Window Tint

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F14Scott said:
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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How long does it take for your SE to make the interior bearable on those days?
 
Texas22Step said:
…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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A local but reputable tint shop put the 3M Crystaline tint on my sunroof for 100 bucks. Works great. Let’s in enough light to lighten up that cabin if wanted but blocks most of the IR heat from the sun. When the stock shade is pulled it is almost opaque.

Well worth the money to me.



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Thinking of add window tint when I get film rap on the car. My question is what % for life in the north. Would like to do all but the windshield. Pa is a 70% state no sure what that means.
 
The lower the % the less light comes in (darker tint); the higher the % the more light comes in (lighter tint). Some states have different % for the front and back windows. A reputable tint installer should help with this. Typically, they also have a tool to double check their work (the same one police officers use).
 
Dang, the PA tint laws are terrible. 70% no matter which window.

Everywhere I've lived, the front windows coul be 40-50% and the back as dark as you want. I've always the darkest allowable on the
front windows and 20% on the rear windows and the hatch. (And limo tint on the sunroof when I had one.)
 
Updated pics including the sunroof. I flipped a coin in getting the Ceramic vs the Crystaline 3M tint. Crystaline blocks more IR heat so maybe should’ve gotten that on the sunroof. But it’s not as dark as the Ceramic.

Happy with the Ceramic so far as it’s a big difference over stock. Pics don’t do it justice in how much darker and cooler it is inside.
IMG_6531.webpIMG_6530.webpIMG_6535.webpIMG_6534.webpIMG_6532.webpIMG_6533.webp

New versus old. Neighbor’s 65 Stang.
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I got Llumar Air 80 film on my new SE. Driving at night is getting more difficult as I get older, so my preference would have been to have no extra tint at all. Then again, I've had multiple skin cancer surgeries on my face and my UVA meter showed that the side windows in my SE block very little UVA. (The windshield, being laminated, blocks almost all UVA.)

I went to a tint shop that offers 3M to test the 3M Crystalline 70 (they didn't carry the 90) and the 3M Ceramic IR 70 with my UVA meter. The guy there also gave me a sample of the Llumar Air 80, a film I hadn't been aware of. It turned out that the Air 80 blocked more UVA than both 3M films (Crystalline came in second). According to a Llumar spec sheet, the Air 80 is also just as effective at blocking heat as their darker films.

I'm not loving the magenta tint I sometimes notice while wearing my polarized sunglasses (film itself appears to be slightly bluish), but it's a good trade-off to avoid high UVA exposure through the side windows.
 
Here in the UK the law on tints is very precise, and I know a few people who have legal tints, yet were pulled over because the police thought otherwise!
I got the added darkened rear glass as an option, but would like to do the front ones (to a lesser degree) just to even it up a bit.
Like Godfrey, I've had my fair share of skin cancer ops, and those front windows certainly burn your arms, so I'll check with my local agent later.
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Godfrey, you did the Air 80 on the windows? It's a dumb question, I know, it's just my local tint place appears to only do the Air 80 on windshields.

And, more generally, tint experts, is there any point to adding something like that (it's not cheap) to the windshield, or does it already block enough UV light (as Godfrey measured) and heat, glare...?
 
TempoHouse said:
Godfrey, you did the Air 80 on the windows? It's a dumb question, I know, it's just my local tint place appears to only do the Air 80 on windshields.

And, more generally, tint experts, is there any point to adding something like that (it's not cheap) to the windshield, or does it already block enough UV light (as Godfrey measured) and heat, glare...?
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Yes, all windows other than the windshield. I'll post some photos. I just called the shop to make an appointment to have the same film put on my GTI and I asked if they carry the Air 90. I was told that they used to, but there was no demand for it because it doesn't block as much heat as the Air 80. I also don't know how the quality compares to the 3M films, which were both more expensive (especially the Crystalline); I chose the Air 80 for the slightly better UVA performance. All three films I tested blocked most UVA, but the Air 80 blocked the most.
 
Photos with Llumar Air 80 on all four side windows and hatch window. The last picture is with front windows rolled down to show rear tinted window compared to no glass at all.

I have similar photos taken before window film was installed and I like the better visibility and clearness with no film, but the film blocks most UVA and, according to Llumar, rejects 60% of "IR Energy" (heat from solar infrared radiation), which compares favorably to their dark films. What it doesn't do well at compared to darker films is glare reduction--virtually none.

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Windows rolled down:
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