poli carb windows good or bad... - Saxperience

shell-vt · 22nd October 2011, 07:57

ok lets begin poli carb windows good or bad... safe or unsafe.....

1.. are they supposed to shatter on impact

2.. poli is suposed to be safer than glass windows aswell as a weight saver..

3.. my track car was in a serious accidend lucky no-one was seriously hurt, and only driver in track car,, the poli carb passinger window supplied by another company on another forum comp, shatterd shedding sharp fragments everywere.,normal or not

I was under the impresion poli carb windows didant shatter.....

please post your views.. at the moment im awaiting the return of the car so no pics till then but this was it before crash....

AndySAXO^p · 22nd October 2011, 12:06

How hard was the impact? Like total right off impact? Also it poly, not poli.

shell-vt · 22nd October 2011, 13:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndySAXO

How hard was the impact? Like total right off impact? Also it poly, not poli.

impact was 30 mph t-bone..write off....

Gordon · 22nd October 2011, 16:19

One of our G50s was involved in a t-bone shunt last weekend. Another car involved also got a side impact. Both cars polycarb windows failed. They don't shatter like tempered window glass does, they break apart like sheets of ice into jagged sections. This could be considered dangerous but the shards are.nowhere near as sharp as a shards of glass, and it takes a hell of a lot more of an impact to cause failure in the first place.

You could argue that shattering tempered glass is safer since it turns into square grains, but it breaks so much easier than poly, its up to you. On a track car personally i would go poly every time.

shell-vt · 22nd October 2011, 16:24

yer sounds the same ..quote they break apart like sheets of ice into jagged sections..

ryanmt · 23rd October 2011, 19:11

Went on a tour of the citroen museum not long ago. Saw the likes of the C2 rally cars, the saxo T4, saxo maxi etc all had glass. Makes sense to me that the glass breaks into fine pieces rather than sharp objects.

Also sharp or not, in the event of an accident it only takes one to hit you in the neck etc and its game over. Ide take glass every time in the front, only opting for polys in the rear although I don't really want the car any ligher at the back than it already is!

adamskiTNR · 23rd October 2011, 23:01

Most rally cars will now use a laminated polycarbonate. Like bullet proof glass is also polycarbonate, but in this case is just 2 layers with a thin polymer sandwich layer. So will not shatter

axsaxoman · 24th October 2011, 12:36

I am guessing also they will be made from "lexan" ,which is a high spec sort of plastic sheet.
used in aircraft --
"lexan" is specified for aircraft so there must be a difference
pop-bottles are made from polycarb and that is brittle , the corret spec of lexan is not brittle at all,it can even be used in other spec as bullet proof --it does not shatter at all.
cheap grade polucarb will shatter

would i use it by choice --no laminated glass is fine

adamskiTNR · 24th October 2011, 17:54

polycarbonate is the name for a group of plastics. The composition can be varied greatly to effect the final products properties

axsaxoman · 24th October 2011, 23:24

and that of course is reflected in their price --don,t kid yourself into thinking you are getting areo spec stuff unless you ask for + pay for it.

just google "lexan "and see the different specs they do

Gordon · 25th October 2011, 19:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by axsaxoman

I am guessing also they will be made from "lexan" ,which is a high spec sort of plastic sheet.
used in aircraft --
"lexan" is specified for aircraft so there must be a difference
pop-bottles are made from polycarb and that is brittle , the corret spec of lexan is not brittle at all,it can even be used in other spec as bullet proof --it does not shatter at all.
cheap grade polucarb will shatter

I was always under the impression that 'lexan' was a brand name, much like Kevlar and Velcro?

Either way though, a good quality polycarb will be much better than glass. My RC bodyshells are thin Lexan and will bend and flex all day and only crack after repeated abuse. Cheap shells do shatter though. You get what you pay for.

adamskiTNR · 25th October 2011, 22:09

Lexan is a 3M trade mark

axsaxoman · 26th October 2011, 08:45

a trade mark that tells you it is made to a defined spec --lots of different specs of lexan .but if you just buy non branded poycarb how do you know what its properties are going to be and where it was made or quality control

thats what trade marks are for --to show a repeatable quality is adherred to

blackie_2k5 · 26th October 2011, 21:01

i posted in this the other day but obvs didnt ork

i was gonna get some polycarbs, but after some research, you gain virtually nothing in weigth save, the only major benefits is to fit fronts with sliders so you can bin or winders/motors... its cheaper to have your windows laminated/tinted...and then you get no glass or shatter in a bump

so im gonna stick with mine as theyre already tinted...will go poly for rear screen with F/glass tailgate in future..

tweeqd · 26th October 2011, 21:34

the weight dif is alot
both my lexan P4P front windows weigh less than the glass from one side, then you have the weight of the glass from the other side then the regulators and motors and the fact you can cut alot or metal out of the door once you have the polys in

MuZiZZle · 27th October 2011, 06:48

I have a phot on my phone fron this forum of a door with almost everything cut out of it, to the point where a wire is used to pull it shut.

Now I know the saxo has a 2 star ncap, but by the looks of it there are no impact bars in the doors?

Gut the doors and go with decent X doorbars on the cage?