Recently bought an NC PRHT, love it...but, I live in South TX, so the burning orb in the sky makes my life hard.
I use a reflective wind screen thing when parked that works pretty well, but I can rarely park DIRECTLY facing the sun so the side windows let in a huge amount of heat.
Do the new ceramic tints block enough heat to make a difference without being dark? Ideally, I'd like to not even know the tint is there other than reducing heat transference. I dislike dark tint.
School me hive!
In reply to russde :
They do. I just had 4 cars done with 3M ceramic, used 70% on the windshield. Makes a huge difference and you can barely tell its there.
Its almost as good as Crystalline for 1/2 the price.
I'll upload some pics in a minute.
I drive a Mazda5, which is better described as a fish bowl. Yes, ceramic tint is amazing. Not sure I'd do the windshield though, isn't that more illegal than if your side tint was too dark?
The X3 has 50% sides and 70% windshield
M3 has 35% sides/back and 70% windshield
This one has 70% crystalline all around:
Also, regarding the windshield, I have always been very much against it and saw it as dumb move. Lately it has been so hot down here that my car's interiors have been deteriorating just from sitting outside for a few hours. I decided to give 70% a shot and I will say its impossible to know they are tinted.
The only drawback, is that if the windshield is pitted, the tint will highlight those pits way more when driving against the sun. You get used to it quick, but I noticed it the first morning I drove it.
I made sure to remove the rear view mirror and everything I could so that the tint guy could get as close to covering the whole thing as possible. Luckily he came to my house so I did not have to drive with no mirror.
These two were taken through the tinted windshield.
70% ceramic:
35% crystalline side window:
How's the reflection on the inside of the windshield at night? The ceramic tint certainly interests me.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
I have no problems at all at night, only very early in the morning I noticed the pitted windshield.
I will try and snap a picture tomorrow morning. Hopefully the pitting shows, but its not that bad, I just never noticed how pitted the windshield was before.
Knew about 3M Crystalline but 3M Ceramic is an interesting option. I'm also interested in the new photochromatic (like "transitions" glasses) tint.
Driving to CT, my left arm is in the sun on the way there and when driving back. There is a tint shop in Norwalk that offers UV film. I doesn't darken tings, but kills the heat.
Thanks for bringing this to my attention as someone who hates driving in the summer just because it gets so darn hot inside the car.
Had the 3M ceramic done as soon as I bought my Volvo, makes a giant difference, especially with a black interior. On 115 degree days, the leather is still very warm, but it's no longer scorching
GameboyRMH said:Knew about 3M Crystalline but 3M Ceramic is an interesting option. I'm also interested in the new photochromatic (like "transitions" glasses) tint.
"Transitions" tint interests me. I don't mind tint during the day but at night it's berkeleying terrible
When I got my car tinted, I learned that there are two variables. The first is how dark the tint is, and the second is the ability to block heat. There is not a direct correlation, you can have a lighter tint with more heat blocking properties than a darker tint if you want.
IIRC I am at 25%, and while it looks great, it is pretty dark at night...especially with my aging eyeballs.
Ok, its not easy to capture the morning sun, but here are some pictures.
The last one is quite exagerated as I tried to focus on the windshield itself, your eyes will look past it but you can still notice the pitting.
ProDarwin said:GameboyRMH said:Knew about 3M Crystalline but 3M Ceramic is an interesting option. I'm also interested in the new photochromatic (like "transitions" glasses) tint.
"Transitions" tint interests me. I don't mind tint during the day but at night it's berkeleying terrible
Honestly, with 70% tint at night you don't even notice its there. You can see just as well as with no tint.
I'll try and get some nightime shots, but I expect those are going to be difficult to capture as the phone will try to compensate for the lack of light.
80% on the windshield, 35% everywhere else, all ceramic tint. I was hesitant about the windshield at first, but took my detailer's advice. Glad I did. Noticeable change in how much heat the windows let in.
I should do this on all of the south facing windows in the house.
I got 70% on the windshield and 35% on all other windows. Xpel ceramic. Was a little pricy but totally worth it. Looks great but more importantly is much cooler inside.
Is this DIYable? Seems like a no brainer for motorsports use.
I tried installing tint myself once. Bought ceramic tint, tools from Amazon for 70-80, and accomplished nothing. Normal tint is hard enough to install, ceramic is near impossible. 0/10, will leave that to professionals every time.
I did 50% carbon tint, which falls between dryed tint and ceramic in terms of cost.
On my black on black e-Golf, it helps tremendously with preventing heat but doesn't have that "pitch black" look that I hate in tints. A huge benefit of carbon tint is that it doesn't fade or discolor. I'm a big fan and will use it more on other vehicles in the future.
So what can one expect to pay to have this done?
On my VW, I paid $400 for the carbon tint on all side windows plus rear window. I was told $500 for ceramic on same windows, $300 for the cheaper dyed tint.
I need to do this on my JSW, especially on the roof since the pano shade is broken in the open position.
You'll need to log in to post.
