Hey guys, I thought I'd just chime in about a discovery I made. I had been looking for ways to get more performance out of my A/C chiller setup, and was looking into options for possibly overdriving the A/C compressor and came across a perfect match for what I was trying to do.
The stock drive pulley on the A/C is approximately 5 1/8". The 3.4L grand ams have an identical clutch assembly with the exception of the drive pulley being necked down to 4.25". I am assuming they had either a smaller compressor or a smaller crank drive that they were trying to compensate for. The pulley section literally slides right onto the 3800 compressor, same coil, same diameter clutch, so I'm not giving up any clutch grip/performance to do this.
So basically, you can go to a junk yard or parts store and order an A/C clutch kit for a 1999 Grand am 3.4L and end up with a 20% overdrive for your A/C compressor. I expect this to significantly improve A/C performance at idle. The cars are probably already turning plenty of RPM at cruise, but 20% more compressor speed at idle is full of win. I have yet to see if I will need to go to a shorter belt or not.
My phone isn't cooperating for shit today so unfortunately no pics. I did take them, I just can't get it to upload them right now...I will try and figure it out at home later.
The stock drive pulley on the A/C is approximately 5 1/8". The 3.4L grand ams have an identical clutch assembly with the exception of the drive pulley being necked down to 4.25". I am assuming they had either a smaller compressor or a smaller crank drive that they were trying to compensate for. The pulley section literally slides right onto the 3800 compressor, same coil, same diameter clutch, so I'm not giving up any clutch grip/performance to do this.
So basically, you can go to a junk yard or parts store and order an A/C clutch kit for a 1999 Grand am 3.4L and end up with a 20% overdrive for your A/C compressor. I expect this to significantly improve A/C performance at idle. The cars are probably already turning plenty of RPM at cruise, but 20% more compressor speed at idle is full of win. I have yet to see if I will need to go to a shorter belt or not.
My phone isn't cooperating for shit today so unfortunately no pics. I did take them, I just can't get it to upload them right now...I will try and figure it out at home later.