Here's a picture of mine during install

 

 

awesome, thanks

 

Since the condenser is at an angle that doesn't cool as effectively as its original orientation, it takes a while for the freon to cool which leads to warmer ambient air temps inside.

Has anyone thought of or have installed an electric fan on the condenser? And if so, was it mounted on top of the bottom of the condenser drawing air?

 

Can anyone elaborate on this issue? How much does this affect the AC? I'm getting ready to do this install and part of the reason I paid the $$ for the greddy kit was the ease of incorporating AC. Doesn't do me any good in DC traffic if the AC is ruined.

Also, it looks from the instructions like you need to remove the condenser and such to reposition them - does this evacuate the system?

 

Just my experience, and I hope that this doesn't happen to you, but I was not able to install AC with the parts provided by the Greddy Kit. The two big problems I had were that the provided lines in the kit were not the correct size/thread pitch and that the mounting brackets didn't line up correctly with the AC condenser brackets. I was able to drill my own holes on one side, but the right hand bracket was welded in such a way I wasn't able to bolt up the bracket even if I was able to line up a hole.

Zoomzoom was able to install a generic condenser that turned out quite well, but with all the photos gone you'll have to do some searching.

 

I also was not able to install the AC in my rx7. I have a Mana AC system, and the brackets that holds the AC condenser did not line up. The lines were also were different threads and the stock placement of the lines ran into some spacing issue when you using the Sakebomb dual oil coolers kit. I concluded that maybe a JDM AC condenser or Nippon Denso (i believe the JDM and Nippon Denso are the same..) and some new custom made AC lines would be needed. have yet to attempt this...

 

Since we are on the A/C topic, I was thinking about using something like the below link in place of the OE lines and get a generic condenser. I thought it might be a bit easier. Anyone have any previous experience with something like this?

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/v...FQ-OaQodTeUN0A

 

Hey everyone!

Seems like a lot of people are having issues installing this kit with a MANA AC system. Here is how I tackled the obstacles.

For the condenser to mount up, I cut off the lower passenger side bracket with a dremel. I then only mounted it using the available upper bracket on the passenger side. On the driver side, I was able to mount the lower driver side to the bracket with no issues.

For the drier, I had to cut off the large bracket t be able to twist and mount it.

For the condenser lines to work, Ignore the adapter line! Simply take your time and bend the line out and down and it will line right up to the existing line! M line looks disgusting and tore up because I tried to have an AC shop cut and wel new fitting on and off a few times and they bent the **** out of it. Its pretty mangled but I'm sure yours won't be so ugly with this advice up front!
I also had to notch the upper air guide for it to sit correctly. You can see this in the picture of the drier.

Matt

 

Does anyone know where I can purchase the hot side intercooler pipings for twin turbos?

Also, will I need an Efini Y-pipe in order to install it?

Thanks

 

I don't think they sell any of the piping separately, and they have 2 different model, one works with older Y-pipe and one works with efini Y-pipe.

 

How much space is available on the back side of the radiator once its installed? Has anyone attempted to put a custom fan shroud on the backside of their radiator? Or is everyone satisfied enough with it's performance as is that it's not worth considering?

 

The radiator system is amazing to be honest. stock fans fit right on the kit, and condenser does too. Not tons of room but you could make it work if you're talking about the back side of the radiator. The intercooler and radiator are nice and thick and work really well. Doesn't look as sweet as a front mount and takes up space but the setup is great performance wise.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

Regarding A/C, how does having either a Mana system or Denso system affect the complexity/difficulty of installing the V-Mount kit? I didn't see that specifically called out in this thread; although I may have overlooked it.

 

 

Unfortunately with AC you may want to do some reading on the forum. A good working AC system in an FD is a wonderful thing to have.

I have not installed a Greddy V-mount, but I've done other setups that require a similar amount of work.

In theory you can bend the lines and get it all happy without disconnecting anything. But, that is REALLY hard to do. You'd be way better off disconnecting everything.

The order of operations is -

- Have a shop recover the refrigerant. Make note of what is in there - the car originally had R-12 in most FD's, some cars have been converted to R-134a which is a newer refrigerant.
- Take system apart and do whatever bending/modifying may be necessary.
- When back together, have the shop pull the system to a vacuum (they pull all the air and moisture out with a vacuum pump) and recharge the system with refrigerant.

That's the easy version, but there's more to it if you want the system to work well. The system works best with R-12 refrigerant which is VERY expensive to buy now, you need an AC license to buy it, and most shops won't touch R12, they will only remove it and convert it. R-134a is the "current" refrigerant, but it will not cool as well as R-12 in the FD's AC system.

Many people have been going to R-152a, which is a fancy name for computer duster. Yes, the stuff from Office Depot that lets you blow your computer dust out, it's actually a refrigerant, not air. This you would have to do yourself, I doubt any AC shops would do that job for you. You can read up on it, it does need a few special tools but you can do this yourself.

