:33 PM
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If it's really hot out, I use it at low speeds, which is the only time that I can actually feel it.
 
  #29  
Old 06-08-2011, 04:30 PM
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Never use ac with the top down - personal preference.

Drive faster (echoing Keith) is a good remedy if it's getting too hot - but I suppose you can't do that on every circumstance.
 
  #30  
Old 06-09-2011, 08:37 AM
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Originally Posted by plumsauce
Quite right.



The worst are the people who buy black vehicles and then idle them next to the sidewalk with the air conditioning at full blast while they wait for the little precious ones to emerge from the shopping mall.

Walk past a line of these on the sidewalk and you will know the real meaning of heat. The comfort of passersby is of no consequence to these self absorbed idiots.
the wost of this a felt one hot afternoon sitting at a sonic burger place. We got out of the car and sat at the tables as it was hot in the car. all the people around us sat in their cars with the AC blowing hot air out on us and the poor waitresses that had to serve them.
then they complain about high gas prices.
 
  #31  
Old 07-02-2011, 04:10 PM
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Default a/c is good!

i ride with my a/c on wether i have the top down, windows down and top up, or windows and top up. just my preference, but good god almighty i love my car!
 
  #32  
Old 07-03-2011, 05:05 PM
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I not only run the A/C with the top down but when it's cool out I run the heater with the tip down. Both have plenty of capacity. I have the car because it's fun. Why not enjoy it?
 
  #33  
Old 07-03-2011, 08:33 PM
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Originally Posted by plums
The worst are the people who buy black vehicles and then idle them next to the sidewalk with the air conditioning at full blast while they wait for the little precious ones to emerge from the shopping mall.
That resembles me. I've done that before in my black convertible, with the top down, the air conditioner blowing... I'll do that again with a smile.


Walk past a line of these on the sidewalk and you will know the real meaning of heat. The comfort of passersby is of no consequence to these self absorbed idiots.
Why should the comfort of a passerby be of consequence to me. Have you ever driven by an elderly person? Did you stop and ask if they were parched and would appreciate a glass of water on a hot day? Hilarious.
 
  #34  
Old 07-04-2011, 12:42 AM
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In Seattle??? You gotta be kidding. Much more likely to have the heat on with the top down.
 
  #35  
Old 09-16-2013, 08:18 AM
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In Florida our heat and humidity is oppressive during the late Spring, all Summer, and early Fall. In order to extend the top down time, use of the AC is necessary.
 
  #36  
Old 09-16-2013, 09:10 AM
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Always run it with the top down. Set it to go to the foot well only. Ive had the top down in the rain with the heat on. Just have to drive fast!
 
  #37  
Old 09-16-2013, 09:27 AM
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Originally Posted by xenophobe
I have a little more time now so I can better answer this.

These are gas guzzlers. If you feel there is any perceptible environmental impact from driving an XK8/XKR and are guilty about it you should just leave it in the garage.

Driving with the top down is not aerodynamic. You are wasting more fuel just driving with the top down. Driving with the top down and the air conditioner on is moot. If you have some guilt of environmental damage from your own actions you should neither use the convertible top or even drive the damn car and get a geo metro or a new economy car.

Electric and hybrid electric cars? People who drive these with some kind of belief they're helping the environment are mistaken. The industries from mining and manufacturing used to create the batteries trash the environment. Sure you get pennies a mile... however that cost is offset with the manufacturing and future environmental damage the vehicle will create. What happens to these cars after a 6-10 year life cycle? Is there no waste in the recycling of these batteries? I wonder how many of them will end up rotting in someone's back yard or at some junk yard instead of being properly recycled. Maybe I'm completely ignorant and uninformed, but just pure common sense dictates that while you may not be personally creating pollution just driving the vehicle, the creation of or the destruction of said vehicle is far from 'green'.

just my .02
Couldn't have said it better. I am all for good environmental stewardship based on real science. I am all against symbolic environmentalism, especially when it is aggressively promoted to the point of destroying the planet's most efficient economies - the very cultures that have the desire and wealth to rationally and intelligently move, over time, to fully sustainable energy production and distribution.
 
  #38  
Old 09-16-2013, 10:52 AM
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The concept sounds ridiculous to me. I put the top down on all but the hottest of days, when I wait till the late afternoon or dusk.

On the hottest of days I leave the top up and run the A/C full blast, trying to achieve a 60* F, temp. When passengers get in, it really adds to their pleasure of riding in the jag.
 
  #39  
Old 09-16-2013, 11:17 AM
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The AC barely works with the top UP... can't imagine it doing anything with it down.
 
  #40  
Old 09-16-2013, 11:36 AM
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In the Netherlands 98% of the time it's heater on when top down. A/C only used for defros in the rain (top up...)
 


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