Idiots + cars = LOL

The solar powered fan idea mostly doesn't work, at least not down here. Too much solar and ambient heating.

A better choice is to tint your windows and put up a sunblock shield on your front windshield, which does help temperatures significantly as well as protecting your interior from sun damage.
 
A bike is not a better alternative if you don't wish to have a hot seat, especially not if you're stuck parking in the sun. But at least you don't have to put up with a car's greenhouse effect; superheated air that feels like it's approaching the flashover point to plasma when you go to operate it.

On top of that, riding one in the hot Texas sun can sometimes unpleasantly warm the inside of your thighs where you grip the tank. Between engine heated air rising and warming the tank and the sun's power, yeah, it can get a little warm. One guy I know has measured his tank as hitting at least 185F.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for proving my point. Air does not work well for heat transfer, no matter if for cooling or heating.
I don't disagree with air being a terrible heat transfer medium, its not dense enough for that. I disagree with you saying (or at least implying) that the door trick is useless. The whole point was to cool the car down quickly (which does happen) and making the job easier for A/C.
A better choice is to tint your windows and put up a sunblock shield on your front windshield, which does help temperatures significantly as well as protecting your interior from sun damage.
I agree, I tend to park with back towards the sun in the summertime as all my windows but front windshield are tinted, too lazy to deal with a sunblock shield.
 
Last edited:
I don't disagree with air being a terrible heat transfer medium, its not dense enough for that. I disagree with you saying (or at least implying) that the door trick is useless. The whole point was to cool the car down quickly (which does happen) and making the job easier for A/C.

It's better than doing nothing and hopping into an unventilated car. However, it does not "cool the car down quickly" because air is "a terrible heat transfer medium". The more air the better.
 
I never thought I'd see the day but I have to agree with Spectre here.

Since I have been to Texas and witnessed the effect of air flow having no cooling effect whatsoever (you could as well hold your hand into the hot air stream of a hair dryer), the only way to cool down a car there, is starting the engine and the air con 5-10 minutes before you enter the car. And if you haven't put one of those really nice, sun-reflecting shields behind your windcreen, before you left the car, I recommend gloves, because otherwise you're going to get your fingers burned at the steering wheel. And I mean burned, with blisters and all.

Simply forget about the kind of heat we get in Europe. Think Sahara instead.

I have huge respect for those, who work in the open there in the summer, doing roadworks for example. They're heroes.
 
Last edited:
Oh, I agree with you, too. Air con only cools the air, it needs about half an hour to have an effect on the plastic or the seats. No argueing there. But the air you breathe and the air around your skin is cool and that is a great relief.

And just to add this: When I was in Texas, we had a teacher, who flew in from Florida for a week. You know it's hot, when the first thing a guy from Florida says in front of his class, is "Man, it's hot out there. HOT!"
 
Last edited:
I never thought I'd see the day but I have to agree with Spectre here.

Since I have been to Texas and witnessed the effect of air flow having no cooling effect whatsoever (you could as well hold your hand into the hot air stream of a hair dryer), the only way to cool down a car there, is starting the engine and the air con 5-10 minutes before you enter the car. And if you haven't put one of those really nice, sun-reflecting shields behind your windcreen, before you left the car, I recommend gloves, because otherwise you're going to get your fingers burned at the steering wheel. And I mean burned, with blisters and all.

Simply forget about the kind of heat we get in Europe. Think Sahara instead.

Tinting the windows isn't just a style affectation here, either. Between the heat rejection and UV rejection, it's almost mandatory if you want to keep your car's interior (and possibly you) intact and unmelted/burned/disintegrated.

I'm looking for those pictures CrazyJeeper took of what happens if you leave something made of plastic out unprotected in the Texas sun and heat for a few years.

Edit:
IMG_0017.JPG

08042010616.jpg


This is what it was supposed to look like:
jeff92_750.jpg

hawk2.JPG


Most every piece of non-UV stabilized plastic had literally disintegrated or melted in ten years of exposure to the sun and heat of Texas. All of the bodywork, even the plastic battery casing, had been eaten by the all-devouring sun.

We do know heat here. Waving around a door isn't going to help. Neither is a little solar fan. Cracking the sunroof open helps it cool down after the sun goes over the horizon in the evening; I've had days where I went to get in the car before the sun rose and the air inside was still warm from the previous day.
 
Last edited:
Oh, I agree with you, too. Air con only cools the air, it needs about half an hour to have an effect on the plastic or the seats. No argueing there. But the air you breathe and the air around your skin is cool and that is a great relief.

No doubt about that. The door wiggling is unadvisable while driving though.

Here's an FG top tip for testing my claims: Take a hot day, park car in sun, wait. Roll down all windows, drive. The air flowing makes it comfortable (assuming comfortable temperatures outside). After a minute or two of driving, roll up the windows, don't use AC. You will immediately feel the heat radiate from the interior. All that air circulation from all the windows down while driving had little effect, that door wiggling will not be effective either.
 
No doubt about that. The door wiggling is unadvisable while driving though.

Here's an FG top tip for testing my claims: Take a hot day, park car in sun, wait. Roll down all windows, drive. The air flowing makes it comfortable (assuming comfortable temperatures outside). After a minute or two of driving, roll up the windows, don't use AC. You will immediately feel the heat radiate from the interior. All that air circulation from all the windows down while driving had little effect, that door wiggling will not be effective either.

You're assuming there will be appreciable air flow. :p In-car convection flow isn't exactly fast.
 
It's better than doing nothing and hopping into an unventilated car. However, it does not "cool the car down quickly" because air is "a terrible heat transfer medium". The more air the better.
Pedant man strikes again! :)
Nah, I'm trying to show that the solids remain hot even when some air flow has happened.
Which was never questioned... The door trick does a very simple thing it quickly (quicker than driving with windows open, because I did that before I learned of this trick) cools down the AIR in the vehicle making it more comfortable to be in it while A/C gets up to speed.*

*This wouldn't work anywhere below the Mason-Dixie line though.
 
Last edited:
Nah, I'm trying to show that the solids remain hot even when some air flow has happened.

I don't think the argument is about solids being hot, but the air. After all, heat-index is based on the perceived air temperature. Getting into a hot car on a hot day boils down to the air temp, which affects our perception of car being hot or cold. My steering wheel can take 10 to 15 minutes to be cool to the touch, but my car can pretty much exchange the air in about 2 minutes with Max AC. I don't wait 10 minutes before driving, only the few seconds or so until the air coming out the vents is cold. It's like those seats on a school bus. Despite open windows, they're usually fairly hot, but are only unfomfortable if you're in direct skin contact (wearing shorts).


Edit: I like how the one attempt to stop this derail has gone largely unnoticed. Ouch.
 
Last edited:
I don't think the argument is about solids being hot, but the air. After all, heat-index is based on the perceived air temperature. Getting into a hot car on a hot day boils down to the air temp, which affects our perception of car being hot or cold.

Don't forget the heat radiation from the entire interior of the car.

I like how the one attempt to stop this derail has gone largely unnoticed. Ouch.

Re-railing threads is too boring :tease:
 
Don't forget the heat radiation from the entire interior of the car.
It's actually not that big of a deal (aside from a warm back but I get back pains so that's actually somewhat soothing). Since we are talking about hot days here its reasonable to expect the A/C to be used or windows to be opened. So after the quick initial cool down of the air the heat radiating from the solid surfaces is either carried away by the incoming air from the outside or is cooled by the A/C.
 
For a second, I thought the Bentley had italian plates, but then I noticed they are french. They just stole our license-plate pattern and now they use it to annoy everybody.
 
Top