Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD Auto Glass
Probably the most important feature of your Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD as far as comfort and safety are concerned are your trucks windows. Your windshield, side, and back windows not only keep wind, bugs, dirt, and grit out of your face, but they also give you the comfort of a quiet ride. More importantly than comfort, though, the windows in your Silverado model keep you safe in the case of accidents or any flying debris that tries to find its way into your vehicle.
What is auto glass made from?Your windshield and other windows are made of the same glass you might find in a house or in a kitchen cupboard, but the way they are put together is what makes them unique. This is because, unlike house windows or glass mugs, your Chevy HD is constantly in motion, and motion can play havoc with glass. There are two specific sorts of glass that are used in your Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD, both of which have specific design features to address specific needs.
The windshield is made of a substance called laminated glass. This involves taking two sheets of glass and sandwiching a sheet of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) between them. The PVB has an adhesive nature, and when a great deal of pressure and heat is applied to the tripartite structure, they become fused at the molecular level. This fusion produces the glass used in the Silverados windshield. The adhesiveness is the reason that, when a collision occurs, the windshield takes on that familiar spiderweb look and shards dont fly off everywhere. Also, PVB reflects UV rays, giving both you and your Chevrolet Silverados interior an added level of protection.
The side and rear windows on the Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD do provide protection to passengers if they are shattered, but the main issue to be addressed comes from driving on a daily basis. Streets, roads, and even highways are often littered with bumps, divots, potholes, and all sorts of other things that will have your Chevrolet vehicle bouncing around. You need strong windows to deal with that kind of constant pressure, so Chevrolet uses tempered glass. Its made by taking hot, molten glass and quickly cooling it with a series of high-powered fans. This causes the exterior of the glass to cool far quicker than the interior, and this temperature difference causes tension. Specifically, the top and bottom of the glass are compressed while the sides experience expansion. This compressive and tensile stress produces glass that is five to 10 times stronger than its counterpart, and sufficient to handle the everyday stress your Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD puts on it. A big bonus of this process is that, if the window is shattered, it comes apart in tiny dull fragments that will not cause injury.
When should you repair or replace your windows?Regardless of how small the damage is to your vehicles windows, you need to address it immediately. As a general rule, if you have a crack that is less than 3 inches or a chip that is smaller than a size of a quarter, then you can use a window repair kit on it. However, keep in mind that your Chevrolet Silverados windows are considered safety devices, and you could be ticketed for driving around with them damaged.