I just added some weight to my car by putting in some subwoofer's and amp.... so I was thinking of removing the weight by replacing the rear trunk hatch glass with a lexan one. Anybody know if these are made, where to get them from, and about how much they cost?

 

Yes they are made, I dont knwo by who tho off hand. THe only thing I have to say is DON"T!!!

Lexan is lighter but Automakers don't put them on cars for a reason. They scratch really easy, waaaayyy too easy, you can scratch the surface by wiping it with a soft cloth... or just by touching it...

If your dragging your car, and it was for off road purposes only, then I would say ok, but not for an every day driver...

John

 

Try www.percyshp.com They have something called Speedglass, 50% lighter without the problems lexan has.

 

Lexan is really, really, really expensive. I don't want to know how much a piece that size would cost.

 

I would guess around $300 or so, I think the whole glass kit fomr someone with 1/4" windshield, and 3/16" sides runs an even $1000

John

 

Does anyone know how much the stock windshield or hatch weighs?

Thanks, Doug

 

A hell of a lot! Had to put 2 on by myself... wow that was fun.

 

Hey, what if you have those aluminum louvers on your car? Then you don't have to worry about anything falling on and scratching your lexan... but is lexan strong enough to support the metal on the end of the hatch? I mean, wouldn't you also have to add metal braces to attach the hinges to...? ~Chris

 

It's gonna depend on the thickness of the Lexan.

That Speedglass kit costs something like $1200 for a Camaro.

No, it's not strong enough.

Why are you so worried about the added weight from a subbox? Is it that heavy? You know how much a full tank of gas weighs? How about a passenger? At least the weight isn't on the front of the car. The added weight back there can only help your overall weight distribution, even if it does add to the total weight. Just get some nice springs and forget about a Lexan hatch. You'll end up regretting it. Don't T-top guys usually (but not always; before someone jumps on that comment) ditch their Lexan t's and try to find glass t's to use instead?

 

I don't know where you guys shop but lexan is not that exspenive here. I bought 18 spuare feet of 1/8 inch thick tinted lexan for 14 bucks. That seems fairly cheap to me.

 

Trux,
Yes FLAT lexan is cheep, there talking about fabricated to where it has shape for extra stiffness. Flat is fine for most things, but as soon as it has shape it gains a whole lot of stiffness..

Also a shaped part will have better aerodynamic Characteristics. NASCAR was running flat sides back in the late 80's early 90's on Buicks, until they realized they picked up a little by having shaped parts. Thats when we started making them for Buicks..

John

 

but I was just meaning that it was not the price of the lexan itself that was costing so much. IT is just want the company thinks shaping it is worth.

 

isnt that true for everything?

Actually we do Aircraft windshields & windows, and to be honest the prices are reasonable, for their size.

John

 

Yep! I'm looking for some glass ones right now. My lexan tops are scratched and have stress cracks through out. You can actually hear the lexan pop and crack when making a tight turn at speed because of the body flex. I guess I should get some sub-frame connectors too!

 

I have a set of T-Tops that are glass....from my 87 IROC....Tinted/Mirrored

 

the ONLY reason I will use the Acrylic tops that I bought for $20 will be for car shows, and Drag racing (IF I ever do any more of that)

John

 

Where can you get those?

How much?

Do they look normal?

thanks:hail: :hail: :hail:

 

A couple of companies on the following thread sells lexan for our cars. Hatches, side windows and windshield are available but they are not meant for daily driving as they do scratch really easily and the lexan hatch can not support the steel decklid. That would have to be replaced with fiberglass as well. Once you do that, the pressure from the gas hatch struts would crack the fiberglass decklid. Anyway our cars are really light in the back as it is and removing more weight back there would adversely affect your launch (more tire spin) and cornering characteristics.
But here is the link anyway.
https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...threadid=68549