First let me say I purchased my new 05 Velocity Red GT 6-speed w/Nav on May 14th. Ever since I parked the car in front of my house, as is the case for most of us, I can't stop smiling. Every time I walk past a window or door near the front of my house I always look outside at my baby. Every night before I go to bed I also look out, just to make sure no harm has been done to it.

Now I know it's just a car, and I can't protect it all the time, but I obviously want to keep it looking pristine for a few months. I wash it twice a week, but since it's been raining here a lot lately, the nice, shiny body is almost always doused with water twenty minutes after it's finished drying. It sucks, but you can't control mother nature.

Anyway, I am really getting tired of the garbage men. There's a public highschool not too far from me, so every morning swarms of kids walk down my street and have the perfect opportunity to key me. Luckily, school's almost out for the year, and I've been safe so far. However, we're on a hill, and the garbage men must be very jealous of the car. You figure if you survive the highschool kids you'd be safe--not. My neighbor insists on putting their trash cans right next to my car, and since we're on a hill, if it gets windy they blow over and roll... The other day I was out (not in the 8 sadly), and when I get home I notice the garbage men set the cans upright literally 1 inch from my bumper. For the past 20 years they've always thrown the cans down the street to be funny or onto the front yard, but not this time! No, they need to sit them upright RIGHT NEXT TO MY BABY. I was thinking I should get a shotgun, but then I'd probably get arrested and wouldn't be able to drive the car, so I figured I'll just be ticked for a while, hoping it doesn't get a scratch.

On a higher note, I thought it would be fun to wake up 5 am this morning to go out driving. Boy was it fun. Miles and miles of empty highways can't be beat. I love driving around right as the sun gets up. It's glorious.

One question though, for some reason my windshield kept getting a mix of condensation and fog on it. In my other cars it's not usually a problem, and blowing air on the window usually solves it, but for some reason today I could only get it fixed if I had the A/C on 4 and turned as hot as it can get. Any suggestions?

 

iksnay on the mouth breathing. j/k

 

Neighbors... can you put up a fence?

Moisture... Turn on the defogger (button on the left-hand side of the climate control circle). It turns on the AC's condenser (but not the compressor), so all the air that comes in is free of moisture. Running that for awhile with your sunroof/windows open should let all of the muggy air flow out. There are also some glass cleaners which claim to be anti-fog. Might try one of those?

 

Never heard of such a thing. The compressor is what moves the refrigerant around the system. No compressor=no cooling=no dehumidification.

 

for the sake of your car.....MOVE! :D

 

wash the inside and outside of the windows with ammonia, scrub good and try not to get any on anything else. then rain-x the outside and get the rainx wipes and do the inside. polish it on good and let it dry good and buff it one more time. you should never have fogging problems for a long time.

 

just running the fan to move air of the window will make it defog to a point but running the a/c removes humidty/moisture and make it evap quicker... sometimes. I find it'a annoying especially if it's cold or raining out already. All you need is the airflow and it'll keep the windows free of condesation, however i'm pretty sure this car ( like many other do automatically unless you know the trick programming sequence to disable it ) kicks the ac system on anytime you are in defrost mode.

 

paranoia

 

You don't have a garage?

 

As far as I know, the condenser can work separately from the compressor. The air doesn't have to be cool. The system just runs it through and draws out the moisture, then the fan blows it out.

I run it anytime it rains (and usually crack the moonroof to ensure it all flows out). Works just as well on heat or cool.

 

It might not be your car, just a thing with certain garbage men/recycling men.

Our recycling guy is the lazziest POS on the planet, one time I see him drop one of those plastic mineral water bottles out of his cab as he got down to take our recycling stuff, he never bothered to pick it up, just left it there, even though he's drivng a freaking recycling truck and could have just tossed it in with the rest.

He also likes doing interesting things with the bins themselves, like one time he put ours together with our neighbours one, on their lawn, next time he just plopped them in the middle of the driveway, so I have to go move it and then take the car out, or if its winter he'll put behind the big pile of snow thats built up, so i got to get over that to get the bin.

And I don't have my 8 yet and even if I did it would be in the garage, so its not the car, some of them just hate humanity!!

 

Sorry friend, but no matter whether you turn the a/c on deliberately or in one of the "invisible" modes, you are going to run the compressor. If the compressor is not running, the a/c system is not running.

You can get some defrosting without the a/c running but it has absolutely nothing to do with passing air over the condenser. Cars had defrosters for decades before they had a/c. Blowing air that is slightly warmer than the windshield will dispel some fog because it is evaporating it. The a/c gets rid of the fog for a completely different reason. By cooling the air, the moisture is condensed out of it making it dryer. Then the fog goes away because the air is dry.

By the way, the a/c condenser is the part of the system that is out in front of the car's radiator. The air inside of the cabin of the car can be passed over the heater core or the a/c evaporator coils. The air inside the cabin never comes in contact with the a/c condenser.

Mazda probably gave us invisible a/c modes because a lot of people don't like to turn the a/c on in the winter. Most cars with a/c run the a/c in defrost mode whether there's an indicator or not.

 

I put big magnets on my wiper blades and then wrap other big magnets in paper towels and stick them on the inside of the windshield. I then turn on the wipers and wipe both sides of the glass at the same time. I only use this method when my invisible A/C does not work.

Other times when I want a large amount of humidity in the car, I run my A/C in reverse so the evaporator makes more moisture. This is good when I bring home tropical plants from Home Depot.

Mazda thought of everything. :D

 

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU --We need people who can explain the simple things to those who have never taken physics. (Not being sarcastic--this thread has been bugging me)

 

Gone for a day and you guys start debating the A/C. Glad to get some clarifications on that though.

Sorry, I can't put a fence in the middle of the street to protect my car, although I would if I could. I don't have a garage, and my driveway has about a 36 degree incline, so it's pretty much impossible to get the car into it. Last night we had a pretty bad storm and they were calling for hail, so I quickly moved the car away from any trees. I then stood at the door for a good hour or so, making sure it wouldn't hail, because if it did, mother nature would have to take me first.

Either way, glad to get that straight, and when the windows get all foggy again I'll know what to try. Thanks.