Discussion
Hi Guys and Girls,
Have been laying low for the last couple of weeks as things seemed to be getting a little heated on here but as it's Friday and everyone is chilling out I thought I might ask a question.
Looking at the T350c it obviously is a must to have air con, my concern would be how good is the system that TVR put in. My 4 year old merc has air con (not climate control)and initially it was like the north pole, but for the last year or so it seems to have lost it's power some what (especially when temps reach the mid 20's).When I bought the car the dealer advised me to use the aircon all year round as "they can get furred up with lack of use".
Has anyone owned a Tiv with air con for any length of time to comment on it's effectiveness with age. if the T350c lost it's a/c you would be looking at a healthy price to replace it or loose more on resell without it. I would have thought the car undrivable as well.
Can you have the a/c serviced by a dealer or a 3rd party. I am sure this should be thought about as part of the long term running costs of the car
What does everyone think?
Glenn
Have been laying low for the last couple of weeks as things seemed to be getting a little heated on here but as it's Friday and everyone is chilling out I thought I might ask a question.
Looking at the T350c it obviously is a must to have air con, my concern would be how good is the system that TVR put in. My 4 year old merc has air con (not climate control)and initially it was like the north pole, but for the last year or so it seems to have lost it's power some what (especially when temps reach the mid 20's).When I bought the car the dealer advised me to use the aircon all year round as "they can get furred up with lack of use".
Has anyone owned a Tiv with air con for any length of time to comment on it's effectiveness with age. if the T350c lost it's a/c you would be looking at a healthy price to replace it or loose more on resell without it. I would have thought the car undrivable as well.
Can you have the a/c serviced by a dealer or a 3rd party. I am sure this should be thought about as part of the long term running costs of the car
What does everyone think?
Glenn
Coops, I've had no experience with TVR air con but plenty with a number of other manufacturers' cars.
The refrigerant can be replaced by specialist companies, in fact most car dealers don't have in-house expertise in air-con so mostly (in my experience anyway) use third parties.
The process is called recharging and the cost isn't too great.
As with anything mechanical, there is a chance, however small that the pumps and compressors could fail which would be very costly but apart from that should be OK.
>> Edited by Nicksey on Friday 6th June 14:47
The refrigerant can be replaced by specialist companies, in fact most car dealers don't have in-house expertise in air-con so mostly (in my experience anyway) use third parties.
The process is called recharging and the cost isn't too great.
As with anything mechanical, there is a chance, however small that the pumps and compressors could fail which would be very costly but apart from that should be OK.
>> Edited by Nicksey on Friday 6th June 14:47
Whilst my Tamora does not have air con, the 'diagnostic' division of my company sells equipment to service vehicle air con systems. I understand from independent workshops that have purchased equipment from us, that TVR use generic systems with Sanden compressors with universal condensors & evaporators. The parts in the air con system are not built by car manufacturers, but by a handful of specialist manufacturers.
The refrigerant gas (R134a) used in modern cars will degenerate over time & must be replaced. (Bi annually seems the standard - cost circa £80) This can be carried out by any air con specialists whether franchised or independent. However be careful when looking for a 'specialist'....!
The systems used in modern cars, are for the most part, reliable & shouldn't give too much trouble given that the refigerant gas is changed as described above & oil topped up if lost during service.
Talking to T350 owners, air con is a necessary accessory!
The refrigerant gas (R134a) used in modern cars will degenerate over time & must be replaced. (Bi annually seems the standard - cost circa £80) This can be carried out by any air con specialists whether franchised or independent. However be careful when looking for a 'specialist'....!
The systems used in modern cars, are for the most part, reliable & shouldn't give too much trouble given that the refigerant gas is changed as described above & oil topped up if lost during service.
Talking to T350 owners, air con is a necessary accessory!
Brilliant I am sure there will be a lot of a/c owners paying there local dealer a visit to get a recharge for only £80.00 approx. Is there any one out there who has put this in to practice with their TVR? Have you used a main dealer or can anyone recommend a specialist who is not too expensive?
Never had it done myself but my dealer (TVR Centre in Barnet) has it on the front page of their website that they:
"...diagnose the most obscure problems through to the re-gassing of the air conditioning system of our cars."
so they may be worth a call as they've always been helpful to me and should have an idea of what it entails and the approx. cost should be.
"...diagnose the most obscure problems through to the re-gassing of the air conditioning system of our cars."
so they may be worth a call as they've always been helpful to me and should have an idea of what it entails and the approx. cost should be.
I have had 2 cars with air con, and I blew both of them by not running the air con regularly. Leave it on all the time if you can, and as mentioned, get it serviced every couple of years. It wouldn't surprise me if TVR's get crap initial serice, poor gas filling etc. It should be a warranty item for you!
Glenn,
I have aircon in my Tamora and think its excellent, much better than my Cerbera was. Therefore it should be exactly the same on the T350. The only minor niggle is the fact that the heater flap which controls wether you get hot air from the top vents or cold through the front ones does seem to play up. Mine was replaced once but seems to have gone again so I get air from both at the moment.
