Newb with legit question...

[RTexasF]

Good morning all. I am strongly considering a new '08 or '09 MS3 GT. I have read a great deal here in the wee hours (couldn't sleep) but I do have a question and seek owner's opinions. Since I live in deep south Texas where summer is 9 months long, and brutal, cold A/C is a must. For those that have had their cars long enough to go through a summer or two how do you rate the air conditioner?

Mind you the closest authorized speed dealer is 160 miles from me (they have 1 in stock (hand)) with many more choices available in San Antonio which is a 300 mile drive......that's one way for both. Since it's such a hassle to even go sit in one I'm trying to gather all the information possible before hitting the road.

I'm driving a lightly modded '04 Accord EX 5 speed with the 2.4l four banger and the A/C is meat locker cold so I'm a bit spoiled.

Good or bad I'd sure like to hear it......Thanks

 

[oaklandopen]

well my opinion is the gt model is a good choice, auto climate control is a feature i used to run my a/c. i dont' use it so much for the cold cuz i don't like the compressor running for the heat, which it does when you select floor, floor+defrost, or just defrost.

the problem i have in the summer isn't with the air conditioner, it's with the interior. since the interior is all black it's going to suck in as much heat as it can, so save yourself the trouble of getting black mica (although im sure you know to stay away from a black car in high heat areas anyway). the interior gets very hot in direct sunlight, some days i couldn't even grab the steering wheel where i like to hold it.

but the ac works very well in this car, did in my old mazda3 too.

but i don't think you need to either go to one dealer or the other for YOUR options. if you go to the closest one and tell them exactly what you want, they might even end up trading with the san antonio dealer to get it. you don't have to go everywhere to get your car, have them do it. it's your money, make them work

 

[Speed3Rookie]

IMO...the ac on this car is NOT one of it's strong points.
Since you have grown accustomed to a very cold ac system you will definitely notice the difference.

 

[RTexasF]

oakland,

Thank you for replying. Believe me dark colors are not even in the picture. If/when I get one it will be in Pearl White with tinted windows.

I'm working with four dealers via the internet to see who is most anxious to do business. I'd prefer to deal with the closest one but they would have to do a dealer trade since they have only one in stock and it's red. I don't mind driving for a much better deal though.

 

[RTexasF]

IMO...the ac on this car is NOT one of it's strong points.
Since you have grown accustomed to a very cold ac system you will definitely notice the difference.

So we have one for and one "against". Thanks, a so so A/C would positively kill the deal. Since I haven't driven one yet I need to see if I can deal with the stout suspension and road/exhaust noise or not. If the majority of people think the A/C sucks then then I'll be far less anxious to go drive one in spite of the outrageous performance.

Please keep 'em coming...

 

[zim]

you're picking a car based on how well the a/c performs? wow.

 

[RTexasF]

you're picking a car based on how well the a/c performs? wow.

Hardly or I'd stick with what I have but it plays heavily into purchasing or not. What's the temp in Pennsylvania today, freezing your cods off? It should be about 82 here and that's in the winter! Seems like a simple and logical request to me.......ask for information from actual owners not salespeople at a dealership.

Do you own one? If so, how do you rate the A/C?

 

[Speed3Rookie]

Looks like to me the guy is doing his homework.

 

[squidmotion]

RTF,

i live in houston, AC upgrades should be considered a PERFORMANCE option

"yeah, that thing sure looks fast, how's the AC perform?"


i just bought a new sport version with the climate control, and it seems to work well, though the real test will come in july/august/september... i already feel like it works better than the standard HVAC i have on my new tundra.... i love everything about that truck EXCEPT the HVAC system! standard climate controls on that truck are a JOKE! i will elaborate, if you guys have the time... hehehehe.

