ICE COLD A/C?

I see this term used in many threads/forums. What does it really mean? What is the actual air temperature coming out of the vents from "ice cold A/C" ? Is it 60? 40? I really want to know as my A/C blows cold but I wouldn't call it "ice cold".

 

Toyotas back in the day with R12 used to blow ice cold. My 89-95 pickups with R12 refrigerant would blow 33-36 out the vents on a 90 degree day and make the windows sweat in the shade on a hot day.
After the R134A came out, everything went down hill. My first time i lost R12 in an accident and had to recharge with the R134A stuff, that same vehicle would barely get down to 50 degrees out the vents.

As vehicles have progressed, you would assume things would have gotten better, but alas its only been worse.
I had a few 2002-2004 Tacomas, their system with the R134A was not all that bad, 48-50 out the vents.

My 2006 Tacoma seemed ok too, i think about 50 out the vents.
My 2008 Tacoma wasnt that great, it was about 55 out the vents but i loved that truck and kept it for a long time.
My wifes couple of 4Runners have always been 50-55 out the vents.
My current daily which i have had almost 10 years is a 2008 4R with R134A and it will get down to 47 in perfect conditions and run about 50 on a hot day.
This is with a needle thermometer in the vents. I have one in practically every vehicle. I have a buddy with a newer 4R and his seems very warm, i would be willing to bet his is only 55-58 out the vents, its also smart to keep an eye on the cabin air filter because when they get stopped up the air flow isnt great. ALSO, the blend door, i have had one go bad before and when you are pulling in outside air, you wont ever get it down as cold as when you are pulling in the recirculated air.

 

ICE Cold=

 

AC temps on modern vehicles are often a joke. You could freeze to death during a heatwave inside my 1999 Impreza.

 

I used to have a Chevy van that would blow smoke out of the vents. The A/C was very cold.

 

They may not realize it, but that means the evaporator in the dash is freezing up with ice crystals. Most of the time this would mean there is not enough air blowing over the evaporator to effectively defrost the evaporator. Would check into the air flow, thru the air filter behind the dash. They are not supposed to freeze up, by design, because if they freeze up they inhibit the air flow thru the evaporator.

The older vehicles with R12 would get so cold, but not freeze up. I had a 1992 regular cab pickup once that was so cold it would make the windows sweat in the shade. I put an inside and outside digital thermometer in it one time like you see in peoples houses to monitor inside and outisde temps. Inside in the shade would get down in the 40s, while outside temp was 93+. That is the one that would blow low 30s out the vents, boy i miss that old truck.
I still have one of those pickups today, its a 1993 regular cab but when i bought it, it had already been converted over to R134A. That poor truck is NOT a summer truck, it blows about 58-60 on its best day. If its super hot outside in the summer you are sweating inside because not only can it not get cold, it also isnt removing the humidity well because the evaporator isnt cold enough to condensate and remove the humidity like its supposed to. I dont drive that truck during the hot summer, its more of a cool season "toy" to ride around in.

 

I had a 2004 Crown that would blows haze out the vents. The A/C was pretty cold.

 

I rarely put my AC on my 4Runner up on high, so it seems to work pretty good. But i only get upper 90's. 95 today.

I'm contemplating ceramic window tint that will dramatically reduce IR and heat.

 

When we were in a drought and it was like planet Mars. I carried a spray bottle with water and you spray it in the center/upper vents. Just lightly humidifes it.

 

4runner sucks ass in the cali desert / vegas asphalt

Always blasting the air 100% on full blown cold and I basically feel like an airplane wing, there's a nice breeze occasionally but the residual temperature of the stagnant air is just hot as hell.

I am contemplating on increasing tint to like 15 on the sides and getting the front down to 50

It hasn't even hit July

 

Get ceramic tint.

 

I do have ceramic tint 35 all around but still on those 110+ days i am just sitting in an oven

 

I believe a/c systems are not described as delivering a prescribed low temperature, but rather to reduce the input air temperature by a specified number of degrees. I think there are some a/c techs on this board. Maybe the can clarify.

 

I agree, you can feel the sun burning your skin thru the windows even with tint. Its the radiant heat coming thru the windows that makes you feel hot even though the air is blowing. You gotta cut the UV down with more tint

 

It started raining here a bit ago, raining hard, i guess the cold water thru the condensor really helps. My old Tundra got down to about 45ish degrees