LLave Posted August 6, 2006 Share Posted August 6, 2006 It seems many people are removing their entire heater system. My question is what do you do for a defroster? Is this just for track and/or fair weather only cars? I would love to lose the weight but there are times when I want to drive my car in cold weather/rain and it seems to me that I would have a problem with windows fogging up. Do others have this problem? Thanks, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 81na ZX Posted August 6, 2006 Share Posted August 6, 2006 Theres no way to easily run a defroster without the rest of the heater. Also, atleast in michigan, cars without defrosters/heaters are not street legal. When my blower relay went, in any kind of sprinkle, the windows would fog us, and thats still with radiant head from the heater, just no blower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240zV8 Posted August 6, 2006 Share Posted August 6, 2006 my guess is that most people who remove the heater system either mostly race, or only drive there car when it's nice out. For a daily driver or mostly street car, i'd leave it in. There's pleny of other things you can remove or replace to loose that same amount of wieght. just my opinion though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 the whole system is like 10-12 pounds plus the weight of the extra antifreeze...maybe 15 pounds max. I pulled mine just because of doing a custom dash and don't really need the heater. I am going to install a fan system so that I can have some air circulation. One good heater is just run your exhaust pipe right next to the transmission tunnel. It heats up the cabin nicely during the winter as long as you don't have TOO many air leaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boodlefoof Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 I pulled the heater in my '68 Camaro because, like olderthanme, I was doing some custom dash work and didn't need it. On the Camaro it saved about 30 pounds. It is a fair-weather only car. If you're driving with the windows up on a humid day though, it starts fogging up pretty quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280Z28 Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 Just gotta keep a cloth in the car plus Rain-X anti-fog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.INSANE Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 Plastic Windows might be what some people do aswell so no fogging Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsun350Z Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 I bit the bullet this weekend and made my Z completely impractical and useless... To any normal person. I plan on the Z being my nice weather, no practical compromises weekend car. This weekend I removed the wiring harness, blower, heater, window glass, window mechanicals, windshield wipers, motor, fluid, resevoir, lines, and pretty much everything else under the dash. Shaved off what i'd estimate (by standing on the bathroom scale with and without the parts) to be almost 100 lbs. It was a long list of..."well if I don't have this, I guess I don't need this either". 1. I decided that i'm not going to install my convertible top at all which led to... 2. Who needs windows without a roof... right? Besides the car would look a lot smoother if i just molded them shut. 3. If i get caught in the rain, i'm screwed anyway... I think I have two too many windshield wipers. 4. No roof + no windows = No need for heat. 5. No heat? Why bother with the rest of the air system? Rain-X Anti Fog should do the trick, right? Yeah, so my car is 100 lbs lighter, 1500 lbs less practical, and I'm Feelin good about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 Now pull the 10-15 pounds of tar paper out of the car...When I pulled the harness out of my car I was suprised how much weight in wire I had. Holding up the engine bay harness it seemed about 20 pounds if not more! It is not reduced to about 3-5 pounds of wire and conduit. None of my new harness goes through the engine bay either. Much cleaner looking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boodlefoof Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 Good for you! Take the plunge! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veritech-z Posted August 9, 2006 Share Posted August 9, 2006 Oh good, I'm not the only one with a fair weather z! Definitely fogs up a lot here in Florida, since we have like 1000% humidity every day! I can't drive it in the mornings or on rainy days. Plus my wiper motor doesn't work at all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsun350Z Posted August 9, 2006 Share Posted August 9, 2006 Oh good, I'm not the only one with a fair weather z! Definitely fogs up a lot here in Florida, since we have like 1000% humidity every day! I can't drive it in the mornings or on rainy days. Plus my wiper motor doesn't work at all... Take It Out! That's probably 10 lbs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazycyril Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 I remember a web page about this problem. Guy ended up using a 12volt computer cooling fan, some sort of electric heater element- hairdryer?, and lashing it with a small box to the ductwork. Looking for link. ah here we go, it was a ceramic ptc heater http://mildevco.net/chevypowereddatsuns/necessary_stuff.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mario_82_ZXT Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 I remember a web page about this problem.Guy ended up using a 12volt computer cooling fan' date=' some sort of electric heater element- hairdryer?, and lashing it with a small box to the ductwork. Looking for link. ah here we go, it was a ceramic ptc heater http://mildevco.net/chevypowereddatsuns/necessary_stuff.htm Wow! I wonder if that works! I know the defrosters on the ZX and all the new cars use the dryer from the AC to get the moisture out of the air to defrost the window better. Some clame cold dry air works best. Maybe I'll do the same thing but with a bag of silica pellets on the intake side.... Maro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLave Posted August 21, 2006 Author Share Posted August 21, 2006 I remember a web page about this problem.Guy ended up using a 12volt computer cooling fan' date=' some sort of electric heater element- hairdryer?, and lashing it with a small box to the ductwork. Looking for link. ah here we go, it was a ceramic ptc heater http://mildevco.net/chevypowereddatsuns/necessary_stuff.htm Thats it, that is what I am going to do. I will post my solution when I get it sorted out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tannji Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Along this line of thought, I found a bunch of interesting parts by Googling "12 volt ceramic heater element"... Including fairly small units that actually used your existing coolant line for the stock heater core. (non electric heat, of course.) Here is one of the links I found interesting: http://www.accessconnect.com/backseat.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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