SharkBait wrote:Our OEM windshield was unceremoniously ejected at the Reno race last year. We ran two races with nothing but then thought better of it. We ran Lexan at Thunderhill for the first time in November. With all the cars out there spewing oil, brake fluid, fuel, sweat, bile, etc all day long, it gets dirty quickly and it isn't as easy as glass to clean. We're going back to glass.
If you want to see what it looked like by the end of Sunday, watch this:
http://www.racesharks.com/videos.asp?vid=34
You'll notice glare from a setting sun is also a pretty big problem more so than glass IMHO.
I agree with you, it can be more difficult to clean. I think that the coated lexan that we're using cleans easier than uncoated lexan. I cleaned our windshield pretty OCDish after I cut it to size and then used rain-x on the outside and it seemed to clean about as easy as glass, although probably not quite as easily. Plus you couldn't ever take a razor to the lexan to scrape it clean. On the other hand, the lexan won't break, crack, or spiderweb when the glass will.
I agree that lens flare is worse with the lexan though.
One other advantage of going with the lexan is that doesn't have to be adhered to the car with glue; you can attach it to the car with dzus and tabs and then it comes off pretty easily and quickly, which makes it a hell of a lot easier to do work on the dash/console area of the car, an area that can otherwise be really difficult to reach.
sawinatthewheel wrote:Has anyone tried wipers with a lexan windshield?
I've done it with mine without any problems.
ChopSuki wrote:Would switching to lexan be a "safety item"?
Yes.
Pat Mulry, TARP Racing #67
Mandatory disclaimer: all opinions expressed are mine alone & not those of 24HOL, its mgmt, sponsors, etc.
