help: Difference in quality with A/C condensors (vehicle, price, Mazda)

[eastontracks]

Hi all,

My vehicle mazda3Isport 2.0 needs a new A/C condensor and I'm going to have someone fix it for me soon. I was browsing A/C condensor's and didn't know which one to choose from. They range in price and in description starting from $85-200.

So what's the difference?

The priciest states:

• OE-Equivalent Direct fit Application.
• All aluminum construction for long-life and durability.
• Parallel flow, 6mm expanded tube, and serpentine construction types.
• Optimal configurations and design using advanced CAD technology.

The cheapest one says it has a parrell flow and another is Tube and fin flow.



I'm pretty lost lol. Your help is appreciated. I also am browsing and saw that carpartswholesale.com is the cheapest. Any experience with them as well? Thanks !

[Big George]

The price of AC Condensers is usually dictated more by what they are. Some are brand new, others are rebuilt, while others are re-manufactured/refurbished. Sometimes you pay more for a longer warranty.

Do some in-depth checking around. I'd suggest going with a local parts store. They have pretty much everything that's available online, plus if there's a problem, you've got a local person to deal with.

I'd also suggest getting on to a Mazda Discussion Forum. Some of those car nuts can give you a LOT more accurate information than we can.

[yellow4yield]

The problem with car parts is they just give you a part number and a price. And no technical data available anywhere (like everything else in the world does).

With an A/C condenser, the name of the game is to remove the heat from the refrigerant via air flow over the fins of the condenser. And especially in a hot climate when stopped at a traffic signal and the car is not moving.

They say "Parallel flow, 6mm expanded tube, and serpentine construction types."

Which is it?

Parallel flow should be refrigerant flows through many tubes from one side to the other.

Expanded tube suggests the tubes are larger than factory, the refrigerant would flow slower, and therefore more time to cool off!

Serpentine should snake its way left/right,left/right from top to bottom.

I found the following which says...

"Most manufacturers select the parallel flow design for this version. They are approximately
25% more efficient than the serpentine condensers"

From page 24...
http://www.ariazone.com/manuals/Auto...g%20Manual.pdf