Interesting video.....did Grandma actually hit that phone? LOL If the windshield were more readily available, then I too would roll the dice. I'm convinced to use something......taking a look at several options.
CamT's build thread
- Thread starter CamT
- Start date
Dow Corning has recently released replacement windshields for Jeep Wranglers and other vehicles. They’re called Gorilla Glass. My next windshield in the Rubicon will be a Gorilla Glass unit as I’m on my 3rd windshield in 3 years. Jeeps are prone to breakage due to the more upright angle of the windshield.
It may be something RCR would want to look into and offer?
It may be something RCR would want to look into and offer?
So it seems the ClearPlex stuff is more sensitive to pitting than glass. It’s tough enough to protect the windshield from a rock strike but people are replacing it every year or two because it’ll take imprints from pebbles whereas naked glass wouldn’t. Seems like a bit of a catch-22. I haven’t heard back from my local ClearPlex vendor but I assume they’re slowing down/shut down for the holidays.
Neil - it’s a good thing we don’t need to swipe left or right on our windshields!
I had a pretty fun day with the car today. I drove up to LA, about 140 miles each way. I was a bit nervous as this is the furthest I’ve driven the car. My wife drove separately to run errands up there and would pick me up if I got stranded - didn’t happen. I also brought jumper cables in case the battery decided to go south on me. Happy to say the entire trip went smoothly. I had a short break chatting with some friends before I turned around and came home. So almost 300 miles and 5.5-6hrs (traffic sucks).
The Tillet B5s are comfortable enough my back didn’t complain and the AC was more than sufficient given our cooler temps. About 60 miles from home it got dark enough that I needed to turn my headlights on.
Confession time: I swapped my halogen bulbs in my low beams for a set of LED bulbs. The glare seems OK so I’m keeping them but one of my low beam mounts seems to have vibrated loose: one headlight was pointing toward the sky! Should be a simple fix.
The rear view monitor I’m using worked surprisingly well at night; the headlight glare didn’t over-saturate the camera. Details were good enough you could tell distance and what lane each car was in. Not enough detail to see if it was the local constable however. The rear wing pretty much blocks out any light bars anyway so you can’t really tell in the daytime unless the camera location is moved from where I have mine set.
I took my friend for a short ride on one of the twisty roads near his house and I got the rear loose mid-turn while on power. The car remained pretty neutral and it didn’t take much to bring the car back in. Today was a really great shot in the arm for building confidence in the car!
I did try experimenting by putting a soft blanket across the rear bulkhead. Unfortunately it didn’t do much for noise. I think it is what it is. I’m glad I decided to bring a pair of noise canceling headphones on this trip - it made a huge difference in comfort. I’m going to make this mandatory for any long drive. For driving around town I think I’ll leave the headphones home but at speed the noise can be fatiguing. I think with a gear swap to bring rpm down it would be much more bearable but I was at 3300rpm for a good portion of the drive. It’s mostly engine and exhaust noise that’s making it into the cabin. Road and air don’t seem to be an issue.
SLC drive by - YouTube link
Neil - it’s a good thing we don’t need to swipe left or right on our windshields!
I had a pretty fun day with the car today. I drove up to LA, about 140 miles each way. I was a bit nervous as this is the furthest I’ve driven the car. My wife drove separately to run errands up there and would pick me up if I got stranded - didn’t happen. I also brought jumper cables in case the battery decided to go south on me. Happy to say the entire trip went smoothly. I had a short break chatting with some friends before I turned around and came home. So almost 300 miles and 5.5-6hrs (traffic sucks).
The Tillet B5s are comfortable enough my back didn’t complain and the AC was more than sufficient given our cooler temps. About 60 miles from home it got dark enough that I needed to turn my headlights on.
Confession time: I swapped my halogen bulbs in my low beams for a set of LED bulbs. The glare seems OK so I’m keeping them but one of my low beam mounts seems to have vibrated loose: one headlight was pointing toward the sky! Should be a simple fix.
