Every few weeks or so, I go to Google! and do a search for Cadillac XLR Wind Screen or some variation of it. Finally, after months and months someone actually has one! It's at http://www.windbaffle.com/. It's made of acrylic (or similar), not screen as some windscreens are (the Z3's and SL's I no longer own for instance).

Just wanted to put it out there for everyone. Not sure if I'll run and buy one but if anyone does, let me know. Also, if anyone knows of any other wind screens out there, preferably from Cadillac (MrXLR?), please speak up so we allcan make an informed decision.

Then I won't have to hear from my wife, "If you put the top down, it'll mess up my hair."

Have not seen any others but would be interested in purchasing--
looks weel made and secure
Could we get a XLR forum discount going with the mfg.?

Quixotic
Thanks for the intro, Early on about 3 years ago I asked that question regarding the need for a wind buffeting screen for the XLR. The answer came back quick & simple, Since most of the convertibles have either a back seat or a jump seat that would allow air to flow downward causing a vortex. To help eliminate that a wind screen is desireable.

The bottom line is since the XLR is a true roadster and there is no rear section to cause that wind circling possibility a screen is NOT recomended. Actually any type of a barier would change the air flow that the car was designed around changing the XLR's dynamics.



www.Cadillac-XLR.com (http://)

Tell that to my wife!

Interesting take though.

I guess for $220 it would be interesting to see what difference in handling and stability it really made.

I was under the impression that Cadillac was going to introduce a wind deflector during the 2005 model year.

ctsvman,

I wrote the people about getting a xlrforum.com discount. Let's hear back from them before we do anything.

Please let me know when you get answer. My wife the same and won't wear scarf.:banghead

I had one of these wind screens for my Mercedes Benz SLK. Like the XLR, it had no back seat or jump seat. The windscreen worked great and was was much better than the net which had been provided by Mercedes Benz. The plastic windscreen kept the wind from coming around and grabbing your hat. Being clear, it did not interfere with the rear view like the net did. If the forum can get a deal on these I would be interested in buying them for my two XLRs.

Members of the xlrforum will be able to get a discount on the "Wind Terminator" shortly. Stay tuned while I work out the details.

Cadillac will not be introducing any type of wind deflection device for the XLR. The XLR Engineering Team previously tested various windscreen concepts, and found no benefit for the XLR, given the vehicle aerodynamics & design.
www.Cadillac-XLR.com (http://)

I will have one of these wind deflectors by the end of next week. I will take it through the paces and evaluate it and let everybody know if I can tell if the XLR's handling or aerodynamics are compromised as well as the wind defection and noise reduction capabilities.

Stay tuned.

I received the wind deflector yesterday. Give me a couple of days to post a review.

Quixotic:

I am very interested in what you discover post installing your new windscreen. I must admit that our personal experience agrees with Mr XLR comments that a windscreen just doesn't seem to be required.

DFXLR

My initial reactions are mixed. I've been corresponding with the manufacturer and they have made some suggestions I want to try and I have some ideas I want to try myself and report back to them. I will post a detailed (shall I pun and say 'much winded') review with pictures soon.

This of guys with reasonable short hair don't have the same problem as our long-haired wives whose hair must look good upon arrival. Thus the search for anything that will allow me to take the top down as often as possible.

I spend almost 45 minutes on the phone today with the owner/designer of the wind deflector installed on my XLR. I explained to him that I thought the wind deflection could be better, but there are mitigating issues, like being able to have the top up while not having to remove the wind deflector limits the height of the unit.

The most interesting part of the conversation was the guy himself. He is a vascular surgeon who also has an engineering degree. The wind deflector business started when his daughter refused to take the top down on her LeBaron because it would blow her hair. Now where have we heard this before?

As I said in an earlier post, I have a mixed review to post but this guy is willing to work with me and possibly tweak the design a bit to improve it. So anyone who wants to run out and buy "last year's model" can do so but I would recommend waiting a few weeks and ordering the "new improved model" when we get that nailed down.

I have included a picture of the unit in a following post.

