need window tint advice

[IEDEI]

sorry my ignorance but i have never had any automotive windows tinted before so i am a total noob! I've been told that i should get some tinting done for our upcoming baby boy arriving next month who will have his car seat fitted in the rear.

i am thinking of just getting a 'minimal' tint applied (70% on the side windows) and mayyyyybe 50% in the rear window>

Do you guys have any photos of your tinted E82s and can you tell me what percentages they are tinted just so i can get an idea?

Also any specific kinds of tint i should be looking at? I don't want to spend a ton of money...

thank you!

[135TX]

30% front and rear side windows
15% back window and sunroof
Air tint (95% i think) on windshield
all ceramic, as I live in texas and heat was the overarching issue

[MightyMouseTech]

I have 40% (Llumar CTX 40) on all my windows, air tint (80%) on the front windshield. Not a fan of dark tint, just wanted to cut down the heat more than anything. Makes it look a little better too.

Make sure you get Ceramic tint, does not block signal, will not fade, and just looks better. You can get slightly lighter tint with the CTX 50, the next step lighter is the Air 80, you can hardly tell it is there.

This was taken in low light in the winter.

[gregthegr8]

Originally Posted by IEDEI

sorry my ignorance but i have never had any automotive windows tinted before so i am a total noob! I've been told that i should get some tinting done for our upcoming baby boy arriving next month who will have his car seat fitted in the rear.

I've never actually liked the way tinted windows look, so i am thinking of just getting a 'minimal' tint applied (70% on the side windows) and mayyyyybe 50% in the rear window>

Do you guys have any photos of your tinted E82s and can you tell me what percentages they are tinted just so i can get an idea?

Also any specific kinds of tint i should be looking at? I don't want to spend a ton of money...

thank you!

I can show you some pics as I have 30% on my IS, 40% on my R, including special llumar air 80% for the windshield.

I'd tell you to get a ceramic tint probably, maybe a llumar or pinnacle formula one tint.

While I'd say the newest and seemingly best tint is the new 3M crystalline, which has amazing heat rejection compared to others, allowing you to stay relatively light at like 50-70% for the same heat rejection as other people's like 20 and 30% films, it's REALLY expensive.

I'd tell you to maybe get a 40 or 50% all around as it'll be a slight tint and avoid the look you're probably afraid of. Not sure if you ever saw mb135is's car in person, but he had 50%, which to most people is almost hardly noticeable.

[gregthegr8]

Just saw mightymouse's pics and that's exactly what I had put on the R - 40% llumar CTX all around + llumar air 80 on the front windshield. The windshield one you can do without to save money as that usually tends to be REALLY expensive (was $200 for just windshield for me).

I got 30% llumar ctx on my IS and it's a lil dark for me. The 40% on mightymouse's pics and on my other car to me look really nice, give just a subtle tint/darkness, blocks the light/heat well, but still looks classy.

[IEDEI]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

I have 40% (Llumar CTX 40) on all my windows, air tint (80%) on the front windshield. Not a fan of dark tint, just wanted to cut down the heat more than anything. Makes it look a little better too.

This was taken in low light in the winter.

that looks pretty nice...although still a bit too dark for me..thanks for the photo! helps a lot to visualise what 40% looks like.

Originally Posted by 135TX

30% front and rear side windows
15% back window and sunroof
Air tint (95% i think) on windshield
all ceramic, as I live in texas and heat was the overarching issue

if i lived in texas i'd probably do the same...but that's a bit much for me i think! thanks though

Originally Posted by gregthegr8

I can show you some pics as I have 30% on my IS, 40% on my R, including special llumar air 80% for the windshield.

I'd tell you to get a ceramic tint probably, maybe a llumar or pinnacle formula one tint.

While I'd say the newest and seemingly best tint is the new 3M crystalline, which has amazing heat rejection compared to others, allowing you to stay relatively light at like 50-70% for the same heat rejection as other people's like 20 and 30% films, it's REALLY expensive.

I'd tell you to maybe get a 40 or 50% all around as it'll be a slight tint and avoid the look you're probably afraid of. Not sure if you ever saw mb135is's car in person, but he had 50%, which to most people is almost hardly noticeable.

i'm thinking somewhere between 50% and 70% as i guess you've gathered i don't really want a 'dark look'. If you have any photos of 50% that would be great to see.....i am even thinking of 70% JUST to block the UV light and not for much of a cosmetic difference otherwise.

[gregthegr8]

Here's some old pics from 2008 with a 50% ceramic tint:





I'll see if I can track down mb135is's pics, too though most his links are now broken.