The rear view monitor I’m using worked surprisingly well at night; the headlight glare didn’t over-saturate the camera. Details were good enough you could tell distance and what lane each car was in. Not enough detail to see if it was the local constable however. The rear wing pretty much blocks out any light bars anyway so you can’t really tell in the daytime unless the camera location is moved from where I have mine set.
I took my friend for a short ride on one of the twisty roads near his house and I got the rear loose mid-turn while on power. The car remained pretty neutral and it didn’t take much to bring the car back in. Today was a really great shot in the arm for building confidence in the car!
I did try experimenting by putting a soft blanket across the rear bulkhead. Unfortunately it didn’t do much for noise. I think it is what it is. I’m glad I decided to bring a pair of noise canceling headphones on this trip - it made a huge difference in comfort. I’m going to make this mandatory for any long drive. For driving around town I think I’ll leave the headphones home but at speed the noise can be fatiguing. I think with a gear swap to bring rpm down it would be much more bearable but I was at 3300rpm for a good portion of the drive. It’s mostly engine and exhaust noise that’s making it into the cabin. Road and air don’t seem to be an issue.
SLC drive by - YouTube link
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Roger Reid
Supporter
What is the replacement cost of a new windshield from RCR?
I think the last time I saw a discussion it was in the $1000 range but RCR would know for certain. Inventory is a critical data point to consider.
Howard Jones
Supporter
If your state doesn't prohibit polycarbonate (Lexan), then they are available from RCR at about 1/2 the cost of glass. They are a new type that have a very hard coating on them and are very tough. This is the only way to go with a track car and would be fine on a street car if OK with your state. I am pretty sure I read that it is ok with windshield wipers also. The coating is that hard.
By the way, I did mine in California and went through the entire SB100 process with my Lexan windscreen on the car. Nobody said a word and the car was licensed and on the road before I left and moved to the great state of Texas.
The other great thing is the curvature fit issue of the glass windshield isn't one with Lexan. Just trim it to fit and install it like glass or make it removeable like I did. Bends easy and safely.
By the way, I did mine in California and went through the entire SB100 process with my Lexan windscreen on the car. Nobody said a word and the car was licensed and on the road before I left and moved to the great state of Texas.
The other great thing is the curvature fit issue of the glass windshield isn't one with Lexan. Just trim it to fit and install it like glass or make it removeable like I did. Bends easy and safely.
I think I’ve read somewhere that the lexan windshields are noticeably louder than glass - maybe glass has inherently more damping than the poly piece?
I’m actually pretty happy with how my windshield install went. I’ve really squashed my OCD when it comes to this car and with a black surround around the windshield you don’t notice the curve misalignment at the outer edges. When I had my windshield crack repaired the guy working on my windshield said they have a sealant that could produce a much more oem finish and still fill 1/4” gap. Live and learn
For the street SLCs out there - I’ve been playing with my suspension settings and my latest adjustments have really done wonders for the car. My settings are as follows:
Front alignment: -1.5 deg camber, 1/8” toe in, 4.5” ride height
Rear alignment: -1.5 deg camber, 1/8” toe in, 5.5” ride height
(I don’t care about tire wear and I’m partially running the fairly aggressive camber to help with tire clearance concerns.)
Front shocks @ 1 compression, 2 rebound
Rear shocks @ 2 compression, 2 rebound
Rear (carbon) wing on setting 2 (about 5.5 deg AoA). More details about wing settings in my blog here:
https://superlitesite.wordpress.com/2018/09/29/53-red-bull-gives-you/
I’ve been concerned about dialing in too much rear wing but I didn’t get any front end lift issues on today’s drive. I was taking sweepers north of where I usually do and the car felt completely planted, felt like a lot more in it if I wanted to go even faster. I don’t have my front canards and I’m running the street splitter with the optional tunnels.