For those of you who can't wait for my complete and detailed review, I would say the unit as it is now is only partially effective. Whether physical improvements to the unit wil make a difference to its efectiveness in cutting the wind, time will tell.

Thanks for doing all of this testing for us. I think I will wait till you say it works.
I can see where the XLR people might say it will not work or won't work that well because you are sitting very low in the car and the wind is going over your head. BUTTTTTTTTTTT like most of us I am hoping to find something that works better so I can run with the top down more often when my wife is in the car. Of which she is all the times I take it out.
Keep up the the great work and keep the updates coming.
Blaise :thumbs

This is a pretty good picture of the wind deflector. More will follow as I have time to post and explain them.

http://www.icuonline.com/xlr/wind_screen1.jpg

Not that it would make that much difference but shouldn't the "glass" be on the back side of the roll bars? It might make a differance.
Blaise

That's what I thought (I initially installed it behind the roll bars) but I've been told it goes in front. It's also been suggested to experiment. Try it in front, in back, lifted a bit, angled... All of which I will do as time permits -- and report back to you people.

The best news is I will be borrowing a hand-held anemometer next week so I have some empirical results and not just my guestimate and opinion. I'll be able to tell you the exact wind speed inside the ****pit at various road speeds, with and without the wind deflector and with the wind deflector in different positions.

Sunscreen optional. :cool

Thanks for the information and picture. Please keep the infomation coming. Also please tell us when the new/improved model will be available and what the revisions are.
Bill in FL
(NM # 9)

As a new owner and poster I really appreciate your efforts to R&D a wind screen for everyone. I realize the original engineers tried and dismissed the concept, however there are always room for improvement if your willing to be flexible and think out of the box. :flag

I borrowed the pocket wind meter but I drove another car today. Hopefully by next week I'll have some real figures. If anyone is curious, the device is a Kestral 1000. My friend has a fireworks license and uses it to make sure the rockets go where he wants them to!

Well, here it is. My evaluation of the Wind Terminator.

The designer of the Wind Deflector, Dr. Bob Swersky, is a practicing vacular surgeon with an engineering degree. This project all started with his daughter's LeBaron convertable. She wouldn't take the top down because it would mess up her hair (gee, where have I heard THAT before?). After experimenting with various shapes and designs, he came up with his first wind deflector. His company now sells designs for a multitude of convertables, including his beloved Viper.

His designs are patented. The polycarbonate material (the same material is used in jet windshields) won't crack like lucite so it's much safer. Dr. Swersky resists using the term "wind screen" since it is not made out of screen material.

The clear plastic piece attaches to the roll bars using six Velcro straps. The unit I received was the exact width of the roll bars but a little shorter so it does not extend beyond the width or height of them. See a photo of the Wind Terminator in my earlier post.

It fit well behind the roll bars, but as you will see below, it worked better in front of the roll bars. Unfortunately, the fit was not as good in front of the roll bars as there was a 1/4 inch gap in the center bottom. Eliminating this gap by changing the design (shape) may increase the effectiveness of the unit.

I also believe that increasing the height of the unit an inch may also increase effectiveness. The unit I recieved was about 1 1/2 to 2 inches short of the roof in the middle (when the roof was in the up position). It certainly would be advantageous to be able to leave the wind deflector on at all times so there is a height and width limitation.

Last, I believe designing a slight tilt forward will also increase effectiveness even more as the chart below suggests. The amount of tilt was about 3/8 inch forward at the top using two spacers between the roll bars (top center for front, bottom center for back) and the unit. I was unable to experiment with various degrees of forward tilt.

Note that the tilt referred to in the chart is a forward tilt, front and back refers to the front or back of the roll bars.

Dr. Swersky recommended I try putting the windows in various positions to change wind flow but I was unable to experiment with this variation as well.

The following are the wind measurements taken at various speeds with the wind deflector in different positions.

http://www.icuonline.com/xlr/wind_chart.gif

These findings, although not as scientific as it may seem, do provide empirical evidence that the wind deflector makes a difference, especially at high speeds. This is in striking contrast to my initial non-empirical judgement of wind buffeting where I felt the wind deflector was only effective at slower speeds.

