ive done it a few times last week w/ the weather being over 90%

 

Weather is already 100 degrees here!
But it's still cooler outside than inside without A/C.

I'm glad that i'm not the only one with this problem, I'll try the shifting at higher rpms thing. Are there any other pointers?

 

I think the A/C on mine is great. In Sydney it can get quite humid on hot summer days. On these sorts of days, I get a condensation type fog coming out of my air ducts for approx 6 inches.

I rarely have my A/C on max - it gets too cold.

 

......
Just my $.02 worth, but I think the a/c is fairly effective, based on my 2 years of S2000 life here in hot and sunny South Carolina. The culprit is the single layer black top, which does little to insulate the interior of the car. The a/c itself does cycle quite a bit, so that the air normally goes from very cold to slightly cold every minute or two. Okay, on a really warm and sunny day, I find it helps to keep the a/c in the recirculate mode, and/or to use a fairly high fan speed. Still, I think the fundamental problem is the top. Maybe hardtop users can cite their experience with a different roof over their heads.

 

There are several points to consider here. First, as already mentioned, the A/C puts on an extra parasitic drag on the engine when it cycles on. However, this is not nearly as much as a supercharger in the lower rev range, so one cannot put too much emphasis on the A/C being a significant contributor to rpms when shifting. I have a S/C AND I've used the A/C and it is not a problem.
Second, when the A/C hasn't been used for a while, it may take the ECU a few driving cycles to compensate by increasing the idle rpm a bit. This is compounded by the fact that when the A/C is used for the first time each season, it's hot out. Well, guess what else happens when it's hot out. You get the usual hot air being drawn into the intake, thus making less power than before. Now the ECU has to compensate for another factor that makes the idle less stable. On this subject, give it time to learn.
Now, for the author's original concern about shifting, I would suggest that if the engine speed (low) is an issue, perhaps you need to change your technique a bit. When I'm speeding up (even moderately), I'm on the gas as soon as I've completed the entrance into the next gear. I also do it fast enough that the revs don't drop to even near idle speeds. As long as I'm going "UP" through the gears, I don't have this problem. If you are, then I might surmise that you are either shifting at too low a speed (not really needing to shift yet) or you are shifting too slow (and letting the revs drop too much).
The only time I find the idle speed nearly dying is when I'm decelerating to a stop and it is at the point where I've pushed in to the clutch that the engine speeds drop alarmingly low. But as I said, this only happens during the first use of the A/C of the new season and only for a few driving cycles.

 

I still have my HT on and having just come back from a driving vacation through some "hottish" weather, I can tell you that the A/C on my car is more than adequate. I had to have the fan on only the first setting and on some stretches of road, I even had to dial in a bit of heat to make it comfy. No A/C was too hot, A/C on lowest fan setting was too cold.
In the summer, with the soft top up, I find the A/C more than adequate too, usually ending up with the fan setting about half way up the scale after the initial cool down phase has occured. The only time I need the full fan speed is when I'm driving around with top down in the heat. In a place like AZ (and other such OVENS ), I don't know why anyone would drive around with the top down in the heat of the day.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by xviper

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mikdys

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by xviper

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by xviper
Now, for the author's original concern about shifting, I would suggest that if the engine speed (low) is an issue, perhaps you need to change your technique a bit.