I may have gone down to Mexico for some high speed testing. With the wing at setting 3 the car was stable accelerating up to and braking from 140mph. Wing setting of 2 seems fine up to/from 125mph. I may head back south of the border for more testing at some point
The damper settings are comfortable for the bumpy California freeways and street driving. Generally, I find these dampers to be super stiff - at 3 compression the car doesn’t feel as planted, especially at the front. Still playing with rebound but 1 felt a bit soft for spirited driving.
I’m still running the factory springs though my rears are dialed out just about as far as they can go. I’ll need a longer spring at a minimum. For street the rates seem to be OK.
No canyon drives just yet with latest adjustments.
I’m actually pretty happy with how my windshield install went. I’ve really squashed my OCD when it comes to this car and with a black surround around the windshield you don’t notice the curve misalignment at the outer edges. When I had my windshield crack repaired the guy working on my windshield said they have a sealant that could produce a much more oem finish and still fill 1/4” gap. Live and learn
For the street SLCs out there - I’ve been playing with my suspension settings and my latest adjustments have really done wonders for the car. My settings are as follows:
Front alignment: -1.5 deg camber, 1/8” toe in, 4.5” ride height
Rear alignment: -1.5 deg camber, 1/8” toe in, 5.5” ride height
(I don’t care about tire wear and I’m partially running the fairly aggressive camber to help with tire clearance concerns.)
Front shocks @ 1 compression, 2 rebound
Rear shocks @ 2 compression, 2 rebound
Rear (carbon) wing on setting 2 (about 5.5 deg AoA). More details about wing settings in my blog here:
https://superlitesite.wordpress.com/2018/09/29/53-red-bull-gives-you/
I’ve been concerned about dialing in too much rear wing but I didn’t get any front end lift issues on today’s drive. I was taking sweepers north of where I usually do and the car felt completely planted, felt like a lot more in it if I wanted to go even faster. I don’t have my front canards and I’m running the street splitter with the optional tunnels.
I may have gone down to Mexico for some high speed testing. With the wing at setting 3 the car was stable accelerating up to and braking from 140mph. Wing setting of 2 seems fine up to/from 125mph. I may head back south of the border for more testing at some point
The damper settings are comfortable for the bumpy California freeways and street driving. Generally, I find these dampers to be super stiff - at 3 compression the car doesn’t feel as planted, especially at the front. Still playing with rebound but 1 felt a bit soft for spirited driving.
I’m still running the factory springs though my rears are dialed out just about as far as they can go. I’ll need a longer spring at a minimum. For street the rates seem to be OK.
No canyon drives just yet with latest adjustments.
Cool video Cam.
Ken Roberts
Supporter
Great video Cam! What color are your wheels? They look too dark to be gunmetal grey and too light to be black. Is it called "DDT"?
Thanks Ken! They're the gunmetal grey color option. It does a nice job hiding the brake dust
also a great color for contrasting brighter caliper colors if that's the direction you go.Great video Cam. Thanks again for the blog, it's been awesome to see the progress through the whole build. I was wondering the wheel color as well, wasn't sure if it was black and just the angle of the picture or what. I definitely like it over black.
I wasn't sure about the green/orange combo, but that thumbnail is killer looking. What color do you plan to paint the car when the time comes (if you care to share it)?
I wasn't sure about the green/orange combo, but that thumbnail is killer looking. What color do you plan to paint the car when the time comes (if you care to share it)?
Thanks Del! I have 3 colors lined up for my next attempts; yellow, orange, and light gray (not all at once). For the guys into dip, I'll be doing Sulfur yellow, safety cone orange w/pearls (team orange + some red), and avalanche gray. I may do a "real" paint job after I'm through with those colors or I may just keep re-dipping. The green's been holding up pretty well but the car's only got ~1000 miles on it at this point.
Yeah, the green didn't turn out quite the way I thought it would. I was hoping to blend the green so it would be a darker shade and throw metallic flakes in it as well. Since it was my first time dipping things didn't turn out quite the way I thought it would Hoping to learn more with the next colors.
