When the lenses are ready, will you contact those who have already placed email orders and are on waiting list or should we be on the lookout for further instructions?
Yes, I will contact you through email. In the mean time relax, monitor the forum and let .......George and the team do their work.
I haven’t read the entire thread, but aren’t you still in the development stage?
.......George's comment was one covering a range of responses--the least of which was an attempt at humor. Let me explain. Having just gotten back from doing testing on the lenses where the lenses exceeded our expectations for toughness we feel they are a success. The other was a bit of irony. For all the time, money and effort we have thrown at these lenses they bloody well BETTER turn out!
In the end, we are committed in many ways to making this work for our Frugal Fiero Fans. In the mean time we will continue to work toward perfecting a product that WILL meet and it is hoped exceed your expectations. All this said, i apologize to you for using your post as an attempt at some humor. I'll talk to .......George about it. ------------------ Goody
The beauty of a solution lies in its simplicity
[This message has been edited by kgoodyear (edited 09-15-2018).]
.......George's comment was one covering a range of responses--the least of which was an attempt at humor. Let me explain. Having just gotten back from doing testing on the lenses where the lenses exceeded our expectations for toughness we feel they are a success. The other was a bit of irony. For all the time, money and effort we have thrown at these lenses they bloody well ETTER turn out.
In the end, we are committed in many ways to making this work for our Frugal Fiero Fans. In the mean time we will continue to work toward perfecting a product that WILL meet and it is hoped exceed your expectations. All this said, i apologize to you for using your post as an attempt at some humor. I'll talk to .......George about it.
It is difficult to tell on the internet if someone is joking or genuinely offended. Especially when conversing with mice. They keep their cards close to their...fur.
It is difficult to tell on the internet if someone is joking or genuinely offended. Especially when conversing with mice. They keep their cards close to their...fur.
Do you have a protected price?
LMAO!!!
Yes, our projected price is $400 + handling + shipping and all applicable taxes. I suggest Fieerobear that you pl.ace your no down payment no obligation order. When your turn comes up and you have changed your mind just pass on the order and we will just put your name on standby or remove it.
One of the reasons we are encouraging preorders is we use this as a metric in making business decisions. It is a great tool for measuring a demand/supply ratio.
To place a preorder, (no down payment or obligation), send an email to keith.goodyear@bellyacrestudios.com and please select the description and the quantity. - Clear no decoration - Clear decorated (this is like the OEM) - Custom decorated Clear Type your Name, address and phone number. Once I receive your order I’ll see you are put in the queue and will reply to you in the same email. Once they are ready for distribution we will notify you. Lenses are meant for off road use and sold only in pairs. We estimate the cost to be $400 USD plus shipping and handling and applicable taxes. We look forward to hearing from you soon!
Thanks for your response. I look forward to your preorder.
I anticipate wanting 3 sets, but one sticking point is that I’d probably want to see one set in person before I buy multiple sets, if you can understand. I know, that makes it difficult for production projections (and would likely irritate the mouse), but I would want to see them before committing to a $1,200 order.
[This message has been edited by fierobear (edited 09-15-2018).]
I'm glad the plastic is tough, but I'm wondering about UV resistance as well. The OEM lenses might be somewhat brittle, but they weather much better than modern headlight lenses, which yellow, craze, and oxidize.
The oxidation can be sanded/buffed out, but the color shift and crazing cannot. Are you doing any accelerated UV testing on the plastic compound?
I have discovered through the process to date issues arise with tooling, finance as well as best business practices . These issues are not a surprise. It is all part of a project such as this. Often issues that appear to have a simple solution become more complicated but not insurmountable. During this project I try to bring you information about its progress however, bringing some issues while we are working on them to the thread can act as a distraction. Understand, i believe, until an issue is resolved It is best held close to the vest.
I'm glad the plastic is tough, but I'm wondering about UV resistance as well. The OEM lenses might be somewhat brittle, but they weather much better than modern headlight lenses, which yellow, craze, and oxidize.
The oxidation can be sanded/buffed out, but the color shift and crazing cannot. Are you doing any accelerated UV testing on the plastic compound?
The lenses are made of poly carbonate with an added UV inhibitor and a fire proofing compound. This is the same material used in bullet proof applications. Specifications are available on the UV effects on PC that can apply directly to the lens. We have added an additional UV inhibitor to the compound to make it even more UV resistant. Testing the lens itself would not really produce any different results that are not already associated with the raw material.
[This message has been edited by kgoodyear (edited 09-18-2018).]
I for one would prefer the polycarbonate lenses over acrylic due to the fact that when acrylic gets cold, it is quite easy to break and stress.
There are some quite impressive videos of motorcycle windshield impact tests that I have found, and polycarbonate wins hands down in all of them when it comes to impact resistance. I am pretty sure that is why polycarbonate is used for headlights.
Most of the dull headlights we see are due to the protective coating / clear coat being worn off of them from road debris, rocks, and chemicals etc. attacking them. Yes, UV will also add to the issue, but plastics have improved considerably when it comes to resistance to UV even without a coating. They can be polished and re-protected, but I would suspect that the tail lights will see far less of the destructive forces that a headlight does.
Cold temperatures like we get up here are probably the cause of most of the stress cracks.
When loading the trunk, removing items, or even pushing the car, (which hopefully we never have to do ) people have a tendency to lean on the lenses. This may be why so many lenses I have seen have all the stress cracks in them?
------------------ There's one in every crowd, and usually it's me. 1988 Solid roof GT!
