Is non-acoustic windshield better for defrost?

[Gaidheal]

Driving home last night with 2 inches of snow going in fast and hard the wife and I chatted about how clear the windshield was. Defrost was on but the temp and the fan were low and the windshield was absolutely free of accumulating snow. I've never driven a vehicle in those conditions before with a completely clear windshield.

I had to wonder if the LOUD, non-acoustic windshield might transfer heat through the glass faster for better defrosting? It ties in with my semi-regular issue of the auto high beams not working unless I'm blasting the max defrost for 10 minutes or so on my morning commute.

I guess if my wife had pulled the trigger on the lariat she wanted we could compare, but she decided the xlt was a better value.

Any thoughts? I'm not convinced but it was surprising and thinking back to all other snow events I've driven the Maverick in so far it seems repeatable - I just never really thought about it. There hss never been any accumulation of snow on the windshield outside the sweep of the wipers.

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[710-oil-614]

I've had both windshields however one was ecoboost (non-acoustic) with the wiper bay heater and one is a hybrid without the wiper bay heater. Also worth mentioning I had an engine block heater with the Ecoboost that I used in the colder months.

All of that said - I feel that neither 2.0L or 2.5L heat up particularly quickly or even achieve warmer weather operating temps in the winter, obviously the 2.5 even less with it running on and off.

My Mavs are largely garage kept but the times when they have needed defrost I wouldn't be able to tell a difference between the two as far as performance. Maybe I'll give the nod to the ecoboost solely because of the wiper bay heater.

 

[scharris99]

A slightly different layer of plastic embedded in the glass does not seem likely to change the heat transfer function in any noticeable way. Keeping a cold windshield cold so the snow doesn't stick makes a HUGE difference.

 

[Gaidheal]

That might be it.

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