Same here, damn Saturn is "Charcoal Grey" with dark grey interior. I get in and I can barely touch the wheel.

I think someone else mentioned it, but I use the AC in bursts. When it gets cool, I shut it off by pressing the AC button. When it warms up to where I can't take it, I'll turn it on again. I also run with my vents open and the left window down about 1".

In my Saturn the AC doesn't work and it has been hot here as of late and I have been unable to use it, I usually would just roll down the windows and it isn't too bad as I have a short commute home. However, I just tinted my windows all around and it helps with the heat while sitting however for the first 5 days which today is the third you can't roll down the windows, its been almost unbearable.

P.S. Also for those with limits on the % of tint when I went to get mine tinted they said they had a clear tint that blocks out the same amount of heat/UV/etc has the darker tint but is clear, maybe you can check into that.

What I do is to open as many windows I can to let out the accumulated hot air inside the main cabin. Even a gentle crosswind can help move the hot air out of the windows. Then I turn the fan on full blast to help clear out the hot air inside the air ducts. Once the air ducts are clear of hot air as well as most of the cabin, I roll the windows back up. That should help your cooling system because a reduction in starting temperature should reduce the required cooling system usage.

Have any of you looked at the ice-based AC? There is a company that uses a fan to blow air into an ice chest across ice, and it is supposed to be able to keep a small area cool for hours before the ice melts.

On why the vent is hotter than outside air, the heater and air conditioner are housed together, with only a thin plastic door with a thin piece of insulation between them. When the car gets hot, the heater core is dumping heat into its little section, and with the AC off it takes a very short time for that heat to get past the little door. Putting a heater core cutoff in the line will help a lot with both the vent being hotter and the AC not working well.

And on the air deflectors, they used to have those on Chevy trucks until 1987. Worst decision ever to remove that feature from the truck. I loved mine. My 79 had no AC, and there was a vent on the driver's and passenger's floorboards that could be opened and closed. I didn't miss AC in that truck, with both side vents open, the floor vents open and the windows down the inside of the truck was like a tornado. But, they decided that because AC is available that nobody wanted those little wing windows. Sucks, because now you are limited to either windows down only or AC as options.

its gotton to the point were i dont care anymore about comfort. i have 2 sets of shirts i were for when im in the car so because they are really cool. i have used a/c 2 times all year and it wasent for very long because i couldent make myself do it. the best thing that works for me is the front left and the back right windows open like some of you guys said a while back so thatnks alot for that because it the only thing that works.

OdieTurbo -

I have a cheap small blanket that I got from Big Lots or 99 cents or someplace to drape over the wheel. Alternatively, get a windshield sun shade for $1.50, fold it over, cut it to shape, and staple the sides to make a cover for the steering wheel. You can do anything with those alumino sun shade thingys, pizza box warmers, car sun visor extenders, halloween outfits, and .... sun shades.

CarloSW2

Hockey4mnhs -

I drive to work in a T-shirt, and switch to a nice shirt in the parking lot for my job.

CarloSW2

Mines 35% up front and 20% around the back. Because I don't want my wife backing into large metalic,stone, concrete, or wooden objects at night.

I have some silver bubble wrap (reflectex) that I prop up in my front window, I then crack the sun roof, and windows, and when I get in, it feels like my car was parked in the shade, even when it's 105F out side, and I have a black dash, and seats.

The Oven
 

Dark Blue Paint
Charcoal Grey Interior
Sloping Hatch Glass

Getting to work is OK, it's after the car has been parked in the Sun all day at work and that drive home is the hottest. I usually leave the hatch open while I roll the windows down and then go back to put my bag in the back -- airs it out a bit. I probably need to look into the heat reflectors first. Starting out cool seems to help. If only there was a way to keep the hatch cool...

https://pic16.picturetrail.com/VOL698.../267974068.jpg

Wait, it's not 1982 anymore...:rolleyes: JK

Compared to other vehicles, the A/C air is as cold, but it struggles to maintain temperature. I'm convinced the windshield and rear glass are big contributors to the barrage of heat -- and getting the air flow is tough with the coupe windows (seems like all or nothing).

Where can you get the sunshades or reflective materials???

