Safety Window Film?

[fastman614]

Sheetmetal = glass? Thats some new chemistry.

DW

I seem to recall a Star Trek movie ..... transparent aluminum......

[Stan Back]

I'd imagine if you added "outside" the body it would be considered streamlining.  But I've seen it, essentially in Comp. Coupes, where it's used as back "windows".  If in place of glass in the stock location, there's no safety reason not to do it.  Easier picking up a sheet of aluminum than glass pieces.

Stan

[McRat]

Sheetmetal = glass? Thats some new chemistry.

DW

I seem to recall a Star Trek movie ..... transparent aluminum......

Anyone got Scotty's number?  Oh wait, he's dead and took the recipe with him ... 

[McRat]

I'd imagine if you added "outside" the body it would be considered streamlining.  But I've seen it, essentially in Comp. Coupes, where it's used as back "windows".  If in place of glass in the stock location, there's no safety reason not to do it.  Easier picking up a sheet of aluminum than glass pieces.

Stan

I still need to read through the diesel drags and sledpulling rulebooks to see what is allowed.

Plastic windows might put me in the unlimited class, ie- tube chassis, glass body.

But it is still street legal, registered, and insured, so while metal windows might be SCTA, they probably aren't CHP.

[dw230]

Ah the woes of a muti-purpose vehicle.

DW

[McRat]

Ah the woes of a muti-purpose vehicle.

DW

Jack of All Trades, Master of None! 

Back in 2004, I wanted a Ford Lightning pickup.  Then I found they got poor mileage, spit sparkplugs out, low towing capacity, and limited seating.  Not a good replacement for my E350 Ford Van.

So I decided to "Make A GM Lightning".  I started with 5-seater GMC Sierra 2500HD 4x4 Diesel (6420lb as delivered, 255rwhp at Westec dyno, 16.40 in the 1/4 at LACR, top speed 96mph).

My goal was to run 12 second ET's, tow heavy, seat 5, get 20mpg+ highway, and go faster than 140mph (Lightning's advertised top speed).

My problem is I didn't know when to stop. 

We do have another Duramax that fits that bill (Wendy); that is my wife's truck.  But Casper got out of hand a long time ago.  While street legal, it's not my first choice for a trip to the grocery store anymore.  It used to have 3 racing seats with 5-pt harnesses, and I took the kids to school in it, and would do pickup and deliveries for work with it.  It can still tow heavy, but seats only 1 now.

[4-barrel Mike]

Sheetmetal = glass? Thats some new chemistry.

DW

I seem to recall a Star Trek movie ..... transparent aluminum......

Anyone got Scotty's number?  Oh wait, he's dead and took the recipe with him ... 

Funny you should mention him today....

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/05/22/ashes-star-trek-cotty-ride-private-rocket-into-space/

Mike

[McRat]

I'd be nervous to go in a spacecraft with Scotty.

Every episode he's in, there's an engine malfunction ...

[fastman614]

I'd be nervous to go in a spacecraft with Scotty.

Every episode he's in, there's an engine malfunction ...

"I canna pu' i' up any higher Cap'n - she's Liable ta blow!"

[Avanti Kid]

Hey! here a new thought for satisfying the race cars side windows if their class record is over 200 mph, you don't need to only think about lexan, or solid aluminum windows, why not just use glass?  Yes I know you can't use tempered glass, but you can use laminated glass which is legal, just like your front windshied laminated glass is legal.  Some old Studebaker cars had laminated glass on the side windows too, of course the purpose is to reduce the glass on our race course, resulting in hours of cleanup, thus stopping our racing! take care, see ya at Speed Week,  Dave 

[McRat]

Hey! here a new thought for satisfying the race cars side windows if their class record is over 200 mph, you don't need to only think about lexan, or solid aluminum windows, why not just use glass?  Yes I know you can't use tempered glass, but you can use laminated glass which is legal, just like your front windshied laminated glass is legal.  Some old Studebaker cars had laminated glass on the side windows too, of course the purpose is to reduce the glass on our race course, resulting in hours of cleanup, thus stopping our racing! take care, see ya at Speed Week,  Dave  

But is the side glass on a Studebaker a 3D complex shape?  Nope.  Software did not exist back then.

You might think a "flat" window on a modern car is flat, or even just curved.  But that's not the case.

Look at any late model Chevy pickup.  Would you say back window is flat?  It's not, but it's just a single axis cubic curve (not an arc).

The side windows are 3 axis NURB surfaces.  This means the curves are not necessarily cubic, and nothing is flat in any axis, or is the curve uniform down it's length, nor are the flowlines necessarily perpendicular.  Think of a flattened sphere, but non-uniformly flattened.

And a pickup is a simple one.  Take a straight-edge out to your family car if it's newer than 20 years old and really start to look at the glass and body.  3D NURB modeling started with aircraft, then cars, way before it was used for movies and games.

This is the reason putting window film or large stickers on today is a beach.  And why they don't make plastic windows for complex windows.  Tooling is too much $$$.


DOH!!!!  Just went out and checked.  Even the back window is "flattened sphere", not straight or an arc in any direction.

[Avanti Kid]

Darn,your correct McRat, there goes another idea out the window!! 

[Glen]

I have been on a few window blow outs at Bonneville and even the so called safety glass used in windshields shatters and tears into sections. It also scatters small pieces all over the course. Most clean ups take at least one hour. The glass pieces are very hard to see with the bright sun and salt surface. Do everything you can to prevent window blow outs. A crash is a different problem as the field is usually spread over a long distance.

[Bob Drury]

  Glen, as you may recall I was a fairly vocal opponent of the Window Film Rule when it was proposed and inacted, even though I didn't have a dog in the race (running stock laminated glass in the Classic catagory).
  My problem with this specific rule, as with other newer rules is that they have been inacted without a mention of what product or definition meet's the rule or rules as written.
  I myself have been left sweltering  at or near the starting line while such cleanup's have occured and agree that no one likes such situations, but until the Rules committee realizes that they need to identify which specific products including numerical identification and source will rectify the problem, we will all suffer the consequences.
  I have never questioned whether any new rule is for the benifit of the racers, but for the good of the sport, and to make our inspector's lives easier, I feel that We all need to have solutions to the problem before we try to resolve them through rule changes.
                              With much respect,         Bob

[McRat]

I have been on a few window blow outs at Bonneville and even the so called safety glass used in windshields shatters and tears into sections. It also scatters small pieces all over the course. Most clean ups take at least one hour. The glass pieces are very hard to see with the bright sun and salt surface. Do everything you can to prevent window blow outs. A crash is a different problem as the field is usually spread over a long distance.

Yes, I would hate to try and clean up glass crystals, you guys have a tough enough job as it is.  So I do understand the concern, so I will go plastic.

My lexan sheets arrived today.  Time to give it a shot.  Luckily the windows on a pickup aren't as crazy as most modern stuff.

Could be worse.  A Corvette C5 FRC owner would be hosed, no way to make those out of plastic easily:  http://youtu.be/rkhUXbRASUk