So my AP2's windshield fell victim to a kamikaze rock that flew off of a street sweeper at highway speeds.

I live in SC so all insurance companies are required to cover all windshield replacements without filing a claim (state law).

I called up my insurance agent and talked to him about the process. Got some of those details and yea it'll be replaced no problem. He told me to go with Century Glass, I guess a local SC glass copmany and told me that they have this "state of the art" windshield glass that does something cool about not letting radiative heat from the sun in during the summer months and keeps the heat in better during the winter months (essentially, a good insulator glass). He called it "Clear Advantage" windshield. I googled it but didn't find much on it at all...

My question is, has anybody replaced their windshield with this Clear Advantage? Or should I just go OEM? I figure with the soft top I don't really need the benefits of this "special" glass, right?

Thanks!

 

They won't pay for replacement oem glass from what I was told. They'll do the "just as good" generic.... yada yada yada.... my car has pgm idk the actual name but that's the sticker in the corner glass as a replacement, my rear view mirror sits nowhere near where it did with the factory glass... see if you can get the honda windshield and pay a little extra... otherwise, you will find that your rear view mirror won't give you the same view no matter how you adjust it.

 

Any replacement glass that has a tinted stripe within?

 

Err what's that?

 

try for OEM but if you can't get your insurance company to pay for it (many won't), any name brand glass would work fine.

the tinted strip is across the entire top edge---usually about 3-4 inches wide--many imported cars don't come with it--most American cars do and most aftermarket windshields for imports come both ways.

The heat reflective properties of the Clear Advantage sounds really nice--I'd go for that if it's sunny a lot where you live--it'll not only keep the car cooler when it's parked but limit fading of the dash and seats from sunlight. I would ask about whether the coating has any effect on the use of radar detectors--some coatings limit their ability to sense radar waves thru them--may or may not be something you care about.

the mirror bracket is something that's typically glued on at the glass factory so if it's in the wrong spot, complain and have them replace the windshield (again). I'd take a measurment and a pix of where the mirror is now so if it winds up in the wrong spot, you can document it (though I've had about a dozen windshields replaced between my, my wife's, and my kid's cars (they use lots of small gravel mixed in with the road salt in the winters---they say it helps with traction but it's h3ll on windshields!) and we've never had a mirror in the wrong spot---but as needsmorepower experienced, it can happen.

 

When I had mine replaced I just asked that the glass place order an OEM windshield. They charged me the same as if I had bought one of theirs. Only difference was that I had to wait 3 days instead of 2. I went to a pretty small place though and it worked out great.

 

You might be able to convince them to give you OE if you tell them every single aftermarket windshield has the rear view mirror placed to close to the top edge..which is true.

 

That's a good point David. Also the 2 manufacturers are PPG and Pilkington.

 

thanks