Prius Windsheild Glass-thinner than other cars?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jburns @ Aug 3 2006, 06:03 PM) [snapback]297412[/snapback]</div>

I do. It isn't. I've seen the glass right next to six other windshields for other cars. They're all the same. They have to pass the same safetey tests, and wouldn't be able to do it thinner as far as I understand it. The sound you hear can be due to MANY factors that have nothing to do with the thickness of the glass. For the glass to resonate, it would have to have the edges free.

 

Not really on point, but FWIW, the new hybrid Camry has a thicker windshield than the other Camrys do, at least according to Toyota's marketing stuff. It's supposed to offer a noise reduction advantage. I don't really understand why only the hyb would get this feature; I would think it would be especially welcome on Camrys in the XLE configuration (bought by buyers willing to pay more for luxury features).

 

A pidgeon hit my windshield right in front of my face with a combined speed of at least 80 mph. The result was nothing more than a little bit of whitish smear. Don't worry about the thickness or safety of the windshield. It seems to work plenty well.

 

two years ago, i took a humongous rock on the windshield... actually saw it bonce twice on the freeway before it hit me. it didnt even leave a scratch.

on retrospect, i think the only thing that saved me was the severe slope of the windshield that makes it harder to get a direct angle from street level. made the rock glance off way more than it would have on any other windshield that is more up and down.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Aug 4 2006, 11:36 AM) [snapback]297799[/snapback]</div>

Just as a note, all windshield glass (at least for cars sold in the US) are laminates.

 

Actually, if the glass were thinner, the frequency of the "ping" would probably be lower. A thicker plate would give you a higher resonance frequency. There are other variables, of course. But I would guess that the sound was more determined by the material of the object that hit the glass (e.g., steel nut, stone, small hunk of wood, etc.).

I can remember the only time I ever got hit with something that busted the glass (not my Prius), it sounded like a firecracker went off inside the car! I don't know what actually hit me, but I always assumed it was a rock.

I'm wondering if you are traveling on a road that had some debris dumped on it, and it hasn't all gotten cleaned up or tossed aside yet...did both incidents happen on the same road? It sounds like you're having some really bad luck!

- Doug

 

A typical laminated windshield is very thin: each glass layer (2) is approximately .03 inch (.76 millimeter) thick, while the plastic interlayer is approximately .098 inch (2.5 millimeters) thick.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(FJRCRAZED @ Aug 4 2006, 05:49 PM) [snapback]298008[/snapback]</div>

Old airline story: When they build a new plane they test many parts to destruction. One test is to see if the windscreen will withstand hitting a bird in flight. The procedure was to put a cooking chicken in a cannon and fire it at the windshield at 250 mph. Once the front end of the plane was nearly destroyed: they forgot to thaw out the chicken.