Rear window louver
 

Can anyone say whether these things make the car much cooler? Any reduced visibility?

Sorry for the late reply (not as active on the forums). Visibility is minimally impacted by the louvers (I can still see through them perfectly fine to reverse, see what is going on behind me while driving). In switchlanez's build he posted a shot from the inside to get a sense of what it's like looking out the rear with them on (https://www.ft86club.com/forums/show...rs#post1589940).

I haven't noticed them reducing the heat any if at all (have had them on for 6+ years now in Hawaii and now Florida).

You tell us:

Attachment 223133

Attachment 223132

Visibility is not an issue. The two drawbacks with the one-piece ABS or carbon fiber louvers of this style is that the mounting plates have a tendency to lift off of the rear window glass over time and need to be reattached with stronger double-sided tape, and the fact that there is no gasket where the louver meets the glass, which will cause rattling noises at speeds above 50mph. I was able to remedy the second issue by installing some weatherstripping along all of the edges of the louver. But the noise would come back whenever one of the mounting plates loosened up.

Not sure what you mean by "cooler" though. Personally, I think they make the car LOOK cooler, but they don't really do much for the interior temperature. I suppose it may block most of the UV rays at most angles when the sun is shining overhead and that might help to prevent fading of the rear deck.

I'm in Florida also. If they don't make the car noticeably cooler then I don't see any reason to have them. Thanks for the input