Frostie
>> Edited by frostie on Friday 6th June 17:52
I have aircon in my Tamora and think its excellent, much better than my Cerbera was. Therefore it should be exactly the same on the T350. The only minor niggle is the fact that the heater flap which controls wether you get hot air from the top vents or cold through the front ones does seem to play up. Mine was replaced once but seems to have gone again so I get air from both at the moment.
Frostie
>> Edited by frostie on Friday 6th June 17:52
Fish speaking:
The flap can be adjusted on the T350 for its closure at cold ie reset thru the Settings screen on the dashboard.
It is something your dealer should do and the setting relates to the amount of pulses given to the stepper motor that controls the flap on reset at startup. The default is 15. I found I had slight leakage through the hot vents on full code so a change to 17 cleared it and totally sealed the hot vents on cold. BE CAREFUL IF YOU PLAY WITH THESE SETTINGS IT SHOULD BE THE DEALER.
The flap can be adjusted on the T350 for its closure at cold ie reset thru the Settings screen on the dashboard.
It is something your dealer should do and the setting relates to the amount of pulses given to the stepper motor that controls the flap on reset at startup. The default is 15. I found I had slight leakage through the hot vents on full code so a change to 17 cleared it and totally sealed the hot vents on cold. BE CAREFUL IF YOU PLAY WITH THESE SETTINGS IT SHOULD BE THE DEALER.
mrs fish said: Fish speaking:
The flap can be adjusted on the T350 for its closure at cold ie reset thru the Settings screen on the dashboard.
It is something your dealer should do and the setting relates to the amount of pulses given to the stepper motor that controls the flap on reset at startup. The default is 15. I found I had slight leakage through the hot vents on full code so a change to 17 cleared it and totally sealed the hot vents on cold. BE CAREFUL IF YOU PLAY WITH THESE SETTINGS IT SHOULD BE THE DEALER.
Fish,
Do you know which menu and option ? There are a couple which are flap related. One in factory ( menu 8 ) and one in menu 5 ( no name ). Both of the options have a 0 value although one is a % ( 5 )
Frostie
>> Edited by frostie on Friday 6th June 20:30
Which software are you running? The one I'm talking about is in factory however it is definately in numbers not %. However my car is at the factory having the luggage cover fitted so I can't go look at the moment.....missing the car and it's only been away for a day...
edited to say it's Fish talking...can't be bothered to re-log in
>> Edited by mrs fish (moderator) on Friday 6th June 21:41
edited to say it's Fish talking...can't be bothered to re-log in
>> Edited by mrs fish (moderator) on Friday 6th June 21:41
Mrs Fish,
... are you paying for the luggage cover or is it being retro-fitted foc.
Oh and today i kept getting oil pressure warnings when i was booting it (reading on warning 29/30 psi). Cleared itself when eased off but haven't put any oil since service a couple of weeks ago so not sure whats going on here (is it actually producing oil !!!!).
Andy
... are you paying for the luggage cover or is it being retro-fitted foc.
Oh and today i kept getting oil pressure warnings when i was booting it (reading on warning 29/30 psi). Cleared itself when eased off but haven't put any oil since service a couple of weeks ago so not sure whats going on here (is it actually producing oil !!!!).
Andy
COOPS said: Have you used a main dealer or can anyone recommend a specialist who is not too expensive?
The guys at Racing Green TVR are equipped & have trained personnel. As an alternative & general option, look out for your Bosch Car Service Agent. Most of these companies are 'geared up' to service / repair air conditioning systems. If you are 'up north' a company called Polar Air Conditioning run a mobile operation and have an excellent reputation.
apex said:
Oh and today i kept getting oil pressure warnings when i was booting it (reading on warning 29/30 psi). Cleared itself when eased off but haven't put any oil since service a couple of weeks ago so not sure whats going on here (is it actually producing oil !!!!).
Andy
I have that same error on my Tamora.....have you had it checked out yet? Faulty sensor?
Topboss,
Re-read my post and just to clarify what trying to post
I checked the oil level and it was well above the mark when I started getting these warnings. I initally thought the dealer has over filled a little and it was a pressure too high warning and would burn off
I now know its a LOW pressure warning but there's plenty of oil according to the dipstick level.
I hope its a sensor as the warning cuts in at c.4000 revs and warns OP <25 psi. If not a sensor could there be an issue with higher rev oil starvation and if so does this engine have a track record of such characteristics.
A call to my dealer I guess
Re-read my post and just to clarify what trying to post
I checked the oil level and it was well above the mark when I started getting these warnings. I initally thought the dealer has over filled a little and it was a pressure too high warning and would burn off
I now know its a LOW pressure warning but there's plenty of oil according to the dipstick level.
I hope its a sensor as the warning cuts in at c.4000 revs and warns OP <25 psi. If not a sensor could there be an issue with higher rev oil starvation and if so does this engine have a track record of such characteristics.
A call to my dealer I guess
RICCI said:
I'm in italy with a T350c at the moment. The air con is brilliant. I only use it on the lowest fan speed and it keeps things icy even when it's 34c outside. I've had the windows tinted black and even though it looks a bit Max Power it certainly makes life easier.
Thats good to know, we will be in Italy with our T350C in 3/4 days time
The AA service centres now do air-con checks/re-gas etc. I think I paid £65 which is standard for any car. You can find one near you at www.theaa.co.uk
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