CX 5 a/c performance in 108 degree weather

[katman]

Took the CX5 down to Las Vegas. At a steady 70-75mph, got 27.7 mpg, that is on flat mostly straight road (i-95) cruise control on.
For the most part, it did pretty well when it was around 100. We'd get in and the a/c seemed to do well at cooling things down. I used recirc mode all of the time, which is a crutch for a/c.
I was hoping to see the 112 temps but missed them, only seeing 108. At that temp, the a/c was starting to struggle a little. By struggle, I mean that the air was not frigid, the interior might have been 70 degrees. This was in slow driving. I am sure that stop and go would be much worse.
This is because there is less air flow to the condenser and the air around the vehicle is being heated by all the cars around you so the air temp could be hotter than it should.
Overall, I think it did pretty well. I didn't bring my a/c thermometer, but I think at a minimum, you want the air coming out of the vents to be at least 40 degrees cooler than the temperature outside. So, if you find yourself in Las Vegas or Phoenix when it is 110 and think the car is too hot inside, you might want to measure the vent temps- if it 60 degrees (a drop of 50 degrees), that is pretty good, but the car will still be warm inside.
I also think that the color of my cx5 (white) helped a lot when it came to cooling it- I'd hate to think how hot a black cx5 with black interior would be after sitting in triple digit temps.
Other vehicles I have driven in 110+ temps in Las Vegas:
1) '98 Honda CRV- really anemic a/c performance
2) '03 Jetta wago tdi- not bad, not great
3) '96 Impala SS- incredible, the police spec a/c may be just an extra large condenser, but even when it was 114 and I was stuck in traffic on the main strip, it was comfortable.
Mazda CX5 did pretty well. However...
I know that manufactors say to not put a screen in front of the radiator/condensor, but I can see that condensor filling up with bugs/grit real fast and then a/c performance will go downhill, unless I get a new condensor. So, if after driving 50k miles, you see a decrease in a/c performance, run a hose through the condensor or replace it.

 

[Skorpio]

You're right about big American cars with bigger condensers being cooler. And heavier. But on today's lighter, frugal vehicles, a 30 difference between interior and outside ambient temps are considered normal. I've never heard of manufacturers saying not to put mesh bug screens in front if rads but I have one and very little bugs/bent fins are in my condenser and I have great A/C performance. However, I haven't been in 108 temps either, a condition that stresses HVAC performance to the max Thanks for the assessment, though, I'll be in Sin City in 3 weeks!

 

[katman]

Full sized american cars could run large condensers because they had room for them. Modern cars have little real estate to place a good sized condenser and frankly, I doubt a lot of people think about ac performance or have an opportunity to test ac out when testing cars. Mazda actually did a decent job as most cars that I have driven have sucky ac. An old a/c tech told me that the best performing a/c he ever saw was on a Caddy Eldorado. Big condenser, R12, the thing was cold!
I forgot to mention another car that I have taken to Las Vegas- my modded up '06 GTO. Despite dual fans and the heritage of being designed in Australia, its ac performance was below that of the CX5.I'd love to see how the CX5 ac compares to CRV, Rav4, etc.
FWIW, sort of near Las Vegas is Death Valley. Most car companies torture test their vehicles there, even those that don't sell here, like Alfa Romeo
When in FL I try to get the fwd Impala as a rental car because i know the ac can piss out ice cubes. The last three imports that I have ended up with (VW Jetta, Nissan Maxima and Mitsubishi Galant) were not impressive.
Anyhow, I hope that any prospective CX5 buyers read this thread and consider a/c performance when buying a CX5. I'd be shocked if its competitors could do better. I thought the CRV sucked and frankly, the heater wasn't so hot either (I sometimes drove it when it is was a little below zero).
In vegas, when it gets above 110, airlines start bumping people, they don't like to fly full when it is that hot (airport is around 3k' too).
While in Vegas, I highly recommend you visit the worlds largest collection (yes, you can play them!) of restored pinball games at the Pinball Hall of Fame, and visit Mainstreet Casino Brew Pub on Fremont-great food that is fairly priced, mediocre microbrew that is super cheap!
Yeah!

 

[runtohell121]

The A/C wasn't that great if the car was left out in the sun under 100+ degree weather for about 30 min to 1 hour.. takes forever to cool down. When I was in Sacramento/Reno/Tahoe, the weather ranged from 90 to 112 degree throughout the day. On the go, the A/C was okay, not the coolest but decent enough. After a stop when the car is warmed up, it will take a while for it to cool down.

 

[Skorpio]

While in Vegas, I highly recommend you visit the worlds largest collection (yes, you can play them!) of restored pinball games at the Pinball Hall of Fame, and visit Mainstreet Casino Brew Pub on Fremont-great food that is fairly priced, mediocre microbrew that is super cheap!
Yeah!

Thanks friend I appreciate the recommendations, I'll put those on the list. I love trying new brews/microbrews. We got married in Vegas (by Elvis!) and this will be our 4th trip.

Oh yeah, I also think all black interiors will stay hotter than a sand interior. Mine was left out for at least 2-3 hours in Myrtle Beach heat (100), and although hot, the sand leather did not hold a lot of heat and, to me, the AC cooled in a timely manner.

 

[katman]

The A/C wasn't that great if the car was left out in the sun under 100+ degree weather for about 30 min to 1 hour.. takes forever to cool down. When I was in Sacramento/Reno/Tahoe, the weather ranged from 90 to 112 degree throughout the day. On the go, the A/C was okay, not the coolest but decent enough. After a stop when the car is warmed up, it will take a while for it to cool down.

First, as someone living in the area that you described, I can't recall it ever getting getting above 105 degrees. Don't rely on the thermometer in the dash to be accurate. When it was 108 the other day, the display read anywhere from 117 to 120! Above 104, its accuracy goes down the tubes.
If your car is really roasty toasty after sitting in the sun, you should roll down all the windows for a minute or so to let all all the easy bake oven heat out.
The reason a/c works better when the car is moving is because you have a high speed flow of air going through the condenser. Also, heat from radiator won't affect it as much.
I'd suggest that the next time you wash your car, spray some water through the condenser in the front of the car; I bet you have a lot of central cali bugs in there. That crud prevents air front going through the vanes of the condenser, whisking away heat from the a/c unit. In some cases, the condenser has to be removed and cleaned. I'll have to replace the one in my Impala SS as it is filled with bugs and rocks. I can see this being a once every few year proposition in FL (they get huge bugs that I am sure will clog up a condenser in no time).
I got a lot of stuff in the garage (moving soon) so I can't access my ac thermometer. It would be nice to know how many degrees lower the stock ac system can cool ambient air.

 

[Pipemajor]

Another reason not to equip cars with oversized A/C units is fuel economy. It takes more horsepower (either driven by accessory belt or electric) to run a larger compressor. Our CX's have a LOT of interior volume to cool down.

Some of us can remember the days when even a heater was an extra-cost option.

 

[Maineiac]

Another reason not to equip cars with oversized A/C units is fuel economy. It takes more horsepower (either driven by accessory belt or electric) to run a larger compressor. Our CX's have a LOT of interior volume to cool down.

Some of us can remember the days when even a heater was an extra-cost option.

Spoken like a man from Minnesota. Down here in the Lone Star we need our a/c.

 

[craigo]

No problems with mine. I'm in TX and it blows nice and cold.

 

[GAXIBM]

If you want to keep the bugs/stones out of your AC take a look at this thread:
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...-Bug-Screen-with-Gutter-Guard-and-Pet-Screen&