Hatch Glass replaced with polycarbonate/lexon or whatever plastic its called

[Rice86]

Car - AE86

Comments: so for some reason my glass demister on the Hatch does not work, whether its electrical issue or a plug issue or dead 28year old wire issue, it wont work and i dont wanna bother making it work as im fine driving without it working..
The Hatch itself is due for new paint and minor rust repairs (have a second hatch in worse condition which will be the lab rat for this first)

so with the 2 above comments, im thinking of taking out the glass and replacing it with lexon because 1 reason lighter!!

i thought about it and have come down to just using pop rivets all around to hold it down and them black silicone glue from Burnings for sealant, and i'll be tinting the lexon for a bit of stealth look

any other thoughts on how to apply the lexon to sit flush like the glass like this http://www.motoiq.com/magazine_articles/articletype/articleview/articleid/1913/pageid/2970/motegi-racings-killer-ae86-corolla-gts.aspx ??

[Sam-Q]

I inquired about this a while ago and the plastics guy said instead of polycarbonate (lexan) use an acrylic sheet instead. Sure it isn't as strong but will still take a serious hit and is less prone to scratch.

[jakel]

Acrylic sheet is usually cheap too, but I have heard that when is breaks hat it shatters into sharp looking pieces. I was going to use it for my car too but not really much point just make a bit more power :)

[Rice86]

polycarbonate aka. lexon is way "stronger" then acrylic or glass by far and is "doing it right"

[meadan]

Lexan is a brand of polycarbonate, commonly mistaken as its own type of material.

I wouldnt say that it is "way" stronger than glass or acrylic, and on a street car it is definately not "doing it right". Goodbye insurance, rego, and all the rest if someone crashes into you.

That being said, would you be able to fit the piece in using the standard rubber? Im looking at doing this sometime in the future too actually, have you got a hatch with no glass on it? Might be easier to figure a way then, as I havent removed a hatch glass off an ae86 before.

[Gunner]

Its not a cheap thing to do, I know there is a specific grade used for motor sport, very scratch resistant, and really thin, but it supposedly costs a heap I have never personally bought it. From how I have seen some guys do it, the only way to get trims on nicely is to glue them on as its thinner than the glass and clips don't work. As I have said though, never bought it, never fitted, so can't say anything for sure, but the hardest part is supposed to be getting it cut nicely.

[evil86]

taking glass out if not too hard, some rope and flat screw drivers, will give u a hand if you need adan. would be interesting to see it on the street

[meadan]

well I have one acrylic side window at the moment, which is bonded in. It has no scratches, doesnt break when you lean on it and appears factory.

Maybe one day Ill look at getting a rear one made up, I cant really see the advantage of polycarbonate unless its a windscreen or door window. Would be interesting to see how the correct thickness plastic would sit in the stock rubber. It would seem like bonding is the best option, that car in the link would only have rivets so that it looks cool.

[Sam-Q]

one thing of note, you can not run a rear wiper

[t-nol]

I don't think you can just replace the glass with it in the original rubber, it'll get sucked straight out and under the next guys car by it coming loose under flex. Check out any race car that has them front or back, and you'll find tiny metal stiffners that will stop the flex.
What it will do without them is push in with the pressure, and eventually catch the wind, if you weld in the tiny supports (2 of them), i can't see any other issue.

[assassin10000]

I've been running my rear polycarb window with NO 'stiffeners' for 6 years (Feb '06). The window gets sucked 'inwards' when driving anyways, even with my windows down sideways at 95+ mph I've never had an issue. Installed with a flat-tip screwdriver and fingers in my original gasket.

Andrew

[meadan]

now Im sure thats the response we were loking for :)

Are you running the polycard at the same thickness of the original glass?

[t-nol]

That was my concern, it would get flexed IN by the pressure, come loose, and then fly out the back.

[matt99]

Also have my rear triangles done in lexan, no issues, easy to work with. No "braces" at all, pop riveted around the edges with a light bead of silicone to help.

And Gunner, you can run the rubber trims if you can cut it right and simply use a 4.5mm thick lexan sheet.

[Gunner]

ah k cool, good to know, only ever really seen the thin stuff used

[t-nol]

Braces only for front and back, sides too small to get enough flex to worry, imo

[Rice86]

Boom! USA delivers!

Now just have to shop around =]

[McLEVIN]

Mcnsport do all windows in lexcen

[jakel]

For a price of course.

[H8CHIR6KU]

i had a plastics shop do my quarters and rear glasses in blue tinted polycarbonate. just looked like tinted glass. it also only cost me $150 cash for all three.
all i had to do was give him my glass and he would cut it out to match. he also did the rear in a similar thickness to the glass.
the reason for that was that when i fitted the rear in, i used the original rubber seal so it looked like the original glass.
the only thing that made it stand out was the 2 little bolts i had stick out thru the polycarb. this was bolted to a brace i had run down the middle of the hatch.
the polycarb never flexed noticibaly because it was braced in the middle.
i also used this on the track and never had an issue with it coming out or anything.

[PRIMRK]

I used to shape the stuff using my router, i could make up a batch as i have the glass out of my car currently that i could use as a template if some one finds the exact material i could do a order make some up and send em out, PM me if your interested, ill have to find out the price on the materials to be able to give you an idea of final price.