Homebuilt Windscreen

[Werks]

I made a one-piece polycarbonate plastic windscreen / wind deflector for the 987. I modeled it after those made by "Zefferus".
They sell windscreens for the BMW Z3 / Z4's, but not for the Boxster.

Total cost for the plastic windscreen and velcro straps was less than $25.00. That's a mere $475.00 savings over the Porsche OEM windscreen

Polycarbonate is the material used in Lexan or Makrolon. Polycarb is much stronger than acrylic / plexiglass, while being much easier to cut
using only a jigsaw and inexpensive blades. The link below illustrates the durabilty difference between the two plastics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hsls5ZPCUnE - Polycarbonate (Lexan) vs Acrylic (Plexiglass)

By using PVC / Velcro straps to secure the windscreen, no drilling is required. Attachment or removal take about a minute.

I had it out for a test ride earlier today in 28F (-2C) temps and the difference in wind protection, warmth, and noise vs no windscreen was amazing.

Simple is as simple does

Cheers..... Tom

The 6 Attachment straps ( 12" X 1.5" ) are made of 18oz. PVC with sewn 2" velcro ends. They tighten around the safety bars via narrow slots cut into the windscreen.


The 12" tall X 1/4" thick windcreen as seen from inside. The windscreen rests atop the subwoofer enclosure.


The safety bars outline is traced with a Sharpie onto the 52" X 12" X 1/4" "Makrolon" Polycarb prior to cutting.


A jigsaw with a metal cutting blade is used to cut the safety bars outline, and a 3/16" drill bit and wood cutting blade are used for the 6 strap slots ( not yet marked).

Paper backing on both sides is left on to prevent scratches while cutting the outline and strap slots.


Winterize the Porsche ? .... Never !


A 70lb sandbag and shovel are in the trunk ... just in case.


Slap on a Porsche decal ... and the twisties await !

[blue2000s]

Typically, acrylic has better UV stability than polycarbonate. Polycarb will yellow to a higher degree than acrylic over time and with sunlight exposure. There are UV inhibitors that you can add to the polycarb mixture to improve it's stability though. Hopefully you bought the stabilized stuff.

[Werks]

>Typically, acrylic has better UV stability than polycarbonate. Polycarb will yellow
>to a higher degree than acrylic over time and with sunlight exposure.
>There are UV inhibitors that you can add to the polycarb mixture to improve it's
>stability though. Hopefully you bought the stabilized stuff.

Has this been your personal experience with Lexan or other Polycarbonate ?

I made a Polycarb rear window for my pickup shell and it was several years
before it yellowed and then just a little, so I didn't reckon my $10.00 "scrap"
sheet of Polycarb needed any additional help. If severe yellowing occurs down
the road, I'll buy another $10.00 sheet and spend an hour making a new
windscreen

Tom

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by Werks

>Typically, acrylic has better UV stability than polycarbonate. Polycarb will yellow
>to a higher degree than acrylic over time and with sunlight exposure.
>There are UV inhibitors that you can add to the polycarb mixture to improve it's
>stability though. Hopefully you bought the stabilized stuff.

Has this been your personal experience with Lexan or other Polycarbonate ?

I made a Polycarb rear window for my pickup shell and it was several years
before it yellowed and then just a little, so I didn't reckon my $10.00 "scrap"
sheet of Polycarb needed any additional help. If severe yellowing occurs down
the road, I'll buy another $10.00 sheet and spend an hour making a new
windscreen

Tom

I work with plastics in my job.

[blue2000s]

I'm in Fort Collins/Loveland.

[Lobo1186]

Looks good. I think this would be the way to go (poly carb) only because since it is the first attempt and getting the right shape size and cut are important and if you make a mistake... well only a few bux was lost.

down the road you can upgrade like BLUE2000S said to something more durable and use the old one as your cutout. no mistakes on the more expensive piece.

(when I say "you" i mean if anyone wanted to try this also not the OP)


but I like it. Nifty and im guessing easy to remove.

[Werks]

>I just wanted to chime in and say that I think is a great mod, regardless of what material you use. It's cheap, easy, looks good, and solves a common problem.

Thanks....My only issue with Acrylic is the difficulty in cutting it with a jigsaw vs Polycarb. Scoring and breaking Acrylic is likely the better
option for DIY.... though you still need to cut out the 6 strap openings.

Yesterday I rode a couple of hours from my home ( 8,700ft) to Denver ( 5,300ft) and back in temps as low as 35f and I felt no
discomfort at speeds up to 75mph. The only time I closed the top was when it started snowing ....Tom ( 2 pics below)

Last week.... Sunny and cold


Then again, I'm used to cold weather riding....

[Adam]

Cool, props to you for making that and making it well. It amazes me Porsche could charge so much for the factory windscreen and there are people actually willing to pay it.

[Werks]

> It amazes me Porsche could charge so much for the factory windscreen and there are people actually willing to pay it.

That was the motivation for making my own. That and the fact it's a pretty simple project. The OEM windscreen was about $600.00
installed and that seemed excessive to me . Plus, The one piece plastic windscreen is quieter than the OEM 3-piece.

Thanks for your comments.... Tom

[msk914]

Here are pictures of the Windscreen I built after following Tom's great directions and after he was so helpful in answering so many of my questions. Background: I bought a 2008 CPO's Silver Boxster with 1300 miles on it. Sad story behind so few miles, but the dealer was happy to sell it to me, and it was very cheap compared to new (oh wait, it is new

The car has every feature I wanted, including beautiful 19" carrera wheels, grey top and interior, which looks great with the silver, xenon, etc. But no windscreen. I like what Tom did, followed his directions, got grey vinyl straps from Seattle Fabrics (and velcro) and bought 1/4" lexan online. If doing this again, I might buy 1/8 or 3/16", but it worked out great.

Thanks Tom!!!

Mark

[Werks]

Hi Mark,

I hope you gets lots of use from the windscreen / deflector.

Regards, Tom

Don't leave home without it