loungin

Is the 997 windshield hard to replace? Safelite messed up my install and I got OEM SGSekurit glass too. It's not flush with the front of the roof and sticks out over the a pillars on both sides and there's a massive amount of wind noise coming through. You can stick your fingers in the gap between the windshield and the headliner and even touch the window seal, and metal frame up in there.

They're going to fix it but does it take someone with special experience doing 997 windshields to properly do this install?

becauseitis

i went through this same mess. it is never going to look as good as the original. you have to make sure that they order the factory rubber that goes around the window as well. you will still get those gaps in the upper crner part but it looks OK. i had safelite do it 3 times.

Bruce In Philly

2009 C2S 118K miles

I had problems with SafeLite sleaze promising OEM and not installing it.... telling me they would handle the insurer then telling me I didn't have OEM replacement (I did and complained to the insurer about their lie) on and on..... ... anywho... After a few bad experiences with my two Porsches, I now only go to a dealer for glass.

I don't know why 997 glass is difficult... I had the same issue.. didn't seat deep enough.... wind noise etc etc....

The last time, I took my car to the dealer..... dealer's son now working in service.... son said he had a guy .... older experienced service guy said they should use only the experienced guy they been using.... son says no..... The new guy screws it up and didn't seat it deep enough... dealer came through by bringing in the old guy... all was well (almost). Dealer said they usually have to break the windshield to replace it (not my problem) but said the old (new) one came out and the old guy re-seated it. Well..... two years later I was parking my car outside and found a tiny leak dripping from the center headlight down onto my shifter...... I repaired it myself by squirting in super watery silicone designed for sealing windshields.... all is fine now.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

Blue Chip

I've had Safelite do it twice - both times with OEM. The first time they screwed something up and there was a ton of wind noise - they uninstalled it and redid the job - no issues at all. The second time was perfect right from the start.

The non-OEM is crap - the gaskets are not the same, fitment isn't very good either. They tried to install that the second time before the tech pointed it out to me - I called my insurance company and refused... they made the change to OEM.

Hi-Arc

Good to know. I just got a quote from local glass shop here in Pa. Said they bring in Porsche specialist to install. Aftermarket windshield. FW02554 Pilkington
Any issues with these if properly installed?

Bruce In Philly

Yes, my experience with Pilkington is crap.... wavy.... distorted field of vision and not Porsche OEM.

Back when I had my Boxster S, needed body work and windshield replacement... Safelite said they would work with my insurer Nationwide... Safelite called and said my insurer said I didn't have the OEM replacement clause.... I was very busy, and said fine.... Safelite installed Pilkington.... they wavyness was awful.... I bitched.... they said they would change it out and put in "premium" glass...... they did, more Pilkington glass (not sure is was a different line of glass or not) crap waves again..... I called Nationwide and they said I was paying for OEM replacement!!! So I lodged a formal complaint.... then my engine blew up and killed the car.... I don't know what happended after that.

My real experience with two Pilkington windshields were bad, the glass is crap and left me with a wavy filed of view.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

Edgy01

I refused Safelite and the guy who did mine was first rate. Using OEM glass, he did it by himself, and took his time. Sadly, most insurance carriers want to go with aftermarket, and with a quick company like Safelite. Many 997 guys with a Safelite job have to go back again and again to get it right.

Bruce In Philly

The real issue is what are you paying for in your insurance? It is not what the insurance company wants to do, it is what you purchased. If you don't care about OEM glass, then call you agent and have them remove that clause and save some money..... or add it. There should be no surprise.

The opportunity for fraud is an installer can charge youy insurance company for OEM and install aftermarket.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

Hi-Arc

Thanks for the response Bruce. Il be sure to go OEM.

loungin

Funny how I'm not the only one getting a replacement at this time.

My local safelite uses FYG for aftermarket. I insisted on OEM which at Safelite is saint gobain Sekurit. I think the dealers around here use Safelite mobile service for windshield replacement. The guy who installed mine was talking to another installer who said he just did a Porsche windshield and it was hard to seat it correctly but that he was lucky to be doing it at the dealer so he had lots of examples of what the finished result looks like so he could do the same.

Bruce In Philly

FYI: FYG is SHT (Chinese)

Peace
Bruce in Philly

dc2000

I will have to respectfully disagree. I went with the Fuyao windshield because it was 1/3 the price of OEM. I inspected the glass beforehand to make sure it was distortion free. The shop idea the factory seal and everything worked out great. No complaints. Of course, you can't do wrong when OEM. Just want to point out that there is a cheaper alternative for those on a budget. Here's my review.

https://youtu.be/aPuE9F-VC8w

Bruce In Philly

Interesting.... how things change. I noted I had two Pilkington windshields, both wavy..... Pilkington is one of the oldest, and according to my friend who was in the glass bending business, one the best in the world. Now Pilkington is crap, and Chinese is good. Hmmmmm.....

Are the Chinese screwing us or are we screwing ourselves?

BTW, I had only second hand experience with Fuyao.... so maybe I should not have been so quick. Another board member (don't remember if it was Rennlist) noted he had Fuyao and said his glass was not wavy but the internal radio antennae was all crooked and not precise.

I wish I had a simple rule for replacement parts such as "only OEM" or go with X, or whatever, but replacement parts for our cars can be so situational by part. For me, given my experience, OEM glass only... for other parts such as control arms, TRW..... for others, white label OEM.... and on and on.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

TheBruce

I had a FY on my car when I bought it and just replaced with a St Gobain OEM. My experience...

The FY came with a crappy aftermarket seal and mine had dry rotted around the corners and the install looked like total crap. I didn't realize until later but the bad install is what also what was causing my dashboard rattle. They installed the windshield too low and it was rubbing on the center speaker in the dash.
I researched the options and found the Porsche oem seal is $110 (you can buy from suncoast or your local dealer) but you can't just replace that. The installers told me I had a 50/50 the windshield would crack during removal.

Note: the porsche seal has a pronounced lip that goes over the frame while the aftermarket are flat and leave a gap.

I got lowball quotes for $400 for a new "pilkington" only to find out it was the same FY and crap seal I already had. I then got a quote for $650 for a legit pilkington and factory seal.

Safelite was quoting the same but could not tell me what brand they would use.

By chance my windshield got a rock chip so I was able to get insurance to pick up a new St Gobain with factory seal.

The install and seal look great...but honestly I can't tell any difference on the windshield itself.

BillNye

I concur with your analysis. I had the windshield on my Volkswagen replaced this year and the local windshield shop used XYG. http://www.xinyiglass.ca/
I immediately noticed that the dot matrix was different and uneven looking, but, this doesn't affect anything.
After several months I noticed that bad ghosting at night that I never had before. Bright lights appear doubled below the source. It makes driving at night somewhat more difficult. It took a while to realize it was caused by the windshield, I actually thought I was having eye issues.

I thought about complaining since it was replaced under insurance, but the Pcar just got another chip and I'm going to save my complaints to make sure I get OEM on that.