Best thing is to buy heat reject films like V-Kool and 3M and don't buy cheap kind. You can have 80% clear tint from V-kool that works a lot better than 50% or Limo tint. V-kool is used in NASA. As for the AC in the fit, it's isn't that cold. I have 98 Lancer that has 220K on it and it's AC very cold. I find out that Fit AC takes sometime to blow real cold air, compare to other cars, what I do if I parked in hot sun for hours, is that I open the 4 windows and have the AC on 4 to blow the hot air out, it takes very short time, and you will get nice cold air.

 

Did anybody mention that the a/t car spins the compressor slower than the m/t version while cruising?

 

How come that.

 

The AT cruise engine RPMs are lower due to taller drivetrain gearing. I don't know if that has much effect on the compressor output at either cruising engine speed.

Eric

 

[quote=kimo Best thing is to buy heat reject films like V-Kool and 3M and don't buy cheap kind. You can have 80% clear tint from V-kool that works a lot better than 50% or Limo tint. V-kool is used in NASA. quote]


Kimo is right. I didn't want to spend the extra $ for the NASA stuff, but the 3M stuff I got (35% front, 15% everywhere else incl. visor strip) is plenty. It made a noticeable difference to my back seat passenger within 10 minutes. A couple of very nice ladies who run a shop in Panama City, Florida fixed me up with a perfect tint job in 3 hours. Cost was $235, but it was a lot better than the job done for $180 on my previous car. It's gotta be hard to get those funky little front windows tinted without a blemish, but these Florida babes did it very well. Nice, smooth cutouts around my third brakelight and rear dei-cer hardware, too.

Back to what Kimo said: The tint does NOT have to be dark (and illegal) to be heat-reflective. It just has to be good quality stuff and not the "novelty" junk.

Joe

 

How does LLumar film compare to the 3M and V-kool? A tint shop in Rome, Georgia gave me an estimate of $165 to tint all of the windows in our New Beetle with LLumar. I am thinking about getting them to do my Fit as well.

 

LLumar is good but not as good as V-kool which is the best then the 3M.
Wannafind.dk

 

no tint and i run my a/c on 2. i think the thing that helps, is i don't park it in the sun. ever. so it has a better chance to stay cool

 

Im glad the weather here in washington isnt to unbearable yet that AC isnt required. But i have noticed the AC does suck. So the general solution is to get a nice quality tint?

 

I did notice when test driving that the AC is a little weak, but it will cool down eventually.

My red fit had tint from the dealer ($265). No idea what brand film they used but it seems to keep the heat out pretty well and it looks great too

I always used a reflective sun shade in my F150 and it made a huge difference when parked in the sun. Still have the shade, but it is way way too big for the fit windshield so I have to find a new one.

My Houston summertime car cooling routine is the similar to what's been posted before

1) Crack windows
2) AC on max, pulling air from outside, vents blowing on dash only, aim vents directly at you.

When inside air cools to about the same temp as outside:
3) Switch to recirculate
4) Close windows
5) Enjoy frosty goodness

If you reverse 3 and 4 you will get a little overpressure when you close the windows and for me this causes a funny feeling in my ears that is not particularly enjoyable.

 

Honda live in "power of dream". They'll do anything to make they small car less weight to run 1 second faster. For that, they choose to make every parts small and less weight AC condenser or compressor, battery, fuel tank, light weight seat, etc. ... I try not to use AC much to get more power out of from engine when I drive. Honda wants everybody to feel how the sports car feels like even for those low budget car buyer. Even though Fit isn't a sports car... but you can drive like one. I hope everybody get my point.

 

Ha, it was probably more like, smaller a/c compressor head unit == cheaper

 

What V-kool films you have.
I have V70 + J83 in my windshield, and the rest H50. I am might ad J83 in the rest of the car.

 

AC temp details:

5sp manual, outside temp about 80*. AC on recirc top vents only, fan at 4, driving around for >5min. Put cooking thermometer in the middle dash vents- continually fluctuates between 44* and 49* with cycle on/off.

My 88 accord blew 38* always on R12. Cold as heck. 95 civic blew 42* always, with R134. Why the heck is my 2007 Fit blowing no colder than 44*?

I knew it was not all that cold, but now I'm sure.

FYI, a few degrees makes a HUGE difference. In the 95 civic, when the system had a leak, it wouldn't get below 48*, and I might as well have not turned it on if it was sunny. I was really hoping to get 42* continually.

 

Had the same, the Ranger turned out to be a 3.5 Ton cooling system. Just to give you an idea your house is a 3-5 ton cooling system. So it was a tad bit oversized for the application. The Fit is a greenhouse so it probably concentrates alot of UV in the cabin, just add a little sun blocker and you should be more than happy with the performance.

V-Kool is great stuff, but the NASA guys use a different grade than you or I do (in their MLS blankets), its ALOT cheaper, but it doesn't mean we can't benefit from the technology, even in the very watered down form.

-bix

 

I have been less than pleased with my A/C, and my dealer found no issues with it when I mentioned it.

Luckily I mentioned it before I was out of warranty, so at least next time I mention it, I can say it first happened under warranty.

When I first start the car, it does not blow cold. It's as though the compressor is off. Once I drive, it usually kicks in and is fine from there.

The most annyoing issue happened about 2 weeks ago. I was getting ready to wake my son up to get him ready for daycare. I went out to pack the car and it was hot out so I started the car, put the A/C on recirc and #4. I went back 15 minutes later to put him in the car and the car was like piss warm, all humid and what not. It was worse than if I hadn't turned it on.

As I drove, it didn't get better, so I messed around with the A/C button and the fan switch, just for kicks. Finally it came on and was fine after that.

It's quite annoying, and has been quirky since day one. I'll mention it next oil change and we'll see where I get...

 

$249 here in Texas, but I got the Delux tint with the Lifetime warranty.

 

How much is V-cool compared to window tints? Also, will normal tint shops carry that stuff?

 

I just picked up a White Sport model and the AC works good even after sitting in the sun. I keep the windows cracked and use a sun shade. I'm in North Carolina which gets pretty warm this time of year. On my darker car I use a Tyvek car cover which does a good job of keeping things cool and if it happens to rain while covered I just shake it off. I'll be getting a cover for the Fit to keep the paint and interior from getting damaged.

 

Ok. My airconditioning takes over 15 min to cool at 100 farenheit , i have no idea and my benz does it just fine in less then a minute is something wrong?