RH77

I will consider myself lucky to have a garage to park in at work. Though my car was pretty hot when I got in it this afternoon at the house. Engine bay was reading 100 degrees (was only 95 after some air-flow).

Here in north Texas our weather has been nice. I don't think I have had to go out in anything over 92-94 degrees yet this year.

Has anyone looked at how the triangle windows affect FE compared to rolling down the big ones? I usually just put out my triangle and use my vents as long as it isn't too terribly hot outside.

RH77, For a car with a big greenhouse like that, it seemed to me to make sense to put something reflective in the back that can just stay there all the time. Maybe a large piece of reflective stuff lying on the deck back there. It might need to be composed of individual "slats" of reflective stuff angled toward the rear in order to send all the incoming light back out of the vehicle in the right direction.

You can get the sunshades at Walmart or the like. Or you can buy a roll of reflectix at Lowes or home depot.

Is it possible to leave your windows down even 1/4 inch while you are at work? For my car, even a little bit of air flow can make a big difference. Also maybe think about the orientation of the vehicle relative to the sun while parked, or maybe parking on another side of the building if possible.

Mazda 929s used to have a sunroof on them with a solar panel strip running around the mounting ring. It produced enough electricity to run a small fan. The fan was set to come on any time the interior of the car reached 90 degrees, and was strong enough that the car was not supposed to ever get hotter inside than whatever the outside temp was. Something like this might work to keep the interior of any car clear without killing the battery.

Also, might see about getting just plain heat rejection tint in the back glass. I have some in my house, works pretty well. There is a noticable difference in glass temp between the tinted and untinted windows in my house (have over half tinted). The stuff I'm using came from Home Depot, but is not recommended for automotive use. Might work fine for a rear hatch though, since it doesn't roll up and down.

FWIW, my car had a rough idle that turned out to be a bad ground strap. I'd go over every ground connection I can find and clean them up at the connectors. My bad one was a bare braided wire (made that way); the copper strands were badly corroded so I think maybe it wasn't carrying current very well.

i bought one of those reflector things there awsome.

I do windows-up in the am, with the vent fan blowing. In the evening, it's windows-down and a nice little jug of ice water sitting between my legs. The ice keeps me cool through conduction, and via sippage :-) That's with high temps hovering around 90F this month in Kansas City. If it gets up around our normal 100F summer temps, I'll be looking for more relief, though.

Its hot and humid in south Louisiana but I can manage the drive to work without A/C, windows up no problem. If its sunny I use the window shades for the windshield when parked. Going home in a 135f car is much tougher, some days I just have to run the A/C. :(

What I have found that helps a ton is a white car with heavy window tint. I've had black cars with dark interiors temps literally break 180F thermometers... Since making the switch to all white cars the difference is dramatic.

Yeah peakster I was looking at the weather map in the newspaper a few days ago and was thinking that +100 degree days in Canada seem a bit out of the norm.

Mentalic -

When I had my 2nd Gen BLACK CRX with black interior, I loved it. But, if I had to do it all over again, it would be white. The CRX didn't have AC, and that really isn't a major problem in LA, but when I sold it to my friend in Phoenix, I had AC installed.

White is good for cars and homes for saving energy.

CarloSW2

One thing is for sure, here in south FL, it is a little hot to be driving without my AC on. Some days I just have to use it, there's no to ways about it. Plus, I work full-time in the hot sun and don't care to go from a 100+ degree heat index straight to a 140+ degree car. And believe me, the car does that hot, it's dark blue, and even with a window reflector and tinted windows it gets extremely hot.

Along those lines:

Portable 12V Air Conditioner --Cheap and easy! at Instructables

Says it will cool the cab of a small pickup quite nicely:

With my black car sitting in the sun for 9 hours, that doesn't work. It pumps out super hot air. I sometimes hit the AC for a bit, then turn it off once the inside gets below 100 degrees!

MetroMPG -

Thanks! The best price I have seen on an similar product is $200+.

This is definitely worth making.

CarloSW2

I usually open the driver's window full and the back left window just a half. I believe that doing this will decrease air turbulence inside the car because the air that gets inside through the front window will go out imediatetly through the back left window and keeping a soft air motion, specially for the driver.

If it gets really hot I open the passenger window just a bit.