Disappointed with windshield

[Ohlins8990]

I hear a bunch of people complain about Honda paint being too thin or soft, but with this FL5 being my first JDM car, one of my biggest disappointments has been the windshield. Just over one year in and it looks terrible. Pits everywhere, thankfully no cracks or spiders yet, but it looks sandblasted.

Is this a Honda thing? A Type R thing? My old 17yo Volvo’s windshield never seemed to accumulate pits like this. If this is down to the Type R’s unique windshield, will swapping to a normal Civic windshield be of benefit?

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[J_D]

Type R does have a thinner windshield than other hatchbacks. That being said, I think they are all fragile.

 

[getRIGHT]

You’re lucky. I took a rock strike and the windshield fractured on my 2nd day of ownership

 

[cryptolime]

i got an aftermarket windshield installed after a baseball size rock fucked my hood and windshield. got the hood dent pulled and resprayed and the aftermarket glass feels thicker. no distortion either. seems better quality.

 

[RacingManiac]

The FL5's is an improvement over FK8's, believe it or not. When I had the FK8 I've had rock chip that grown into a crack to the edge almost immediately. Then i replaced with another factory one and got hit by another one and cracked to the edge immediately again, in the same week...

Replaced that with a Safelite replacement and that one stayed on the car until I sold it. I think I've had a few time in the FL5 that would've cracked the FK8 one and it just stayed as chip, instead of crack...

 

[Evox787]

Well don’t know if it’s a type r thing but mine got a crack from a pick up truck trash flee on the highway like 6 inches close to the roof like a week ago, my wife Edge ST has been hit way harder than the type r and not even a chip. I just fixed it to not replace the OEM glass but also mine 06 Scion XA have the OEM glass from 06 and 178k not even a scratch on it.

 

[SGPkaz]

My 22 So is the same. Looks like it was sandblasted from the factory. The smallest rocks have caused chips too.

 

[KNIGHTRIDER666RSB]

I have a few chips after a month of ownership.

 

[Fenrir1001]

Probably due to weight savings cuz racecar. Get a ppf on ur windshield

 

[J_D]

I wouldn't mind a 10 pound penalty to have a strong windshield. I can just eat a salad.

 

[SGPkaz]

Probably due to weight savings cuz racecar. Get a ppf on ur windshield

This is not it. Quality across the board is down thanks to supply chain and skill disruptions from COVID. We will see these issues for years.

 

[MoodySara]

My FK8 was terrible at night. Add rain to the night and it was nearly undrivable.
My wife's Accord and her later Civic were both fine. It doesn't seem like the same windshield.
My FL5 is too new to tell how it will be.

 

[s2kdriver80]

Probably due to the combination of modern windshields being softer (safer against shattering into pieces in a crash) and thinner (for gas mileage weight and cost savings).

 

[AZCWTypeR]

Honda OEM windshield is made in China. The contour tolerance and optics are better than most aftermarket screens, but I can't speak for the material chip resistance.

My son's FK8 has an aftermarket windshield made in the USA, which I compared side by side. The contour was slightly off, but not bad. Noticeable in the 3D curves near the roof.

 

[MooMoo]

I was just cleaning mine yesterday tons of chips, this windshield is made out of cheese for sure. When I get a new windshield on I will definitely PPF it

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