View Full Version : Ugh-Cracked windscreen!
cobrajj
04-29-2011, 12:19 PM
I found my 3.1 roadster windshield cracked this morning--only 784 miles on the car. I was very careful to shim the side supports, so no pressure was applied to the glass, but cracked anyway. I called Patti at FFR and she's sending out a replacement, as my kit #6846 falls in the time period of some glass quality issues. Thumbs up to Patti and Factory Five for standing behind their product. This is another important reason I made the decision to buy from FFR. Great car, great service, great company! Jim
CapeCoralCobra
04-29-2011, 12:26 PM
Crack: bad news. F5's response: great news. Thumbs up to F5!!
Indy14
04-29-2011, 12:44 PM
Nice to hear.
efnfast
04-29-2011, 01:08 PM
Oooooo, I wonder who it was who pushed Factory Five for 4-5months before they admitted there was a problem with the glass, despite being told by dozens of forum members that he was crazy and the reason his glass cracked after 100miles was because of improper installation, not defective glass. Hmmm, oh I wonder whom that individual could be.......
:D
David Hodgkins
04-29-2011, 02:04 PM
Don't hurt your ARM patting yourself on the back there Alex..
:rolleyes:
astglenn
04-29-2011, 04:35 PM
Well Alex. The installation issues and glass QC issue are mutually exclusive issues. it still could be that you had good glass and just blew the installation out the hurt. LOL. Just sayn eh!
I have had no issues at all after 3000 mi. My car was a 2007 kit. Just luck?
gwnorth
04-29-2011, 10:19 PM
Gloating and self-congratulation are both too common everywhere these days. Why can't anyone just be quietly self-satisfied? Very un-Canadian.
ThreePointTwo
04-29-2011, 11:00 PM
Hmmm... No such luck here. I called and spoke to Patti and she wanted a picture so I sent the picture. I heard nothing for two days so I called and Patti said that she got it but didn't bother to respond. She said that she would call back the next morning with a decision. Two days later with no call, I sent an email - no response. A day after that - one more email - again no response! What will it take? What did you guys do to get a response? Am I expecting too much to get a call back when promised?
gwnorth
04-30-2011, 09:42 AM
I have heard (seen in other threads) that FFR doesn't respond very consistently to emails. Maybe try the phone again? My experiences with them have all been satisfacory or better but I've always phoned with my problems.
Indy14
04-30-2011, 10:12 AM
My experience has been, email responses are very sporadic, call backs are never, but when you do call and are able to talk to a person the issue is usually resolved to your satisfaction.
efnfast
05-01-2011, 12:22 PM
Well Alex. The installation issues and glass QC issue are mutually exclusive issues. it still could be that you had good glass and just blew the installation out the hurt. LOL. Just sayn eh!
hardy-har-har :p
Gloating and self-congratulation are both too common everywhere these days. Why can't anyone just be quietly self-satisfied? Very un-Canadian.
Squeeky wheel gets the grease; besides, I'm more like a redneck Texan than anything else - gimmie guns and oil money and I'm happy :D
Cobra 302
05-02-2011, 09:13 PM
Welcome to the club.
I gave up, I went with the lexan unit.
BEST solution for this problem!!!!!
John
ThreePointTwo
05-03-2011, 08:28 AM
My experience has been, email responses are very sporadic, call backs are never, but when you do call and are able to talk to a person the issue is usually resolved to your satisfaction.
Good advice. I just continued to call and eventually got through to Patti and I have a new windshield on the way. I am really happy that they are doing their best to do the right thing on the windshield but wow, it would be so simple to just return a call or email to lower the frustration. This is customer service 101.
Bill_VA
05-03-2011, 08:50 PM
Tell us more about the Lexan solution. More or less susceptible to scratching and/or pitting? More flexible? Pros and cons please.
efnfast
05-03-2011, 09:36 PM
Tell us more about the Lexan solution. More or less susceptible to scratching and/or pitting? More flexible? Pros and cons please.
Won't crack
Clearer than glass
Easy to install
10lb weight savings
Rocks will just gouge it (as opposed to large chips and cracks) .... however, after 2yrs of mine I don't observe any deep gouges or pits so it must take a fair impact for this to happen.
It seems fairly scratch resistant - MR10 is 10000000000000000000000000000000x more marr-resistant than standard lexan/plexiglass, etc....
The only minor downside I might be able to think of is you need to take care cleaning it - with glass it would be dirty and I wouldn't care if I cleaned it with paper towels ..... I'm not sure how stron gthe MR10 coating is and, in the above situation (dirty+just a piece of wet paper towel) I'd be afraid it might marr it (the swirls/etc.. you see in paint when sunlight shines directly on it ... marr, not scratch)
edit: thinking about it, the last point is probably on par with glass - if you carefully study your glass oem windshields you'll note marring on them from the wipers (marring, not scratching). So glass will also marr, probably just not as quickly. regardless, it should be a moot point as you should be employing proper cleaning techniques for all parts of the vehicle (paint, windshield, etc...)
teebee9320
05-03-2011, 09:50 PM
Yay! glad to hear that F5 stands behind their product like that!
Bill_VA
05-04-2011, 06:07 AM
If I ever have to replace the windshield, the Lexan seems like a good way to go. Although "clearer than glass", how can that be? Where might one acquire one of these magical windshields?
astglenn
05-04-2011, 08:42 AM
MR-10 is a nice product. It is just what polycarbonate needed. It does provide enough scratch resistance and clarity to make a sensible glazing product. I used it in the windows of our ocean fishing boat. This thing takes a beat down. After a year, no problems. One has to not do anything dumb like take a scraper to it, but with sensible handling, the stuff performs well, has fabulous impact resistance, is very light and absolutely excellent optically. It is also expensive as hell at 3/8" thick, which I needed for wave blow out protection.
efnfast
05-04-2011, 12:21 PM
If I ever have to replace the windshield, the Lexan seems like a good way to go. Although "clearer than glass", how can that be? Where might one acquire one of these magical windshields?
You just have to look through one to see how the vision through it is much crisper than regular glass.
http://www.fastfreddiesfabrications.com/shop/product.php?id_product=1