[MightyMouseTech]

Wow, that 3M stuff has amazing specs for heat rejection. I could even go lighter and get better heat rejection!

http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/6...s-brochure.pdf

Compared to the Llumar CTX series:

http://cdn.llumar.com/drupal/llautos...140715_0_0.pdf

[gregthegr8]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Wow, that 3M stuff has amazing specs for heat rejection. I could even go lighter and get better heat rejection!

http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/6...s-brochure.pdf

Compared to the Llumar CTX series:

http://cdn.llumar.com/drupal/llautos...140715_0_0.pdf

Ya, the crystalline is really nice, but REALLY expensive at like $500-600+. Perhaps one day down the road I might have mine re-done in it cause these cars seem to get so hot inside and run 10 degrees hotter than most other cars for some reason. But I know IEDEI doesn't want to drop that kind of coin on the tint.

IEDEI - just get a ceramic 50% and call it a day. Most people won't even really be able to tell it's tinted. Then put your exhaust on. =P

[IEDEI]

Originally Posted by gregthegr8

Here's some old pics from 2008 with a 50% ceramic tint:





I'll see if I can track down mb135is's pics, too though most his links are now broken.

that looks PRETTY good....but it still looks noticeable as tinted doesn't it? at least to me it does...then again i am a 'tint virgin' so i guess they're all noticeable! ha

[gregthegr8]

Originally Posted by IEDEI

that looks PRETTY good....but it still looks noticeable as tinted doesn't it? at least to me it does...then again i am a 'tint virgin' so i guess they're all noticeable! ha

Just trust me as an older, experienced tinter who has broken in many tint virgins (god that sounds dirty), just get the 50% all around and take the decision-making part of it out of your hands. 70 is so light and will do so little, it's almost not worth it. 50 will be perfect for you as it's just a subtle hint of tint and should meet all your goals and alleviate your fears. These cars look so much better with a lil tint, too. You can thank me later. Wish I could find a picture VO 1M with 50% tint.

E-mail mb135is to see if he can send/show you pics of his car with the 50% tint. All his photos seem to have been removed.

[IEDEI]

Originally Posted by gregthegr8

Just trust me as an older, experienced tinter who has broken in many tint virgins (god that sounds dirty), just get the 50% all around and take the decision-making part of it out of your hands. 70 is so light and will do so little, it's almost not worth it. 50 will be perfect for you as it's just a subtle hint of tint and should meet all your goals and alleviate your fears. These cars look so much better with a lil tint, too. You can thank me later. Wish I could find a picture VO 1M with 50% tint.

E-mail mb135is to see if he can send/show you pics of his car with the 50% tint. All his photos seem to have been removed.

Thanks Greg!! 50% seems ok but I sent that photo to my wife and she said it's too dark!! lol!

do they have a 60% perhaps??

[gregthegr8]

Originally Posted by IEDEI

Thanks Greg!! 50% seems ok but I sent that photo to my wife and she said it's too dark!! lol!

do they have a 60% perhaps??

Ha! Then just don't do anything and lie to her and say you had it done really really lightly. =)

I mean, if you really just want to block UV light and such, find somewhere that has llumar air 80 and do that on all the windows. It's almost undetectable at all, but still has good heat rejection compared to other, much darker tints. For comparison, and you can see the stats below as an example, the air 80 rejects the same amount of heat as their CTX 40% ceramic me and mightymouse got.

http://cdn.llumar.com/drupal/llautos...140715_0_0.pdf

Here's a video of llumar air 80 all around on a mercedes:

This one the two front side windows have that air 80 and the two rear sides seem to have a wincos 60. Wincos is a high end ceramic tint that's really thick and some hate to work with it, but just to give you an idea of what a 60 vs 80 looks like on the same car. So, some films do come in a 60.

[IEDEI]

update:
did 70% Carbon on the sides and rear. am super happy with it....very very light tint; overall looks very OEM.....am satisfied with it!

[ShocknAwe]

Looks nice, but man, I couldn't do that. I'd feel like I was in a fishbowl.

[IEDEI]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

Looks nice, but man, I couldn't do that. I'd feel like I was in a fishbowl.

haha....oh i don't mind being seen

[cptgonzo]

Don't have any pics of the tints, but my rears were already tinted (15% I believe), Decided to go 15% as well on front doors. Looks great and gives alot more privacy. Matches the rear tints and looks mean. It has lightened up a bit due to the sun cooking it, but Helps a ton when parked in the sun with a front sun guard on.

[Yeineken]

Originally Posted by cptgonzo

Don't have any pics of the tints, but my rears were already tinted (15% I believe), Decided to go 15% as well on front doors. Looks great and gives alot more privacy. Matches the rear tints and looks mean. It has lightened up a bit due to the sun cooking it, but Helps a ton when parked in the sun with a front sun guard on.

Any chance you can post pictures of the front windshield tint? I've been thinking of having mine tinted. But I worry about driving at night with it.

Here's how it sits now. Looks really bad due to the rain.

[MightyMouseTech]

If you get the Blue Air 80, you honestly can not tell it is there.