 

[tiagotiago]

I live just south of Arizona in the middle of the desert, and I've had my Speed3 since this last June, and I didn't feel my car was lacking AC power, it worked really well for me, but I usually set the temp at about 70F; and I get the impression you like far colder temps. Also, over here there's usually very little or 0% humidity in the air, and since I have been a few times to south Texas, I recall it was a lot more humid; I can't really say how good this AC system is in working with humidity.

I also got a CWP GT, and the thing I'm most thankful about is the Alcantara seats, which stay roughly as cool as cloth, and nowhere near as hot as a leather/vinyl seat.

Obviously this being a subjective thing, I'd like to say that you go out and try it, but being as we're in "winter", I'm guessing it's gonna be a bit hard, unless you plan on buying it in a few months time, but I get the impression you're planning to get one real soon. Good luck.

 

[mr_mazda329]

I think the A/C does pretty good now especially since I got my windows Tinted. Out here in Las Vegas, it gets really hot around 115-120 during the day and 100 or so around midnight. The summer here starts around late April and goes to Octoberish. Definately get the windows tinted and I even got the window tint arcoss the top of the windshield. Living here makes your really appreciate the winter months while you have them. Heck we got a coulpe inches of snow 2 weeks ago. I say get the MS3 and don't look back.


And besides, A/C systems arent as good as they used to be on older cars. Cars nowadays use R134 refrigerant which isn't as good as the R12 that was on older cars, say 94-older.

 

[Invictus]

I live in Jacksonville, FL. On hot days, the AC will get the cabin feeling cool pretty quickly. I'd give it a pretty good rating.

 

[Speed3Rookie]

RTF, do a search for ac posts and you will find a few threads questioning the ac on these cars.
I would hate to see a post from you in July 09 concerning the ac on your new Speed3.
Good luck!

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123716920&highlight=air+conditioning

 

[ZyrehT]

I may not be down south but the trips I've made have been fine. We see the 90's a lot in the summer around here as well.

 

[SubieKiller3]

I live in florida and i have a black mica speed 3. the ac works fine for me. i have no complaints. although you might want to consider the sport instead of the gt model because those leather seats of the gt model are gonna suck to sit in after your car sitting in the sun for too long.

 

[GoFast]

i have a black mica and when i lived in vegas it performed quite adequately. vegas summers are quite brutal also

 

[oaklandopen]

if the op wanted to get a car purely for frigid AC performance, i would hope that he would get a pre-R134a car, that way he really would be living in a freezer. only problem would be having to fix components or recharge with R12....and believe me there are still ppl out there that refuse to get rid of their R12 cars

 

[RTexasF]

Folks I really do appreciate the responses. It sounds like the A/C is up to the task which is a relief. I'm still open to more input if others care to chime in with their opinion. Thanks to all that posted useful information. This seems to be a very good community and I look forward to becoming part of it once I get some better numbers in my e-mail inbox from various dealers.

 

[Wastegate13]

I live in florida and i have a black mica speed 3. the ac works fine for me. i have no complaints. although you might want to consider the sport instead of the gt model because those leather seats of the gt model are gonna suck to sit in after your car sitting in the sun for too long.

Unless you're wearing short shorts no skin will really contact the leather portions of the seat. I live just about as far south as you can go on the west coast of FL, summers here are pretty brutal with high temps and higher humidity levels. I think the AC worked great this past summer, much much better than my Jeep ever did. Funny thing was my Eclipse had the coldest AC I've ever felt but with the gi-hugant FMIC I was running I couldn't run it in traffic long without the car getting too hot for my liking.

 

[RTexasF]

if the op wanted to get a car purely for frigid AC performance, i would hope that he would get a pre-R134a car, that way he really would be living in a freezer. only problem would be having to fix components or recharge with R12....and believe me there are still ppl out there that refuse to get rid of their R12 cars

I do not and why would I buy anything that old when I want a new car? My current Honda uses the "new" refrigerant and I have to turn it down after a short time. All I'm asking is that the little Mazda Turbo Monster has equal or better A/C.