Yeah, I assume that the reason a lot of Fiero lenses cracked, as well as GTs lenses becoming delaminated was due to them being pushed by people that didn't know any better...
------------------ "Discord" Red 1988 GT under restoration!
Let's Go Mets!
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
[This message has been edited by Shho13 (edited 09-18-2018).]
Yeah, I assume that the reason a lot of Fiero lenses cracked, as well as GTs lenses delaminaing was due to them being pushed my people that didn't know any better...
A common way of cracking a lens is by pushing or leaning on the curved edges of the lenses. After the UV light has cooked it the plastic becomes quite brittle and can easily cause spidering that can lead to holes and more cracking. Delamination: Now, the decoration of the lens was originally sonicly welded to the clear part of the lens. Generally, this gave a large area for the two to bond. Nature though has other ideas and can create tremendous forces when the clear part of the lens is heated with the black decoration of the lens. The expansion coefficient is not the same, therefore, one expands and contracts faster and to a greater extent than the other setting up tremendous forces the sonic welding can not hold and if it did, it would cause other problems as well. So, in my humble opinion and observations it is the different expansion coefficients that will cause the delamination. Also, you will often find the delamination starts at the top side of the lens. I suspect this is because it is more often exposed to the direct sunlight.
A common way of cracking a lens is by pushing or leaning on the curved edges of the lenses. After the UV light has cooked it the plastic becomes quite brittle and can easily cause spidering that can lead to holes and more cracking. Delamination: Now, the decoration of the lens was originally sonicly welded to the clear part of the lens. Generally, this gave a large area for the two to bond. Nature though has other ideas and can create tremendous forces when the clear part of the lens is heated with the black decoration of the lens. The expansion coefficient is not the same, therefore, one expands and contracts faster and to a greater extent than the other setting up tremendous forces the sonic welding can not hold and if it did, it would cause other problems as well. So, in my humble opinion and observations it is the different expansion coefficients that will cause the delamination. Also, you will often find the delamination starts at the top side of the lens. I suspect this is because it is more often exposed to the direct sunlight.
Thanks for the update and keep up the good work! I, as well as many others, are really looking forward to these coming out and appreciate your commitment to quality and doing things right.
kgoodyear made a comment above which I feel is only half correct. GT tail light delamination and/or sun burning happens more at the top of the lens because if you think about it, the Sun is at its hottest temperature range between the 12 to 2:00 position. So, it's not just direct sunlight. It's heat and sunlight together. Just wanted to voice my opinion. . Kit
[This message has been edited by Kitskaboodle (edited 10-12-2018).]
kgoodyear made a comment above which I feel is only half correct. GT tail light delamination and/or sun burning happens more at the top of the lens because if you think about it, the Sun is at its hottest temperature range between the 12 to 2:00 position. So, it's not just direct sunlight. It's heat and sunlight together. Just wanted to voice my opinion. . Kit
The physics of "sunlight, IR and UV" here are beyond the scope of this thread. Parts of the aging process are quite simple while others......not so much.
I do what to modify a word though. I used the word "coefficient" . "Coefficient" is a property of the product and assuming the black and clear are the same material the "coefficient" is the same. However, the words better suited would be the "temperature differential".
Not to cause a flame to this outstanding product, I saw the lenses and were impressed with them at the 35th, but just when will they begin to be delivered to those who have ordered them?? I thought they would start arriving soon, am I wrong?? I hope for the best and plan on purchasing a set just for back -up or future replacement on my 88GT, but like most people I am cautious and want to see some results, i.e deliveries, good reviews from others, etc.
Not to cause a flame to this outstanding product, I saw the lenses and were impressed with them at the 35th, but just when will they begin to be delivered to those who have ordered them?? I thought they would start arriving soon, am I wrong?? I hope for the best and plan on purchasing a set just for back -up or future replacement on my 88GT, but like most people I am cautious and want to see some results, i.e deliveries, good reviews from others, etc.
I can imagine your anticipation. I've experienced it several times through this process myself. We had an anomaly appear on our T2s and the tool maker had to remake a particular part of the tool to fix it. While it was a minor flaw, it was enough for us to reject T2. This flaw would have caused Fussy Fiero Fans to go through the roof so it had to be fixed.
While work on the tool continues other unavoidable tasks take place in the background. These tasks are important ones and are in everyone's best interest. These tasks include first and foremost safety criteria, quality control, good business practices and budget control to keep these lenses affordable. Our accounting, shipping and decorating processes are all on line ready to go.
Finally, our team is dedicated to making this product the best we can at an affordable price but not at the expense of rushed production.
------------------ Goody
The beauty of a solution lies in its simplicity
[This message has been edited by kgoodyear (edited 10-24-2018).]
They have run the T3s and from the pictures they look really good. It looks like we will be receiving them by Tuesday. I'll let you know the QA results as soon as they are evaluated.
Count me in on a set of the stock version when they are ready! Thanks to you and the team for taking on the impossible mission.(Edit) Will get on the list also.
[This message has been edited by davylong86 (edited 11-08-2018).]
Count me in on a set of the stock version when they are ready! Thanks to you and the team for taking on the impossible mission.(Edit) Will get on the list also.
Thank you for your interest. We have preorder available with no obligation. Having preorders helps with managing the project. Email keith.goodyear@bellyacrestudios.com for details.
It has been quite the adventure and the encouragement as well as the naysayers have been an inspiration to me to keep pushing. We have numerous tasks we are working on behind what you see on this thread. As soon as we can .......George will probably want to update you on the progress. I would look for something early next week.
) people have a tendency to lean on the lenses.
. Kit
)
