I recently got a bad rock chip on my windshield. My car is equipped with the HUD. I was wondering if I can use a regular windshield or does it have to be the shaded one for the HUD? I've asked around and a couple of places say it would work as long as the glass was slightly tinted. Most shops say they don't know. Has anyone done this? Thanks for your time.

Tom

 

You can use a regular windshield and will have no problems or loss of HUD. Good to go.

 

My 2001 with HUD got a rock chip about 15 months ago (right in my line of sight) and this was my experience.

Local winshield repair shop ordered new glass. I was very emphatic that they order the HUD part number. The reason is because to my understanding there is an additional layer that is added to enhance the visual properties of the HUD display (hence the additional cost). When the part arrived, I asked them to verify that it was the HUD part number prior to installation (which they verified). After installation, I glanced at the HUD and all looked well until I was driving down the street and all of a sudden upon further scrutiny, I was seeing double - instant headache! So I turned the car around and headed back to the shop. They insisted it was the right part. After I showed them the problem, they agreed to reorder a replacement part with the same part number assuming that it was just a mismarked part or QC problem.

Next week new replacement came in. They installed it and now two problems. (1) Same blurred display and (2) Antenna contacts were broken off in shipment, so no radio. Finally, after much research, I found that they were ordering "Mexican" glass which is apparently a common practice among many windshield replacement shops as they can almost double their profit. This probably works out fine for everybody that does not have a HUD, but not on a HUD equipped C5!

Finally they were at wits end since it was going to have to be replaced a 3rd time. I explained what the problem was and that the only real solution was to order the HUD glass through a Chevy dealer. They really did not like that solution because the part was almost twice the price, but their alternative was to replace it with Mexican glass every week for eternity. They finally gave in, and to make certain, I placed the order at the dealership myself and had the glass delivered to the glass shop. 3rd time was a charm - HUD worked perfectly and was razor sharp.

So the answer is, you will get a HUD image and the reflection will be just as bright on a non-HUD windshield - the problem is you may go blind trying to read the image as it is a double or triple offset image.

 

Went through the same thing recently on my 2000. Used Glass Pro and when I made the appointment they asked if I had the HUD so they could order the correct windshield. That tells me that a regular windshield won't work with the HUD properly. No problems with the HUD following installation of the new windshield.

 

I have about 4 rock chips on my HUD windshield. I always run down to Binswanger and pay them $35 to do a chip repair. They can repair the chip up to about 2" in diameter and then you are out of luck. A good repair lasts as long as the windshield, leaves a small dot on the glass where the resin was injected but is otherwise solid and invisible.

Try the chip repair method first.

 

I had a $200 deductable on my comp insurance and I found a glass replacement service online which paid half my deductable if I ordered through them (and they assign a local affiliate to do the install). So in my case the new windshield only cost me $100 out of pocket. And last month my insurance premiums dropped another $150 a year, so it must not have counted against me.

 

I assumed we were talking about a regular C5 windshield. There is no difference in the windshields between a HUD and non HUD Corvette equipped car. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Didn't think when you said "Regular" you were reffering to a windshield that wasn't a GM Corvette windshield. My bad

 

Just did a quick check on Fred Beans and GM lists two separate part numbers - one for windshield w/HUD and another w/oHUD. The GM windshield for the HUD application is about twice the price on Fred Beans.

 

Are you sure your hud is "RAZOR" sharp? I still have my original windshield and my hud has never been razor sharp.

 

Perhaps "Razor" sharp was a bit of an exageration - in fact it was an exageration. What I should have said is it looked as sharp as the day I bought the car new. Compared to the non-HUD glass - it "felt" razor sharp. Probably should have said "very readable" vs "almost indistinguishable".

 

A windshield is made up of two pieces of glass with a thin sheet of plastic sandwiched between them. On a standard windshield, the plastic is the same thickness, top to bottom. On a HUD windshield, the plastic is thicker at the bottom so the two pieces of glass have a slight offset. Without the offset, you will get a second reflection from the outer piece, therby throwing the image out of focus.

 

We have a winner !!!

 

So then does the Z06 windshield have a thicker piece of plastic at the bottom also? Been told the Z06 windshield is different part number and lighter and this is why more expensive.

 

Thanks for all the input guys! Corvette Forum rules I guess i'll be ordering the original part. Thanks again, Tom

 

What is the going price for a new C5 HUD-spec windshield? Mine is just littered with chips and sand pitting after driving my Z06 from NM to Cali several times over the past two years. I am planning on replacing the windshield altogether but don't want to call my insurance company if I can avoid it and come outa pocket myself. Any input appreciated...thanx!

z28-plt

 

I've gotten quotes from $750-$950.

 

Check into this. I talked with a local Safelite glass repair shop and they said they wouldn't have a problem if I had one dropped shipped to them for the install. I never had to have my windshield replaced yet but it's a nice option should I need.


http://www.autobahnpower.com/product...ar+Windshields

 

I don't know anything about this vendor - they may be fine, but this is the type of glass description I was given on the one I had to have replaced twice. "Aftermarket, Meets all Specs, etc." If I had not had a HUD it looked great, but whoever my first two pieces of glass came from - apparently they just did not have the HUD feature implemented correctly (or maybe at all - how would you know). The part numbers on the bad glass did say it was their HUD version - just didn't work.

 

I just checked my windshield and it says "HUD" right on it with the regulation codes and crap. So that's one way to verify you've gotten the correct glass.