larrytrk

Windshields, do we have windshields?

rdstemler

Mine just stared into a crack. I'll see what they give me as a replacement!
I wonder what this item will cost?

Perk10

I guess you could look at the line that goes down the middle of the glass... the "antenna" so I am told.... Unless they would've replaced that, too

user 72902

A friend of mine had his 997 front glass changed by the dealer last year for $1000.

PJorgen

Does a lot of wind hit you in the face when you're driving on the freeway? No? OK, then you have a windshield.

Bruce In Philly

Coupla comments.....

You care about the glass because aftermarket glass can have a warped field of view. All aftermarket glass meets safety standards but I find it does not have the same optic qualities.

Regarding the "Dealer doing the work": I have never heard of a dealer doing the work. It is possible, but they call in aftermarket guys to do the work. It is specialty work and I never knew a dealer to do it themselves.... they bill you as if they did it, but look around back and many days you will see an aftermarket guy's truck back there.

If you have glass replaced, check your insurance policy with your carrier first, and see if you have OEM replacement in the policy. You usually pay extra for this. If you do, demand OEM glass. My experience with some guys, like my real experience with Safelite, is that they try and install cheaper non-OEM glass. As I noted above, my experiences with non-OEM glass is related to a warped field of view where the glass curves the most.

Regarding all windshield replacement being OEM... possible to be true if the low volume of replacements does not warrant the entry of a third party into the market. There was plenty of third party glass available for my 2000 Boxster S. If you are thinking that Porsche cars are special cars and therefore only Porsche OEM glass is appropriate and dealers will never install yadda yadda.... well I got a bridge in Brooklyn for you.

Saint Gobain / Sekurit is the "only" OEM supplier to Porsche that I know of although I may be wrong on this. Supposedly, and I can't confirm this, there will be a "P" in a triangle along with the Saint Gobain Sekurit name in the corner. This "P" is supposedly for Porsche.

For a thread on another board where I addressed OEM glass and someone posted a picture of the triangle "P" along with commentary about being an official Porsche part, click here:

Thread about glass 1

Follow up to above thread here:
Thread about glass 2

Good luck,

Bruce in Philly

PHX 911

^^^^^^
see post #5 in this thread.
There are no "aftermarket" suppliers of windshields for the 997's.
The only type you can possibly get will be OEM.

Bruce In Philly

There actually may be 911 Carrera glass available from Pilkington, one of the oldest glass companies.

Click here for glass

For my 2009 C2S:
With antenna, the cost is 476.52
Without antenna, the cost is 366.52

If the link doesn't get you directly to the price page, click here and fill it out for your car:

http://www.windshieldstogo.com/

Pilkington was the replacement glass used by Safelite on my 2000 Boxster S and it was poor. It had a wave in the field of view. I complained and they replaced it with another Pilkington glass that was better. Pilkington was not the OEM maker for the Boxster, it was Saint Gobain Sekurit.

Of course, you never know until you order it.

Peace
Bruce in Philly.

Bruce In Philly

More research:

Auto Atlanta has what they call "Genuine Porsche Parts" and I found an '08 Carrera windscreen:
G99754191108 - Genuine Porsche Price: $790.61

Auto Atlanta Windscreen 997

It appears the aftermarket company glass is much cheaper.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

1100S

Just to add a data point. The windshield in my '09 C4s was replaced by a non OEM part. The only identification is in the lower right and says FY. No manufacturer country listed. No distortion at all but the antenna on the driver's side is farther in from the edge (about 3 inches) and is not perfectly straight. Not a big deal but I did notice it right away. So yes, there are definitely non OEM windshields out there. Check with your insurance carrier when replacing. I didn't based on what I had read here.

Bruce In Philly

This most likely is Chinese glass from Fuyao. Chinese does not imply bad glass, but I don't at all believe it is Porsche OEM.

Fuyao Article

As my insurer has told me, as did Safelite, all glass installed in USA is compliant with the regs in effect.

I have a friend in the glass bending business, and it is an interesting industry. While it is true that safety glass, as in windshields, is pretty high-tech stuff being a laminated sandwich of glass-plastic-glass (polyvinyl butyral (PVB)) it is easy to make and a real commodity. In other words, price is king. He is located in the USA and buys bulk glass from the big USA companies like PPG, then cuts, laminates, bends, and tempers for small-volume customers. Large volume needs, he notes, comes straight from China and he can not compete with them so he focuses on smaller, specialty needs where his margins are higher and business is sustainable.

So, if this is all true, FY glass in a Porsche tells me that Porsche windshields have crossed some sort of "higher volume" threshold and are now really commodity items.

In my opinion, none of this really matters as long as the glass performs like OEM stuff. In my experience, there is a high probability that non-OEM glass will have field-of-view distortions and this just drives me crazy. The other issue that concerns me is that you get what you pay for from your insurer and that Safelite or another installer doesn't switch and put cheap glass in when you have OEM on your policy. Buyer beware.

Another is installation..... My dealer had Safelite install OEM glass in my C2S and they did a lousy job. The dealer was shocked by the poor installation (they handled it and called Safelite) and called in another installer to re-do the job. They then billed Safelite for the third party re-do. My insurer was involved... long story.

Peace
Bruce in Philly