Cool Down Your Car - The Fast Way - Bergstrom Automotive

07/20/2011

Cool Down Your Car - The Fast Way

If you're in Wisconsin right now, or just about anywhere in the States, it's hot. Really, really really hot. And chances are your car is even hotter, sitting under the afternoon sun while you're at work or couped up in a stuffy garage. Either way, it would be nice to be able to cool off a vehicle fast without cranking up the AC and sweating it out for a few minutes, right?

One old standby is to roll down all the windows right away to vent out the car as you drive. But here's another trick that might help. A Japenese tipster posted this video on how to easily cool down a car in a few seconds. And you won't need any extra equipment to to it.

Reddit user binarysolo offers a rough translation:

Roll down a window on a side of the car. Let's go with the driver's side window. Go to the opposite side door (in this case, passenger side) and open/close it ~5 times. Just do this normally.

SCIENCE: What we're doing here is to help circulate air by drawing the hot air out from the opening/closing door, and causing the cool(er) air to enter the car. So... be careful. Don't accidentally jam your hand against the door. Also, do this when nobody is next to your door so you don't slam it into them.

Lifehacker and a few Reddit users tested the theory out and are giving it good marks. Seeing as it's currently well over 90° in some places, the method is definitely worth a try. You can skip ahead to 1:52 in the video below:

If you're looking for other ways to cool down your vehicle as fast as possible, wikiHow reccomends:

1. Roll down the windows.
2. Turn on the A/C on the fresh air setting, do not recirculate.
3. Crank the fan up all the way and make sure the thermostat is on the coldest setting.
4. Drive for a minute or two with the windows down, to force out the superheated air.
5. Once the air in the car begins to feel cooler than the outside temperature, then switch from fresh air to recirculate.
6. Adjust temperature using lower thermostat and fan settings.

And don't forget to aim the airflow in your car down towards your feet for a bit - doing so will circulate all the stagnant hot air stuck in the foot wells.

Good luck beating the heat!