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
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 744
Likes: 306
From: Near Charlotte, NC
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.
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.
Member
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 70
Likes: 11
From: West Des Moines, IA
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. ;-)
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. ;-)
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 165
Likes: 39
From: Park Hills (Covington), KY
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!
Veteran Member
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 9,733
Likes: 2,201
From: on-the-edge
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.
Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 37
Likes: 17
From: USA
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.
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 24
Likes: 1
From: Decatur, GA US
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 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.
then they complain about high gas prices.
Veteran Member
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,059
Likes: 134
From: Mtn View, CA
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.
Member
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 52
Likes: 4
From: US
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
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
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 157
Likes: 27
From: Chicagoland
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.
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.