The last part of the pickle is the receiver/dryer. This is the "can" that's in front of the car that has 2 lines attached. It has desiccant in it, just like those "do not eat" packets that come with new electronics. It captures any moisture and also filters the refrigerant in the system. If you have a Nippondenso AC system with the silver can, those are commonly available at parts stores for $20. The black MANA drier is not available, period. You either have to find a generic one and have lines made or find a shop that can rebuild the drier, supposedly there are shops that do this for old cars with NLA driers.

Oh, it's also worth getting new O-rings for the lines, after opening it up they may be hard and not seal well.

Dale

 

That's true. And a system with the original R12 and no leaks blows ice cold! My car is as good as or better than most modern cars in that department.

That makes a lot of sense, but (1) the car isn't mobile right now so I'd have to do a bunch of work just to get it drivable or tow it somewhere to be evac'd, and (2) I know it will never be quite the same once the R12 is out unless I find someone willing to charge it back up with R12. As you mentioned in your post. Most shops will want to convert to R134. Which brings me to:

Has anyone tried to get a shop to recover R12 lately? I made a series of calls to local shops and dealerships this afternoon and totally struck out. Nobody has R12 recapture equipment anymore, which makes sense, I guess, because how many early 90s cars are still rolling around, much less getting pricey AC services done? If I have to open up the system, I'm actually at a loss right now as to where to go to get the R12 recaptured.

Yeah, I've got the black one because of course I do.

Thanks for the helpful reply, Dale. I was worried I had been reading a bunch of accounts where people said the AC fit if you bent the lines gently, and missing an unstated "after you've evac'd the system and removed the lines from the car, obviously." But actually I think it may be possible without opening the system. IRP has some good pics in this other thread that suggest you may be able to gently pull the dryer lines to the new location and twist the condenser line up a bit. I'm not sure if that's what they actually did there, though. I'll have to see when I get the radiator out, I think.

Would love to hear from anyone who did it without evacuating the system. Or anyone who knows if that's impossible.

 

Adding to msilvia's inquiries - I'm still curious whether anyone knows if a car having either a Mana system or Denso system affects the complexity/difficulty of installing the Greddy V-Mount kit? To my understanding, the difference in a/c systems ins't just make but the path of the lines are different as well. I didn't see this topic specifically called out in this thread; although I may have overlooked it.

 

Wow, that's a tough call having a good working system! It's difficult to go ahead and tear into it when it works just fine as it is.

If you DO want to get R12 in the system, you can do a test online to get your motor vehicle HVAC certification so you can buy R12 legally. I did it a number of years ago during a slow afternoon at work, the test wasn't hard (it was basically open book) and only cost a few bucks. Looking on Ebay there are cans of R12 for a reasonable amount. But, if you're looking to do the whole thing yourself you would also need a manifold/gauge set and a good vacuum pump. Also you need to do something with the R12 in there, hate to vent it to atmosphere (that's one of the big things on the MHVAC test) but there you go.

If there are shops around you that work on classic cars or hot rods they may be a good resource, they may know who can deal with older systems or they may be able to.

This is one of those things where an upgraded stock mount intercooler starts sounding real good real fast .

Cloud9, part of the problem with the AC and installing this kit is the kit is designed for a Japanese RHD car. All the Japanese cars have Nippondenso systems and the AC lines run a little differently since the evaporator is on the left (our driver's side) of the car under the dash. Also the mounting brackets for the Nippondenso and MANA condensers are different which may make it tricker to mount the condensers with their bracketry. Finally the drier is different, the ND system has a clamp that goes around the drier to mount it where the MANA drier is welded onto the drier.

The general path the AC lines take is pretty much the same, but again the RHD cars would have a different path.

Dale

 

 

I have no problems building 500 or 600 hp cars with ac. It can be retained without an issue with the greddy vmount by careful bending of the lines and minor modification to some of the brackets.

 

 

No. The system needs to be evacuated. I flush out all the lines and heat them to bend them to where they need to go. I usually convert the system to R134a and have no issues getting cold ac.

 

I'm having a difficult time acquiring weld on braze tube ends. I've googled them and the only hit i get is from a place called Auto Air Conditioning- Auto A/C Diagnosis & Troubleshooting help & information. There website is the absolute worst for navigating though and even adding to cart. I know i can just bend lines etc but i like to make it nice and neat. I've purchased a 5 piece swaging tool which will allow me to swag the oem lines and the brazing rod/flux. just need the right tube ends. Anyone know where to find these online?

 

I ended up using a universal condenser, dryer from an accord and making my own custom A/C lines. It's all a tight fit, but it works.

I also have all the Greddy V-Mount instructions translated to english. If you need them, you can get them here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lo1oubbb82...ation.pdf?dl=0