There's a couple photos showing wheel color here:
https://socalslc.com/2017/05/16/13-braking-the-silence/
The lug nuts are powdercoated black so you can see the two colors side by side.
Yeah, the green didn't turn out quite the way I thought it would. I was hoping to blend the green so it would be a darker shade and throw metallic flakes in it as well. Since it was my first time dipping things didn't turn out quite the way I thought it would
Hoping to learn more with the next colors.There's a couple photos showing wheel color here:
https://socalslc.com/2017/05/16/13-braking-the-silence/
The lug nuts are powdercoated black so you can see the two colors side by side.
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Awesome, I'm looking forward to seeing the next 3 colors. and yep was curious the actual dip colors too. Avalanche Gray should look pretty good with the orange calipers. You plan to keep using regular PDS or considering AutoFlex? Any of those pearls, you mixing them in the dip or TopCoat?
Dipping is addicting. It's cheap and as long as you can easily remove parts or tape them, even better.
Dipping is addicting. It's cheap and as long as you can easily remove parts or tape them, even better.
I haven't decided yet, but likely to add the pearls into topcoat for the orange. Sulfur yellow's got some metal pre-mixed so I plan to leave that as is. These next 3 will be regular PDS; painting my car green was the first time I've touched an HVLP gun and I didn't know what I was doing! I might give autoflex a try eventually but I've got a lot of growth to do with just basic painting skills. Autoflex too pricey to waste at this point.
Yeah, on sale, it's going to cost me ~400 to repaint the car each time. I figure that's pretty cheap to try a color out and see if I like it. I plan to pull the front and rear clips each time, iffy on whether I'll take the doors off. It's so easy to work with this car. I figure a day of prep and a day to paint, another to reassemble.
It's funny, with my daily I was always so OCD and got bent out of shape over something like swirl marks. With the SLC I've become much less concerned about having a "perfect" car and focus on just driving and enjoying it.
Yeah, on sale, it's going to cost me ~400 to repaint the car each time. I figure that's pretty cheap to try a color out and see if I like it. I plan to pull the front and rear clips each time, iffy on whether I'll take the doors off. It's so easy to work with this car. I figure a day of prep and a day to paint, another to reassemble.
It's funny, with my daily I was always so OCD and got bent out of shape over something like swirl marks. With the SLC I've become much less concerned about having a "perfect" car and focus on just driving and enjoying it.
Dip is very forgiving and definitely makes me look better at it than I am. You're definitely right, the more you use it the better you'll get. I want to try Autoflex one day, but regular PDS is so easy it's hard not to use it...especially since you already have the sprayer.
When I paid my Raptor it was around $500 on sale, but that was just a basic color and no pearls. They have lots of sales so just have to wait for one to show up for your next color. That's exactly my timeline when I do the bike to a tee! Not sure if you've peeled it before, but it's not quite as easy as they say. It'll come up in sheets, but it's the corners and grooves where it because a PITA to remove. Goo Gone is the same thing as their Dip Dissolver and works good. Pressure washer helps, although I typically do it all by hand since it's after dark when I decide to peel it.
I am same with with dipping the bike. I rarely washed it while dipped, the only time it'd get "cleaned" was when I peeled it. Looking forward to seeing the new colors when it becomes time!
When I paid my Raptor it was around $500 on sale, but that was just a basic color and no pearls. They have lots of sales so just have to wait for one to show up for your next color.
That's exactly my timeline when I do the bike to a tee! Not sure if you've peeled it before, but it's not quite as easy as they say. It'll come up in sheets, but it's the corners and grooves where it because a PITA to remove. Goo Gone is the same thing as their Dip Dissolver and works good. Pressure washer helps, although I typically do it all by hand since it's after dark when I decide to peel it.I am same with with dipping the bike. I rarely washed it while dipped, the only time it'd get "cleaned" was when I peeled it. Looking forward to seeing the new colors when it becomes time!
