Rear glass/window options...

I did some searching but did not see a lot of information.
I am daily driving my 1991 NSX and the rear glass (between the cockpit and the engine compartment) seems to be getting foggy/cloudy.

Maybe it comes and goes with humidty, engine temp, outside air temp, etc...but I am still looking for replacement options (glass, lexan, etc...).

Any first hand experience?
Thanks,
Tom

First of all, removing your old divider window will be a major PITA, but maybe that was just me. The SM makes it look easy of course

Your have to remove all surrounding interior pieces (easy), the seats (easy), and then I used multiple new, sharp, and long utility knives (razor blades) to cut from the inside of the car all along the window rubber and foam sealant until the window was free.

Then, once it's free, you need to clean up and try to scrape off remaining rubber gasket material. I imagine installing a new OEM replacement would be easy after that, but I went with my lightweight racer theme and decided to fit Lexan.

So, I went to Home Depot and bought a huge sheet of UV-treated lexan, cut it out and then drilled/bolted it in with some weatherstripping. It turned out pretty nice IMO, but was a lot of work. Also, engine noise will BE LOUD, and the Lexan will scratch easily so you need to be carefull when cleaning it or just polish it a lot.

Personally, if you have a quiet exhaust and like it relatively quiet, do not replace it with lexan. I would even question if you would want to replace it with the single pane Zanardi glass either then. You may want to ride in a Zanardi to find out.

Dave


Here's my thread with a little more info:

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=120435

Wow - I've had this on for almost two years now! I used stainless cap screws, washers, and locknuts, and also fitted small rubber washers under the stainless washers that fit up against the lexan. The cap screws are not torqued much - don't want to stress the lexan unnecessarily!

Mac Attack said:

First of all, removing your old divider window will be a major PITA, but maybe that was just me. The SM makes it look easy of course

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Mac Attack, I appreciate your insight and I had seen your post (in my research). I am kinda amazed that this doesn't occupy more threads...I guess the quality of the OEM glass/build is great.

So the old glass comes out on the inside of the cockpit?
I'll probbaly just go OEM (or as close as possible)...BUT your Lexan solution looks great and may be an option.

I was hoping the issue was more common and the path was well worn.
Thanks,
Tom

Thanks for the compliments - it was a lot of work!

Sorry for any confusion - the glass comes out on the engine bay side. It's just that the adhesive has to be cut from the interior. It may not HAVE to e cut that way, but that's the way the SM said and the way I did it. After removing the window, I can see why it was cut out that way - the weatherstripping and sealant is really stuck on there pretty good.

Back two years ago when MvM started that thread, I'm surprised others hadn't chimed in as well either. I thought the delamination was more common too....

My window had started delaminating, but it wasn't really that bad and I had certainly seen worse on other NSX's. I was just looking for an excuse to remove it and save weight I guess.

I still think the Lexan will be loud for most. For some time, I had the lexan with the completely OEM exhaust and it was still pretty loud compared to the dual pane glass. If you do go this route and don't want to cut your own Lexan, Dali sells a pre-cut Lexan window. I painted the inside of the Lexan window with plastic flexible black paint around the perimeter to hide the weatherstripping and OEM sealant cut marks.

Dave

Mac Attack said:

Thanks for the compliments - it was a lot of work!
Dave

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We're in sync now. Thanks
I just went outside and at 80-85F...perfectly clear...so maybe it is a temperature change/humidity thing.

Mines doing the same thing. It's not too bad though just yet. Just looking at it, it has PITA written all over it.

Great info. Mac Attack!

I have a 91 and my glass is also fogging up as well. It's more noticeable in certain weather condition than others, but still annoying when looking out the back. I will eventually have to do this as well.

So are you saying the glass is actually getting etched or such? I'm lost on how a window getting foggy = need to replace window.

It's dual pane glass. I don't know if it's laminated or sealed with some inert gas, but over time, owners have noticed murky blotches appearing in some spots.

I think the Zanardi's, Type S's and Type R's only had single pane glass to save a little weight in sacrifice of some sound deadening.

Dave

I replaced mine with the OE R single pane glass unit. IMO it's the best way to go. I did it for weight and sound transmission. The heat will affect Lexan over time turning it foggy, and it may not take that long. I've also removed the firewall sound insulation and the AC compressor is now very irritating. It's not a fun job, but well worth it though personally.

If you don't mind, how much was the R glass please? Depending on cost, I may want to swap the Lexan for it.

As for the Lexan fogging - I live in hot SC and this was daily driven for 1.5 years with the Lexan. Any fogginess I encountered was microscratches caused by dragging a drying cloth over it after washing. It polishes out easily. I bought the UV-treated Lexan made for exterior home door use. Maybe that makes it a little better suited than lesser Lexan others may have used for autos.

I also removed my firewall sound deadening, collected it in a trash bag and weighed it. Along with my underbody coating Every little bit of weight savings counts!

Dave

Mac Attack said:

If you don't mind, how much was the R glass please? Depending on cost, I may want to swap the Lexan for it.

As for the Lexan fogging - I live in hot SC and this was daily driven for 1.5 years with the Lexan. Any fogginess I encountered was microscratches caused by dragging a drying cloth over it after washing. It polishes out easily. I bought the UV-treated Lexan made for exterior home door use. Maybe that makes it a little better suited than lesser Lexan others may have used for autos.

I also removed my firewall sound deadening, collected it in a trash bag and weighed it. Along with my underbody coating Every little bit of weight savings counts!

Dave

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Sorry Dave, it was around 15 years ago and i don't always keep receipts. My guess is i paid around $300 bucks. Of course times are way different. Your installation looks excellent. I would not change it. I'm no lexan expert. Thru the years i have been very surprised to see lexan on race cars slightly fog after one weekend. And i remember seeing an almost new F50 that was fogged. But in our use, i would think you could keep it nice with a little work. I'm seriously thinking about the lexan rear hatch myself. NA cars need weight reduction, and that requires compromises. I like your install a lot.

My sense is that the divider window fogging on the engine side is caused
by water left over / sprayed up on engine from a previous car wash. It only seems
to happen about 5 minutes after starting the car, then dissapates.