Beaded Seat Covers Are Cheap, Keep You Cool
 

http://www.ecomodder.com/blog/2008/0...keep-you-cool/

Is there something less brutally ugly? I still have some sense of self-respect... Maybe some carbon-grey beads?

Nice! I may have to look into some of those for my hf when i make runs accross the California and Nevada deserts :thumbup:

I have a used beaded seat cover in my TDI I got for 4 bucks. My wife had to use my car the other day and found it to be very comfortable on top of helping keeping you cool. I would just love to be able to find black or grey ones to put in the elantra.

See, I don't think they're ugly...?

I didn't know blind people could get a driver's licence :p

You could always paint them! Come on - are we not ecomodders??

I swear by these things. I've never had a car with AC (granted, I could probably count the number of weeks where they're actually needed on both hands).

I was using a cut up wicker lawnchair, but that amazon deal was too good to turn down :)

I've been thinking about this too. I too would like grey/black beads though. Thanks for the review Ben.

google ftw...

http://www.allcushions.com/images/TZ-9706-14.jpg

I dont either. I mean really... does anyone really have a nice looking car here where it matters? My muffler just fell off, beads aren' a big deal...

MazdaMatt -

I saw them in that color in LA's Chinatown last Sunday, and you saw socalsuperhero's post.

I have one set for the driver's side. The lighter color is fine with me and also absorbs less solar radiation (lighter colors always = good thing when it comes to sunlight).

CarloSW2

The dark ones would be "not bad", as long as they fit tightly and don't squirm around and fold and whatnot. I don't drive a beater, i drive a 2k2 protege5 that still looks good and runs well despite a few hundred km's of race-track driving and a couple dozen autox events. If I see one at a store for cheap, I think i'd buy it.

$20 bucks for a velour black ones

American Auto Beaded Seat Cushions

Good to hear these things work. I have no shame so uglier the better, plus coming to work without a soaking wet shirt would be a good thing. :D

So you are saying your self respect is based on appearences? :)

I have this same problem with my car. Worst part of it is where my shirts get all wrinkled on the back.

I wonder if wearing an undershirt would help keep the sweat from wrinkling up your outermost shirt?

Somebody should start a new thread about "dressing for hypermiling, what to wear when the AC and heater fan kill your mpg"

It is conceivable to don your shorts and t-shirt (and flip-flops) and put your work clothes on a hangar I suppose, just duck in the ground floor washroom and change when you get there and right before you leave.

My friend got identical ones at wal-mart for 10$.

They worked surprisingly well in both his S10 (no air) and his sentra (Air.... but its broke)

I tried them out in my subaru and they didnt work out well. Sure, they dont let your back sweat, and are surprisingly comfortable, but my seats have too much side bolstering and the beads just want to push and on long journeys you can just kiss your lower back support goodbye.

In short: Not recommended with seats with hard bolstering.

dcb -

Yeah, that would work. I have a light-colored T-Shirt for the ride in and a "nice polo or golf style shirt" for work. Tankfully, no pressed dress shirts. I just change in the parking lot. Conceivably, you could change in a nearby parking lot if it wasn't "nice" to change "at work".

I also have convertible cargo-pants, so I am wearing "shorts" on the way in and pants at work. That way, I have an "operable envelope". But, that predates hypermiling.

CarloSW2

Oh well...
 

Sorry to hear the beads were better than the date. Seems as though she might have needed to shave anyway.:D

I must say the bead idea is pretty cool, but if I get one will I also have to get a crown to put on my dash?

Seriously, I cannot say anything. Tennessee is pretty hot this time of year, and will be for some months to come. Anything helps.

There is a product called "Cool Shirt" that people use in racing long races. It is basically a T-shirt with hoses stiched into it and a cooler full of ice water and a pump. Unfortunately, it costs 400 bucks. However, I bought a boating bilge pump for 20 bucks and I am going to try to stich hoses into a couple towels. I figure if I can put the towels on my seats just like a beaded seat cover and run ice water through them, me and the gf can stay plenty cool without A/C.

MazdaMatt -

Here's my poormans "Cool Shirt" :

Ice/Cooling Vests: Hypermilers Dream Come True
It works fine. If I wanted it to work for more than an hour or two, I would keep a cache of ice packs in an ice chest in the trunk.

CarloSW2

haha, very nice :)

What about condensation on your shirt? I guess it doesn't matter if its hot enough to resort to a fishing vest full of ice packs.

Infact; I do. First thing most people say when they get IN the Golf is "Nice Car"

What kind of tubes are you looking at? Im looking at a similar (but different) project.

I usually get "nice car" but only after I tell them I get 53mpg :) Before that its head scratching the entire time..lol

Canadian Tire is a major hardware store here. They sell food-grade tubing that I've used for a couple of hose project (brewing beers, etc). A small diameter tube with a wall thickness about equal to I.D. is what I will be looking for. I need something that won't pinch when i sit on it. My g/f suggested using "fabric glue" to attach the tubes to the towels, then fabric glueing another layer of fabric over the tubes... I don't know quite what I"ll do yet. Maybe that'll be my tinker project for next week.

I plan on using a wide dia hose from the bilge pump to a T-junction with 2 quarter-turn valves (passenger/driver). Then splitting the 2 outputs into multiple smaller-dia tubes attached to the towels so they run water in parallel. All the tubes will be recollected into larger dia tubes and dumped back into the ice box.

I have been using a beaded seat cover in the summer for a couple seasons now. Every summer I have trouble adjusting to the first few 85+ degree days. The seat covers aren't enough in this case so I went a step further and put a portable misting system together. It consists of a plastic coffee can with a windshield washer pump mounted thru a grommet pushing water thru tubing to an aerosol can spray nozzle. I plug it into the cig lighter and use a momentary push button to engage the pump. On the really hot days I put ice in the water too :D.

^^ hahaha...

MazdaMatt -

I still wear the T-Shirt on the way to work, so it doesn't effect my work shirt.

You can also wear the vest anywhere, like when you are gardening.

CarloSW2

Il have to try these for out trip to texas later this year.. also i hear they comfortable too

I like the light colored woods too. Nice to have a non plastic based product once in a while, even if the posers think it's ugly :p

I Strive to make my car nice enough to drive "even if fuel was $1.00 a gallon".

Also
Started a cooled Seat project (Mine are Black leather).
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ject-3884.html

Lol, if it goes/stops/turns when you tell it to, it's nice enough to drive :) Anything else is a luxury, and not an eco requirement.

Benjamin, please don't attempt to add AC to your car in this fashion:

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n.../ACinstall.jpg

:D

anybody tried these? do they work or are they a gimmick?

Amazing SummerSeat Self-Cooling Car Seat Cushion

Speaking from experience, removal of clothing seems to be the most effective method for staying cool. Although, I imagine that depending on the seat material so your results may vary.