928 Rear Center Console

[bear924]

From time to time I've been known to check our 928s of whatever online platforms have them for sale.  Anyhow I was flicking through some photos of a S4 recently and noticed that the rear center console (between the rear 'seats') didn't have AC vents.  As I was of the view that all S4s had console ventilation I presumed someone must have replaced the interior.  As I had nothing better to do, I went looking at other 928s for sale and noticed that other S4 also didn't have the AC vents.  My question ... was the rear console ventilation an option or did it become standard at a specific time?

And while we are going ... is the ventilation just vent pipes or are there additional fans etc.

[Buchanan Automotive]

The rear A/C on the 928 series was an option from the ( F ) 1985 model year & it continued as an option until & including the 1995 year model 928GTS , they are a bit ugly , where as the non rear A/C ( meaning no rear A/C ) has a very handy and nice looking rear glove box , particularly in leather 

My 1986 928S has no rear A/C and the black interior with the rear glove box looks fantastic 

Where as my 1993 year model 928GTS has rear A/C and those shoddy looking air vents just looks crap 

Regards
Bruce Buchanan

[bear924]

Thanks Bruce.  Strange when you think you know something (eg. vents from S4s) only to find that your understanding was incorrect.  Is there any improved cooling for front passengers with the rear vents?  I could ask about cooling for rear passengers but who are we kidding 🙂 .

[scott928s4]

Also, I think the rear passenger condensor was an Australian delivery only option, (our harsh climate conditions) which makes for easy identify of ROW vehicles. My S4 was Japanese delivery, fully optioned with every thing except rear passenger air condesor.

[Buchanan Automotive]

The 928S ( 1985 to 1995 ) rear A/C was a world wide option and even though it was technically interesting & would of cost quite a lot of money to implement & Porsche did a great job of squeezing a lot into a small space between the rear seats , it was however a dismal failure in achieving its intended goal , but before I give you some idea of what I mean by that , first we need to know what exactly is it that we are talking about

A )  The phrase  "Rear A/C " , well its quite accurate up to a point  , meaning it has its dedicated ( small ) rear A/C evaporator  & its own dedicated TX valve & its own dedicated evaporator switch & its own dedicated rear fan / evaporator motor and fan blade assembly & its dedicated fan switch and temp switch and wiring etc & its will need and gets a complex solenoid type shut off valve to stop the refrigerant from circulating in the rear A/C evaporator if the front ( main ) A/C is on and the rear A/C is off .   However there is something missing from the equation & that something is it does NOT have a separate A/C pump ( compressor ) & it does NOT have a separate A/C condenser & that's understandable as there is no room at all for a separate A/C compressor & same goes for the condenser ( no room ) so it has to rob refrigerant from the main A/C system and it has to rely on the main condenser ( which by the way is under enough heat stress ) , so its not a separate system but a partially separated system  

Now this is where the problem exists ( temp performance wise ) , if you have a near new 928S4 ( example only ) and you have two separate ( identical ) A/C thermometers and one in the main system ( dash center vent/s ) and the other in the rear A/C vent/s & with the engine running you have the dash center vent and you will often find the temp reading will be 8 deg cel , now you turn on the rear A/C and within 30 seconds you will notice the thermometer in the main dash vent will start to rise and will go up at least 5 deg cel = 13 deg cel or more and at the same time the rear A/C will go down to 8 deg cel , once you turn the rear A/C off the dash main vents drop in temp ( back to ) 8 deg cel

So with the main dash vents emitting a higher temp every time you turn on the rear A/C really defeats the purpose , the other thing is that the rear A/C vents basically just point to the roof lining , and the last thing is the rear A/C is a common A/C leakage area in old age  

Note } we have 2 Japanese ( grey import) 928GTS's that we work on and 1 of them has rear A/C and the other does not & that's because it was an option & it was a good option to avoid when these cars were new , meaning I would rather spend the money on other options instead

Note 2 } There were one or two years when Porsche Cars Australia made rear A/C a standard option ( from memory it was 1988 & 1989 ) but you could still order a new 928S4 with no rear A/C , after all you are the customer leasing this expensive car new & some customers thought it was ugly and didn't want it 

Note 3 } I just found a new car price list from Porsche Cars Australia dated October 1986 and the 1986 928S had the rear A/C as an option and it is listed at $ 2,499 & that's 36 years ago , so that would be ( 36 years later )  probably around $ 9,000 + in today's money ( maybe more ? )

Regards
Bruce Buchanan  
Buchanan Automotive


 

[bear924]

Enjoyed that thanks Bruce.