Being used to an actual screen (SL, Z3), the plastic wind defelctor takes some getting used to as I see reflections of the tail lights of the car in front of me, but it's not particularly distracting.

The Wind Terminator for the XLR is $220. The shipping fee of $20 seems steep. I looked at UPS charges and it would cost $7.70 to return. Okay, so the box and packaging cost a couple bucks or so but...

If you want to order the Wind Terminator, (www.windbafle.com (http://www.windbafle.com)) the nice people at Wind Baffle will give any XLR Forum member a 15% discount. Phone number is 888-266-WIND.

On the other hand, I've been working with Wind Baffle to make improvements in the design of the Wind Terminator for the XLR and hopefully, a new and improved one will be ready to order soon. Your choice if you want to wait or not.

In conclusion, I was absolutely amazed at the difference between my senses and the handheld wind speed meter (Kestral 1000). With data in hand (pun intended) I recommend the Wind Terminator to those of you who want to cut down on the backdraft.

Thanks for all the information. Sounds like You are recomending to wait a little longer to if the see if the new idea is better. Thanks TF

Now that's some great data, thanks so much for all of your work on this project. Just how long do you think it will take before the "improved" model will be available?

This may seam like a bad question but why do you think "Wind Deflector" did NOT make one with screen in it like the one I had on the SL I had? I would think the screen ones would have been harder and more costly to make then this clear solid one you are testing for us now. "by the way thanks for doing such a great testing job" So why was the screen one better to use then making a cheaper solid one.
Yes the solid one will not let ANY air move so why do you think the other people made it with screen?

Two answer the last two questions in the previous posts, I will ask the manufacturer when I talk to him, hopefully on Wednesday.

I'd be interested in who and how many of you decide to purchase the unit and, of course, your impressions of it.

I just got off the phone with Dr. Swersky. We discussed the redesign of the unit. He said it should be ready in 7 to 10 days. It will be disigned to be mounted in front of the roll bars. The original one, which I tested, was designed to fit properly behind the roll bars.

A couple of other things came out of the conversation I want to mention.

First, the wind speed measurements noted in my review were with the windows up. Dr. Swersky suggests experimenting with raising and lowering of the windows to different levels to see how that affects turbulence.

Dr. Swersky believes that it won't make much difference between the front mount and the rear mount, but he bases his opinion on cars other than the XLR. He has rear-mount units ready to ship or you can wait for the new front-mount design.

The new front-mount will be taller than the read-mount but will not exceed the height of the roll bars since Dr. Swersky believes, in case of a roll-over, the roll bars must be the first and primary contact with the ground. Makes sense to me.

As far as I know, there will be no tilt to the new design. Dr. Swersky cited other manufacturer's designs (e.g. Porsche, BMW), which are not tilted forward, that ostensively incorporate sophisticated wind tunnel data into the design.

I just got word that the new, improved, designed for in front of the roll bars, wind terminator beta test unit will be shipping to me this week. I will get it sometime next week and report back to you after I've given it my once over.

Thanks for the update. Will you be able to do some testing with the side windows down this time? By the way how many straps does it have?
Blaise

Six straps, three on each roll bar.

As soon as the new model arrives and you can give it the once-over, please let me (us) know your thoughts on its worthiness. I'm leaning towards ordering one, however your research will play heavilly on my decision.

Mark

have had one for about a month now. function is. comarable to the mesh screen of the Porsche. very easy to mount and dismount.

I finally received the "new improved" wind deflector today. Give me some time to do some subjective ad hoc testing.

After storing the previous wind deflector in the truck for a short period of time, I am going to highly recommed to the manufacturer that that include a sleeve for the unit made out of a material that won't catch on the Velcro. Contrary to what the manufacturer told me, they do scratch -- and I was very careful with it. I don't know what could have scratched it, although since the Velro caught on the blanket I had back there with it, I didn't wrap it. If the manufacturer won't include a sleeve, we need to find a material that will work to protect it when not installed.

