Auto climate control retrofit swap

[Twitchy313]

So I’ve been obsessed with this topic lately, because I’m sure most of you who have the manual climate control (like myself) and love the FRS/BRZ (like myself) can agree that the interior needs an upgrade. The auto climate control is definitely an awesome upgrade and look.

I know that this retrofit is ridiculously complicated, but i know it can be done.

My question is, has there been any update or success in this particular process? I’m very curious to know.

Any info would be gratefully appreciate!

[JohnJuan]

Here's one discussion:


https://www.ft86club.com/forums/show...10#post2332310


Here's another, that references earlier discussions:



https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=120020

[Twitchy313]

Originally Posted by JohnJuan

Here's one discussion:


https://www.ft86club.com/forums/show...10#post2332310


Here's another, that references earlier discussions:



https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=120020

Thanks bud! The first thread is the one I’ve been looking into lately, as well as in the past.

Definitely helpful but still no definitive answer, I’m truly hoping someone can help with this! I’m looking into it too, I’m not just trying to piggy back off of anyone else’s work either lol just to be clear lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[soundman98]

considering the age of the platform, as well as the age of your listed car, the best possible way to do this would be to purchase a salvage vehicle with the electronic hvac, and then you'll have all the parts you'll need.

[Twitchy313]

Originally Posted by soundman98

considering the age of the platform, as well as the age of your listed car, the best possible way to do this would be to purchase a salvage vehicle with the electronic hvac, and then you'll have all the parts you'll need.

Maybe i can just see if i can find a crashed brz limited at a junkyard lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DustinS]

It's super involved and includes changing pretty much the entire HVAC system inside the car out, as well as custom wiring harness and sourcing connectors that are expensive or hard to get. I had close to $1000 in parts and over 40+ hours in research alone to get mine done, and it's still not full dual climate. Even with a full harness from a donor, you will need to tie it into your current harness in places. It's really not worth it in the end unless you MUST have it.

[Twitchy313]

Originally Posted by DustinS

It's super involved and includes changing pretty much the entire HVAC system inside the car out, as well as custom wiring harness and sourcing connectors that are expensive or hard to get. I had close to $1000 in parts and over 40+ hours in research alone to get mine done, and it's still not full dual climate. Even with a full harness from a donor, you will need to tie it into your current harness in places. It's really not worth it in the end unless you MUST have it.

Wow! That definitely sounds like a lot of work, which I’m not opposed to, but wow that is a lot of money and time. It’s not a complete must have, but like i said it would be awesome to have. Maybe one day either I’ll pull the trigger, or hopefully they come out with a better option lol thank you for the input tho! Definitely taking it under consideration!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by Twitchy313

Maybe i can just see if i can find a crashed brz limited at a junkyard lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by DustinS

It's super involved and includes changing pretty much the entire HVAC system inside the car out, as well as custom wiring harness and sourcing connectors that are expensive or hard to get. I had close to $1000 in parts and over 40+ hours in research alone to get mine done, and it's still not full dual climate. Even with a full harness from a donor, you will need to tie it into your current harness in places. It's really not worth it in the end unless you MUST have it.

why i said what i said. it's not just 'change part A for part C', the very first step is literally 'remove dashboard'. this is open heart surgery, where the replacement parts are almost unobtainable through any channels. which is why it would be significantly cheaper (both in final obscure parts costs, as well as effort spent locating those obscure parts) in the long run to use a salvage vehicle as a parts source. as long as the chosen salvage is only wrecked, and not flood-damaged, all of the parts you need should be able to be verified to be usable before the swap(by turning the car on) to guarantee non-DOA components, and also give a base platform to work up from.

if you've ever done a heater core change, you'll have a rough concept of the level of involvement of the process.