SVA requirements on glazing?

[Davi]

I'm getting told several different things by different people as to the SVA requirements for glazing, just wondering if anyone knows for sure.

Basically after chatting to a very helpful chap who does screens for everyone from Saleen and Ascari down to prototypes for Ford, I am definitely NOT going to be doing my own screen or door glasses, so I've found a few cars that almost fit the bill that I can mod the design to fit. Problem is the rear quarter screens. They are very small, and really only to give a bit of added visability. Do they actually need to be glass at all or can I use a poly for these and still get it through the SVA?

[grahambell]

Best to ask your local SVA centre.

[Davi]

that's a rather good idea I blame this flu for being unable to think of that

[Avocet]

You'll be fine with "safety glazing" for rear quarter panels. Only the windscreen HAS to be "safety glass" (i.e. toughened or laminated to one of several recognised standards). The front side windows can be either glass or "safety glazing" (depending on how they're attached) as can all the other windows. VOSA have a curious definition of "Safety Glazing" as being something which, when broken, is not likely to fly into sharp fragments liable to cause serious injury. Quite how you interpret that is the subject of some debate among testers. It is GENERALLY accepted that polycarbonates are OK but people don't like using them because they scratch easily and go "milky" after a period of time. Acrylics like "Perspex", on the other hand, are fine for wear resistance but if you smash a bit of perspex in a vice, you get pretty nasty sharp edges. Some testers ask for a declaration from the plastics supplier confirming that it meets their definition of safety glazing but suppliers are, understandably, reluctant to commit themselves to such a subjective standard. The best stuff would be (in my opinion) one of the "impact modified" acrylics (I think "Resist 65" is one tradename)where you get the wear resistance of acrylic and the ductility of polycarbonate but again, this is purely a personal opinion. The simplest is probably to use polycarbonatebut I'm sure lots of people use acrylic and say they've used polycarb!

[Davi]

Many Thanks Avocet, I was trying to avoid the polycarb for exactly the reasons you state above, but as I mentioned earlier the glass option really is not an option unless I want to go into serious production (which much as I'd like to just aint gonna happen!) I'll have a chat with some local plastics companies and see what they can come up with going on your comments.

[oastbloke]

From a purely SVA perspective (and to avoid difficult questions) do you have to fit anything?

"it's part of the ventillation design..."

[GTMSpyder]

"Windows must be made of safety glass and of a recognised standard and marked by the manufacturer NOT by a glass agent" .. in other words they need to be "E" marked to pass SVA, so it may be best to find side windows from a suitable donor as well as the windscreen. The two don't have to be off the same car - for example GTM use a Fiat winscreen and Ford Fiesta side windows!....Have a look at this link for lots of SVA related info.

www.totalkitcar.com/tkc_article_125.php

>> Edited by GTMSpyder on Wednesday 4th January 22:45

[Davi]

oastbloke - I did think of that, but instead of going for ventilation just blank off with CF to match in with the surroundings till after the SVA

GTM - at the moment I'm looking at the screen from a 2004ish celica, slightly increasing the rake (only about 5 deg) which fits far better than I could have hoped, just have to fill in a bit at the bonnet as I was hoping for a bit more rounded. Doing so I *might* be able to get away with the celica door glass as well, though with restricted opening as it's a bit too deep. Going to pop round the toyota dealers at the weekend as I've just been told the side glass is flat but I find that hard to believe. If it is I could just have more cut and toughened. The problem (assuming I can use the door glass from celica) is just the quarter glass which is tiny - cant find anything that fits the bill so far.

[Avocet]

GTMSpyder said:

"Windows must be made of safety glass and of a recognised standard and marked by the manufacturer NOT by a glass agent" .. in other words they need to be "E" marked to pass SVA, so it may be best to find side windows from a suitable donor as well as the windscreen. The two don't have to be off the same car - for example GTM use a Fiat winscreen and Ford Fiesta side windows!....Have a look at this link for lots of SVA related info. www.totalkitcar.com/tkc_article_125.php >> Edited by GTMSpyder on Wednesday 4th January 22:45

That's not strictly true! I think the article has been turned into "sound bites" to fit! None of the glass needs to be "E" marked at all - otherwise grey imports would struggle! The SVA will accept ECE Reg 43 (the "E" mark) OR EEC Directive 92/22 OR various American, Japanese Korean etc standards OR any of three British standards (BS 5282, BSAU 178 and another one I can't remember just now)! Also, only the windscreen has to be glass. The side windows only need to be glass if they "slide in a channel in a manner likely to cause abrasion". This wording was put in to allow "7"-like sidescreens! All other glass can be "safety glazing" (see earlier post for definition). As far as leaving them out altogether, I think you'd need to put some sort of "token" MDF louvres in the hole (with appropriate edge radii obviously!) and you could always replace these at a later date.

[sospan]

Has anyone heard of a product called "Macrolon" ?
I was a buyer for a company and we used it for clear machine guarding. It is claimed to be "bullet proof". No one ever tried shooting at it though!
It is a material similar to ploycarb'accrylic but i am not sure of its correct composition or safety details.
sospan

[Avocet]

I think it's spelt with a "K" if it's the stuff I'm thinking of. If it is, it's a polycarbonate so it should have excellent impact resistance qualities but might go milky and scratch easily. There seem to be dozens of different grades though!