Well, I finally got a chance to try out the "new improved" XLR Wind Deflector.

I had to go from Woodland Hills to Mailbu around 9 p.m. last night -- about a 30 minute drive through Topanga Canyon and PCH. Ahhhhh..... :thumbs

Anyway, my wife's hair was barely ruffled and with a quick fix, we were off to our appointment. Need I say more?

The new Wind Defector still has a gap on the bottom but it is more of a cosmetic issue than a functional one. It is slightly taller and that may make the difference. I'm sold.

If you ever remove the unit, I highly recommend wrapping it in something to protect it.

I'm told that you can call 1-888-4NO-WIND and they have the XLR Wind Deflectors in stock, ready to ship.

I reread the string and could not find reference to keeping the deflector on when the top is up.

Is there any issue?

Ordered mine today. :flag

I sure hope you asked for the XLR Forum discount! And tell him Rich sent ya! (No, I don't get a percentage)

15% off the posted price and they assured me you would get your "usual cut" whatever the heck that is................... :thumbs


BTW - It was your reference to driving the PCH that pushed me over the edge. I spent the weekend driving north from Carmel to Pacifica utilizing Highway 1. It gets really nice up around where it becomes the Cabrillo Highway. Tons of open coastline and tall redwoods.

EyeDoc -
The Windbaffle can be left in place with top up or down and year-round. :flag

Got mine Friday -- what a difference with the windows up -- very little wind at all
I installed in front of the roll bars -- very easy to do -- great customer service from the vendor :flag

Lucite is much less expensive than polycarbonate and will scratch much easier. I don't know about shattering issues for lucite, but I do know that prescription sports glasses are made from polycarbonate for safety.

Being an ophthalmologist, I have a little experience with polycarb lenses.

Polycarb is one of the most impact resistent materials available, but is also scratches quite easily. If it is less than lucite, then it is only a little less scratch resistent. It is one of the major problems with polycarb glasses (curtrently used as eye armor by the military).

As one of the notes in the string above notes, scratching is an issue.

Lens manufacturers often use a scrtachj resistent coating which is only slightly effective. I presume it would be prohibitive in cost for a item this large.

Aside from protecting the material, both while installed and while stored, there is nothing more that I can offer.

Attempting to "buff" out the scratch will only make it worse. best to just leave it alone and replace the whole thing if the scratches reach a point of obscuring vision.

I figure for the amount of money I paid for my car, the price of the windscreen won't send me to the poor house......................and I won't have hard plastic zip ties slowly cutting into the leather-wrapped roll bars.

Eyedoc, you are correct!!
That is why we use only MR-Lexan. It stands for the "mar-resistant" coating. It is quite expensive and is used for race car & jetliner windshields. Hence the expense, it is a quality piece. (Proudly made in the USA!! Like the XLR!!)
It is essentially unbreakable and has polished edges. A little Windex is all that is needed occasionally.
And - It is invisible so it doesn't detract from your XLR's beautiful lines. :flag

Installed mine this last weekend and overall I'm quite pleased. I do notice, however that if you leave it on with the top up you do get a bit of reflective "ghosting effect" or reflective images that appear to be objects passing you on your right/rear when in fact there nothing there. It's not noticable with the top down since the screen is low profiled enough that it does not hamper your vision. Again, I only notice it with the top up and only sporadically.

Overall, nice workmanship and it does the job its built to do.

BTW - I found the perfect way to store it, I bought a pillowcase built for a "body pillow". Those long, narrow pillows you find at Bed & Bath, etc. The one I bought has a zippered end to keep out the dirt and keeps the screen from sliding out.

Anyway, a good washing and a quick dry with some fabric softener and it makes the perfect sleeve in which to slide the wind screen for storage. I take the straps and place a rubber band around each one to keep them from flopping around and scratching the screen's surface.

A Vinyl Suit Travel Bag in the trunk provides easy storage for the WINDBAFFLE panel . Or it can be left up all the time - year-round, top up or down.
You can "open up" your XLR nearly all the time now!!
:flag