Window Tint

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mikeg0305

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Has anyone gotten their windows tinted yet on their new SE’s or any Mini for that matter? Please share pics.

We got 3M Crystalline on our 2020 Ford F-150 and thinking of going with the same because it really cuts down in the infrared heat from the son. Figured would be helpful in the summer months to help keep our SE cooler.

Thoughts?

Mike



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We just had Llumar Formula One Stratos 30% installed a week ago on our 22. Supposedly this film is comparable to 3M Crystalline as far as heat rejection. Was going to get Crystalline but kept reading how it has a blue hue to it. We were looking for the charcoal look.


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Sorry, I was replying to @Hutch's question. Certainly we all have our own ideas and desires when it comes to customizations, it's all good.
 
Puppet - all good and sorry if I sounded snarky. On our first warm sunny day here in Baltimore I was surprised at how much heat was coming through the sunroof. While this is good for those cold winter days it was shocking to me that a car that relies on efficiency and energy conservation to function would not have a better way to manage the sun.

Little annoyed at Mini not at you.


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mikeg0305 said:
Puppet - all good and sorry if I sounded snarky. On our first warm sunny day here in Baltimore I was surprised at how much heat was coming through the sunroof. While this is good for those cold winter days it was shocking to me that a car that relies on efficiency and energy conservation to function would not have a better way to manage the sun.

Little annoyed at Mini not at you.
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Have you considered a Zippee Shade? It attaches to the sunroof with small suction cups and blocks out a lot of heat. You can still open up the sunroof with it attached. I had one on my 2003 R53 and it worked pretty well.

http://www.zippeeshade.com/
 
I got a new top for my jeep and was disappointed in the heat coming from it. Made me wonder if the ac will have to work harder in the mini.20210509_162940.webp
 
My experience (granted, northern sun), is the MINI may warm up but it cools down really fast once you open the windows/moonroof. There's also the option with the SE of climatizing from the app before you head out to the car, although that will cost you a little bit of battery if not plugged in.
 
That should be fine for home, but out and about might lose some miles. Just have to wait and see.
 
A great trick (which many of you probably know) is to press and hold the unlock button on the key fob. It will not only roll down the windows, but open the roof as well. It seems like this is even faster at bringing the interior close to ambient than preconditioning. That said, if you want colder than ambient, you need to climatize well ahead of your departure.
 
A great trick (which many of you probably know) is to press and hold the unlock button on the key fob. It will not only roll down the windows, but open the roof as well. It seems like this is even faster at bringing the interior close to ambient than preconditioning. That said, if you want colder than ambient, you need to climatize well ahead of your departure.
 
mikeg0305 said:
This is just my opinion. But on a bright sunny hot day the perforated sunshade sucks. The $75 I paid for both the UV and IR protection makes a big difference to the level of radiant heat I can feel above my head.
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I agree with you. Plus, here in Texas the summer sun is just plain HOT, and the MINI sunroof (which I wouldn't buy again by choice, but the only SE available had one) transmits a lot of heat into the interior of the car. I plan to add both the IR tinting that you used AND a further shade as well to supplement the perforated OEM sunshade. A member below suggests a "Zippeeshade," but that seems to be pretty pricey. I have ordered a different one on eBay for a lot less $ that is supposed to fit the SE and will update this post after receipt and a few days of use.
 
Texas22Step said:
I agree with you. Plus, here in Texas the summer sun is just plain HOT, and the MINI sunroof (which I wouldn't buy again by choice, but the only SE available had one) transmits a lot of heat into the interior of the car. I plan to add both the IR tinting that you used AND a further shade as well to supplement the perforated OEM sunshade. A member below suggests a "Zippeeshade," but that seems to be pretty pricey. I have ordered a different one on eBay for a lot less $ that is supposed to fit the SE and will update this post after receipt and a few days of use.
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UPDATE: I received the new, very inexpensive sunroof shades that I linked above via eBay. They are simple fabric shades similar to windshield shades sold in big box stores. Installation was very easy (they fit very well in my SE), and while the OEM perforated shades can operate with these installed, there really is little point in that the whole objective is to block heat from entering the passenger cabin via the sunroof in the hot Texas summer sun. I am not yet able to judge how well these will work on the heat side of things since it has been rainy and rather cool here for the last few days, so I will update this again sometime after Memorial Day, when the real world evaluation can be made. In the meantime, the local MINI dealer wants $250 to add a further (ceramic) tint to the sunroof, so I plan to skip that as hopefully unnecessary and way too expensive.
 
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I'm going to hold off and see how much of a problem the summer heat will be for me in SC. I usually don't go places where I could not plan ahead and climatize the car before I need to get back in it. And most of the time it is in my garage with me working from home still.
 
Data point: parked outside on a couple of sunny, 90-degree Texas afternoons, remotely climatizing my cabin spent 3 percent of my battery, each time. I have ceramic on all my glass, including the sunroof, I use a foil-type front windshield shade when I'm parked, and I keep my windows and sunroof closed.
 
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