The angle of the windsheild my play A role in this problem, A lot of cars have the windsheild angled back, and A rock would glance off and not hit straight on.

 

Many places make extra thick glass...it's also known as bullet-proof glass.

This is just one of many places that will make it and install it for you:

http://www.lascointl.com/accessories/glass.htm

You'll pay dearly for it, it isn't cheap.

 

I wonder if that would resist rock chips completely... I mean, anything has to be better than OEM..

It's designed to help the occupants survive, not necessarily keep from chipping. As it was said earlier, if it were to break and cave in it would help to stop the bullet.

I can't believe I'm actually entertaining the idea of a bulletproof windshield.. lol

-Jay

 

I've been engineering automotive glass for all for 14 years. Redford is right, there are only a few companies left that make glass, and they all make glass for many different automakers. So if one is weak, they are all weak. the only things that have changed in the glass characteristics was for a few years the automakers wanted thinner glass for better MPG ratings. Now they are all starting to go back the other way with thicker for sound proofing the cabs.
Tempering specs have changed some which should be making the glass stronger over the last few years.

As for walrus with the '65 Chevelle. The glass thickness on the classics was probably 8-10mm thick. Almost bullet proof and would not meet today’s government regs for weight reasons.

 

2001 Excursion--2 windshields; 2003 Excursion --2 windshields; 2005 F - 350 1 windshield; 40 prior years of cars/trucks NO broken/chipped/cracked windshields.

My point, next one I break I will file a formal complaint with NTSB. (P. S. I never complained much when living in FL, as insurance covered 100 %; GA insurance is self insure)

 

I'd be more apt to blame whoever's dropping gravel on the road - maybe it's just more A/T or M/T tires in use recently picking up rocks.

Or the fact that the highway department doesn't sweep the roads enough.

The last time I had a rock hit one of my vehicles, it was my '97 Cougar - about three years ago - took a 3/4" rock in the upper passenger side of the windshield. The culprit was obvious - a twin-axle dump truck with mud coming off the undercarriage. No pit/crack/anything.

In my '96 t-bird, which saw 60K miles before I sold it, I had ONE rock hit it - actually a piece of concrete, I think - and that's with that 60K miles being long highway travel for almost 90% of it's life. It left a small pit in the glass (.5mm?), and didn't do anything - until it was frozen over and I used the defroster to melt the ice enough to get it off. I was inside the house, door closed, car idling outside, and heard SNAP - the outside layer of glass cracked vertically right through the pit from the rock.

In New York State, you can make up to 2 glass-coverage claims without repercussions per YEAR.

I have yet to have a rock hit my '01 Superduty - with 28K miles, it's only been on the highway say 15K miles, but with the frequency that you guys are reporting, I'd say it's well past it's due.

--

As for the NTSB (or more accurately, the NHTSA) their mission is SAFETY - not convenience - or inconvenience. I'll bet that the windshields in question meet every safety regulation ever made.

Their answer, if they even bother, will be certain to include "No safety concerns found". Because, you didn't get HIT with the rock after it went THROUGH the windshield, right?

Don't waste their time

 

My '97 F150 has been nailed a few times by rocks, and there are no chips, cracks, or other blemishes. I did add a bug guard to it last year sometime, and since then I haven't heard ANY rocks hit the windshield.

Our '99 Windstar formed a crack all the way along the bottom edge a few years back. We were in upstate NY one winter and the defrost did it one morning trying to clear the snow/ice off.

 

When mine gets chipped I just leave it. Chip repairs don't work. When it's -15F and you crank up the defroster to "Chernobyl" so you can see where you are going the chips become cracks at alarming speed, even when repaired. I pay like 10 dollars a year extra for zero deductible no limit glass coverage.

IMO it was a sucker bet for the insurance company.

 

krewat:
I wasted their time with my concerns over the "pre March 2005 brake controller" and they put a new controller on my truck (i.e. NHTSA). If you are not required to replace a cracked windshield, and drive with same, that sir, is a safety issue. I will do as I stated. I hope I do not need to replace the windshield ever, but if I do, I will do as I stated above. My windshields were never the result of a hunk of concrete or a brick. All five (5) of the Ford windshields I had replaced were of an alleged nick that I truthfully could not even see.

 

Braking issues and getting a rock hit on a windshield are TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THINGS.

I don't understand how you equate a braking concern with driving around with a cracked windshield.

This could all be a valid concern with the windshields being weaker than they should be - but I still don't see it as a safety concern, at least not enough to involve the gov't. If the rock went THROUGH the windshield and caused physical injury, sure.

And, I don't know about your state, but in New York if a cop sees your windshield cracked and it crosses your field of vision, you WILL get a ticket. And you WILL fail the safety inspection that's given every year.

If you do decide to go to the NHTSA, please, don't discuss it here, there are guidelines against it.

 

Redford:

Thank you! I just got off the telephone with my State Farm agent. Here in GA you DO NOT have first dollar coverage on a windshield. Rather than getting into a hassle later on, I inquired about the addtional cost to me for -0- deductible comprehensive. Long story short: I was paying: $96.74 every six months for 1K$ deductible. To change to first dollar comprehensive would cost $139.94 or $43.20 every six months; or, $86.40 a year. As it is a given that I will have a broken windshield in the next 12 months, it was a no brainer and I changed the limits and I am now covered. Thanks again for great advice.

Somehow I previiously thought it would cost me over $300./year

 

krewat:
Just as info. Not counted above, was another windshield put on my 2003 Excursion by my insurance company. Guess what. It was a KNOCK OFF, and not factory. It had severe distortion in the lower left quadrant. I called my insurance company, told them I cannot see out clearly, they promptly put on a Ford windshield. No different than cracks. Here in GA, no safety inspections. BUT, I would bet the police can site you if you have a crack that would impair vision. Anyway it is superflous at this point, as I am now insured and will no longer worry about the next windshield, just the inconvenience.

 

Sometimes this concept is real hard to explain to people.

 

I do auto glass for a living, and I must say that reading this thread has been quite interesting! Carlite is the company that makes all of the windshields for ford and they have for many many years. Some of the other brands that r out there are not quite up to the quality of carlite, but at the same time others are. Carlite is an affiliate of pilkington glass which is the maker of OEM glass for probably 70% of the cars out there. PPG is another brand that is just as good as Carlite and Pilkington, But only carlite has "superduty" in the top of the windshields for the newer SD's. There are many other brands out there that I personally won't even install, but are probably cheaper for the glass company to buy.
I tell all of my friends and family to make sure that they have glass coverage on all of their vehicles because even if they have one windshield replaced it pays for itself. Not to mention that most door glasses and backglasses are much more expensive than a windshield.
Contrary to popular belief, chip repairs do work. If you see that you have a stone hit and you do get it taken care of early enough you shouldn't have any issues down the road. There are of course exceptions, if there is RainX in the stone chip the resin that is put in the chip does not want to stay in it. Insurance pays for chip repairs too because it is cheaper than replacing the windshield.
If anyone has any questions feel free to post a reply and I will do my best to answer them!

 

Oh yeah, if you have a crack and cant see a stone chip, follow the crack with a ballpoint pen and you can usually feel where the stone hit.