-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
AC on M3
- Thread starter Thunderbird
- Start date
Kognos
Member
First time trying this. Entered the car at roughly 90 degrees, internal AC temp was set at 68, left AC at "AUTO" when I left yesterday. Fan blowing loudly, and looked - was autoset at 9. 10 minutes later and about 3 miles down the road, it was at an 8. I went into the store for errands. It wasn't really appreciably cooler by the time I got to the store. Bear in mind car was deep sleep before I started.
All in all, it was blowing not-so-cold air at the end.
15 minutes later I go out and travel home. Fan got down to a 6. Was pretty cool at the end. But still moderately loud by my standards... above a 5 is pretty noisy for quality audio experience (subjective statement I know). Sorry, I'm an audiophile and love the Tesla speakers, what can I say.
My point is really that it doesn't get cold really that fast, and the fan decibels are really quite loud above a 5. I don't like the idea of keeping the AC at "auto" if it's going to make my audio experience bad for the fan being so loud.
I'd rather be able to enjoy the quieter car than have this thing be set to AUTO and take forever to cool off. It would be worth it if the car cooled off in a way I could measure - time, distance, speed, etc. I'm used to gas cars needing some "warming up" to really "get cold" (paradox, I know) but I'd think the Tesla would not need that, probably just time to chill.
Also, for those of you who say I should pre-chill the car, that's not really the point, unless you're expressly stating that the AC is tied to time, and this time is absolute whether we are driving or not. If it just takes 10 minutes to get chilly, that's fine. To the OP point, this just seems to be pretty slow.
I don't expect instant cool, but I do think to the OP point there is a lag time between "AC on" to "car is cool" that I'm trying to help measure and I have noticed it be sluggish myself.
I can see maybe that one should consider pre-conditioning the car for travel 10m in advance, but it's otherwise a pretty fair statement to say that AC isn't necessarily quick to cool, at least for me. Or there's something legitimately wrong? I'm a new owner myself, so if there is something awry here I'd love validation.
jebinc
Well-Known Member
First time trying this. Entered the car at roughly 90 degrees, internal AC temp was set at 68, left AC at "AUTO" when I left yesterday. Fan blowing loudly, and looked - was autoset at 9. 10 minutes later and about 3 miles down the road, it was at an 8. I went into the store for errands. It wasn't really appreciably cooler by the time I got to the store. Bear in mind car was deep sleep before I started.
All in all, it was blowing not-so-cold air at the end.
15 minutes later I go out and travel home. Fan got down to a 6. Was pretty cool at the end. But still moderately loud by my standards... above a 5 is pretty noisy for quality audio experience (subjective statement I know). Sorry, I'm an audiophile and love the Tesla speakers, what can I say.
My point is really that it doesn't get cold really that fast, and the fan decibels are really quite loud above a 5. I don't like the idea of keeping the AC at "auto" if it's going to make my audio experience bad for the fan being so loud.
I'd rather be able to enjoy the quieter car than have this thing be set to AUTO and take forever to cool off. It would be worth it if the car cooled off in a way I could measure - time, distance, speed, etc. I'm used to gas cars needing some "warming up" to really "get cold" (paradox, I know) but I'd think the Tesla would not need that, probably just time to chill.
Also, for those of you who say I should pre-chill the car, that's not really the point, unless you're expressly stating that the AC is tied to time, and this time is absolute whether we are driving or not. If it just takes 10 minutes to get chilly, that's fine. To the OP point, this just seems to be pretty slow.
I don't expect instant cool, but I do think to the OP point there is a lag time between "AC on" to "car is cool" that I'm trying to help measure and I have noticed it be sluggish myself.
I can see maybe that one should consider pre-conditioning the car for travel 10m in advance, but it's otherwise a pretty fair statement to say that AC isn't necessarily quick to cool, at least for me. Or there's something legitimately wrong? I'm a new owner myself, so if there is something awry here I'd love validation.
Is it possible you have a refrigerant leak or undercharged system? Mine cools quicker than most cars I ever owned, except the old now illegal R12 systems that would make snow in your car on a 100 degree summer’s day!
I would never set my temp to 68 degF. Brrrrr.
I usually have it at 76. Probably why mine seems quiet.
Use your phone app to check the inside temp before you get in and when it has been in the sun. I've seen 140 degF.
From 140 to 68 in 10 min is pretty good if it gets that hot where you live.
I usually have it at 76. Probably why mine seems quiet.
Use your phone app to check the inside temp before you get in and when it has been in the sun. I've seen 140 degF.
From 140 to 68 in 10 min is pretty good if it gets that hot where you live.
Kognos
Member
I don't know! Battery was at about 60% charge (150mi remaining)
Just to test this further...
I saw via the app my car's internal temp was 90. I set it to 68 degrees and waited 10 minutes. The app showed the temp going down. It does go down rapidly. After 10 minutes I was out in the car and it was 68 degrees and fan at 4. See, this is just fine to me, but it never seems to work that way while driving. Kind of odd.
I don't know of a way to check the internal temp of the car except via the app which I won't use while driving, but all I'm getting at is if I can pre-chill the car to 68 in my driveway in 10 minutes and the fan is a 4 and quieter, why won't it do the same thing while driving (fan never seems to go down much at all, temp doesn't seem to drop either).
I need someone to check my app/car temp while driving, or I need more traffic lights.
I need someone to check my app/car temp while driving, or I need more traffic lights.
I use teslafi.com you get two free weeks, four weeks with referral code. It tracks all your drives pinging the car every 30 seconds or so with temperature reading.
If you enable sleep mode there's not too much vampire drain. Otherwise 10-20 miles a day.
Only thing I can think is that while driving maybe car has to cool the battery so not as effective at cooling the cabin.
Edit: although it might be psychological since I don't notice it taking too long
jebinc
Well-Known Member
Not sure. I can only say I’m noise sensitive and never noticed the fan being a problem on Auto, or the car not cooling fast enough when getting in it. Perhaps other can share their experiences?
Depends how warm/sunny it is in Seattle if car is in the sun and warm outside car can get way over 100f and then fan at first is loud enough not to hear my music without turning it up but it quiets down fast.
Edit: I actually like the high fan as it seems to cool quite quickly
jebinc
Well-Known Member
It was in the sun in a parking lot the last week and the inside temp was 96 when I turned it on remotely as I was walking to it from a restaurant at the Renton Landing. I set it for 75 degrees. I was there within minutes and it was already at 75 degrees and just a fan whisper present.
Exactly the opposite for me. Probably the best car air conditioner I have ever experienced.
Kognos
Member
Just another quick test. Started at 88 degrees and used the app to pre-chill to 68. Took 3.5 minutes to hit the target temperature. Stepped in car, and fan was at a 3 (still all "auto")
So from my perspective it's doing a lot of extra work to chill the cabin if it's also doing it while driving, or there's a lot of delay for doing so, OR it's just not lowering the fan intelligently (again, while driving).
So from my perspective it's doing a lot of extra work to chill the cabin if it's also doing it while driving, or there's a lot of delay for doing so, OR it's just not lowering the fan intelligently (again, while driving).
