BoostLover99

There are those of us who live in states where it is legal to get a very dark tint in some of our windows - this post is for y'all because it took me a *heck* of a lot of time to find this information.

And let's be honest folks, if you don't know what you're talking about at the tint shop, they're just going to sell you what they have (or if it's not a good shop, what they make the most money on).

The problem with most high-performance (i.e. rejects a lot of solar energy) films is that they're often metallic. Additionally, I think we can all agree that in the high solar energy states (like NV), a dye-based film doesn't stand much of a chance of lasting more than 5 years (without turning purple or bubbling up) being parked out in the sun every day for 5 days a week.

PS - "VLT" = visible light transmission; "TSER" - total solar energy rejection

Here's what I found (an excerpt from an e-mail I wrote to the shop):

Regarding the high performance films, I did a little more reading last night and found that any amount of metal in the tinting film may affect electronics (not limited to radar) such as radio, satellite reception (radio & navigation), and even cell phones. The radar interference wasn’t desirable and finding out about the cell reception makes metal-based films a total non-starter for me.

There are a number of high performance films out there that promise color stability as well as high heat rejection values; you are basically limited to either ceramic nanotechnology or carbon nanotechnology based films, which are of course rather expensive.

Here are some of the films I’ve researched FYI:

3M Color Stable (CS) – Carbon based: http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3...beT4DCJBL6BVgl They occasionally brand this as “Scotchtint.”

Huper Optik – Ceramic based:
http://www.huperoptik.com/AutoProduc...t=NaviAuto.inc

Formula One (Made by CPFilms, Inc.)- Ceramic based:
http://www.formulaone.com/

LLumar LLumastar AT – Dye based(!):
http://www.llumar.com/na-eng/Automot...r-styler.html; http://www.llumar.com/PDF/English/LL...t%20-%20NA.pdf

The challenges:
1) While Huper Optik is a very highly, high heat rejecting, low reflectivity, and highly respected film, it’s extremely expensive and doesn’t come in shades darker than 35% VLT (correct me if you know differently).

2) Formula One is probably second only to Huper Optik in terms of “respect” and offers similar performance; the challenge with F1 is that they don’t make a film any darker than 20% VLT (again, correct me if you know differently).

3) LLumastar is dye based and while it does allegedly have a warranty, I think we want to avoid dye based films.

I wasn’t able to find TSER ratings for the 3M film on their US website; they seemed to have more information in Australia and I did finally come across a document for their CS films: http://www.epdwindowfilm.com/content/csspec.pdf. While not as amazingly “rejecting” as Huper Optik, 3M does appear to offer the VLT I want in their CS5 film (the actual light transmission value is closer to 8% VLT).

The lesson, if you want a dark limo tint on your windows, maybe look into 3M CS.

And get an installer who uses a machine to cut the film; using a razor blade to trace out your windows can end up nicking your cutting your window/door seals.

mrcoolhandsome

iTrader: (5)

Good research, too bad my car is tinted.

yahu

iTrader: (55)

^^ what mrcool said, plus mine is also garaged when not driving. I'm not sure what my tinter uses but I have had tint on all my vehicles and most of my friends for the past few years done by him and so far so good.

Corey

iTrader: (10)

I had the 3M CS on my last RR Evo and loved it. Some tint give off a greenish hue to them where the 3M looks black. My SE had tint on it already and it has that greenish hue to it and it drives me crazy. Ecspecially being lighter on the front windows. This tint will be removed and I will have 3M replacing it just like my last Evo.

timmiii

iTrader: (3)

Damn, nice info. I'm not sure if i want to do the tints myself or not but it doesn't seem hard. I don't want it past 35% anyway, it's kind of retarded when you have to roll down your windows to see at night especially when it's cold as f*ck outside.

EvoDan2004

iTrader: (94)

i wanted to tint my windows and im looking for a 25% tint. whats a good brand to go with here??? i dont want it to look green or anything like the above post. i want it to look black like it should be. anyone???

samj601

iTrader: (56)

i wanna redo my tint. its suppose to be 35% but at some angles u can see right through the windows like the tint is not even there.

-PMP-twitch

this sux i live in NY and i get stoped every week for tints and to tell you the truth there not even that dark...booo

Unregisterd

iTrader: (1)

I have Llumar tint on my Accord and the Evo. The Accord looks as black as the day it was tinted 5 1/2 years ago, as does my fiance's Exploder after like 6 years. Granted, we don't live in a high solar energy state like NV, but the Exploder has never seen a garage in its life. Our tint guy warranties it for life, so if we ever have a problem w/ it fading or bubbling he'll re-tint it for free. For the record, we both have 15% all around w/ 35% down the front windshield.

sem23tex

iTrader: (6)

I have the Huper Optik 35% on my VW. It looks great without being too dark and really kills solar gain. It is expensive and takes two weeks or longer to cure.

yikez

iTrader: (2)

Huper Optik makes ceramic tinits darker then 35% .. as dark as 20% infact.