Tint recommendation?

[AwdPwns]

Im about to get a 50% tint and i'm trying to figure out whats the best ones. I can choose from regular,carbon,ceramic. Regular is 225, carbon is 250 and ceramic is 500. Obviously its going to be between the ceramic and carbon but i cant decide which one is better. Does getting ceramic justify the price? Btw if anyone lives on long island and can recommend a quality shop that would also be helpful! Thanks

[Trevor K]

50% is pretty light. Ceramic is better at keeping the heat out, but I couldn't justify the price, personally. I have 20% and love it. A little too dark at night but worth it all day long. Try searching, there are many threads about tint that have pictures...

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...inting-Thread?

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...nt-suggestions

[evanpm]

50% tint is completely pointless IMHO. I've had 20% for the last 5 years or so and 35% before that. No visibility issues day or night. The S4 has 20% sides and a 5% rear window. The limo tint on the rear is very hard to see out of, even in the day, but with the reverse camera, most problems are solved. I would highly recommend 20-35%. I would not spend the extra money for ceramic tint. I have always done regular Llumar or Global and they look great.

[AwdPwns]

Well the thing is I personally am not a fan of dark tints. That's why I'm going for 50% unless there's 40% out there.

[S4MURAI]

I have Suntek CXP 45 (a carbon film which meters at 39%) all around, keeping it legal in NC, and have been very happy with it. Previously I'd had 3M Crystalline on other cars, but the Suntek has about 80% of the heat-rejection properties of the Crystalline for about 50% the price. For the windows all around I paid $250 (would've been $450-500 for the 3M). I'd personally prefer it a bit darker, but don't want to bother with the possibility of failing inspection and having it re-tinted. You might check out Huper Optik, which I would've seriously considered if there was a dealer nearby.

[Riu]

I see you are from Long Island.

In NY state it is illegal to have ANY tint on your front two windows. The backs can have as much tint as you want.

I will tell you right now, you will get pulled over on a highway on Long Island for it quick. State troopers on the highways look for it.

[ENV²]

I always did 20% but now I do 35% it looks classier and not so dark that it looks like I am taunting the cops or hiding something.

[ahkim]

While I have a darker tint (about 35%), I've got 50% on another car with a black interior and it "looks" plenty dark. I was thinking it was kind of pointless but I think it still looks good. The key is the black interior. My S4 w 35% looks VERY dark due to the smaller windows and black interior.

[bengtc]

I have huper optik 30 and its perfect, 63% heat rejection.

[brooklyn86]

30/35 tint, IMO, is right in sweet spot between being too light and too dark

[AWDLover]

One recommendation is that once you decide on the tint type, go look at it in person (at least the raw samples, on a car even better) to decide on the percentage. After looking online at cars with various tints, I was dead set on ~40%, but when I saw the particular tint I was getting in person I went with 30%.

[AwdPwns]

I see you are from Long Island.

In NY state it is illegal to have ANY tint on your front two windows. The backs can have as much tint as you want.

I will tell you right now, you will get pulled over on a highway on Long Island for it quick. State troopers on the highways look for it.

Exactly why Im looking to get 40-50% max. You only get pulled over when you have really dark tints20-30%

[dparm]

$500 for ceramic....ouch. I wouldn't bother, the benefits it will provide are too marginal to justify that kind of money.

[dparm]

30/35 tint, IMO, is right in sweet spot between being too light and too dark

Agree, 35% is "just right" and looks fine.

Here's my B8 with 35%. As you can see, it's not pitch black but is still dark enough to provide privacy. I had 15% when I got the car (previous owner, and illegal) and it was ridiculous -- looked like black cardboard.

[jfabes]

you guys that live in upper north east that are concerned with heat rejection and wasting money on ceramic tinting....LMAO. Rest easy, you don't live in even a remotely warm climate! I have a metalized film 35% now and the heat rejection is about as you can expect when its 100 degrees every day from May to Sept with 90% humidity. I've had darker tint and ceramic on previous cars and to be honest, i couldn't really tell the difference. if the car is 5 or 10 degrees cooler inside....so what. I mean, does it really matter when the dashboard is 120 degrees even when using a sunshield???

OP...50% is not worth paying for. go 30 or 35%, it's really just for looks.

[Stereodude]

Well the thing is I personally am not a fan of dark tints. That's why I'm going for 50% unless there's 40% out there.

Llumar has a 40% ceramic tint.

I went with Llumar Air Blue 80 on all my windows and Llumar 30% ceramic on my moonroof. I wanted the heat rejection without making it dark.

[pbadss]

Llumar Air Blue 80 on windshield and front windows / 3M Crystalline 40 on rear windows.

Great heat rejection, ended up being $600 installed

[B8_Jim]

I've had darker tint and ceramic on previous cars and to be honest, i couldn't really tell the difference. if the car is 5 or 10 degrees cooler inside....so what. I mean, does it really matter when the dashboard is 120 degrees even when using a sunshield???

OP...50% is not worth paying for. go 30 or 35%, it's really just for looks.

My $0.02 - I would disagree. A car without tint here in the summer makes the AC work very hard mid-day when the sun is beating down. It will take longer to cool down - and I don't like to be in the direct sun without tint. With ceramic tint, the car starts out cooler (granted only just a bit), but cools off quicker in mid-day driving, and makes the sun angle a non-issue for me. Driving a loaner without tint (an A4 very similar to mine) made it very clear how much it was helping and convinced me of the benefit. F1 50% ceramic tint still rejects 49% of total solar energy, the 35% goes up 5% to 54%...

$500 sounds steep for ceramic - but even at that I'd say it's worth it. Had 35% before on my A4, and from the start I thought it was a bit too dark - both from looks and night visibility backing out of a lit garage (bright forward view made seeing out the sides/back more difficult). Visibility wasn't bad, but a few times I wished it was a bit lighter. This time I got 50% and it's just about right. With the all black interior & headliner it looks darker - the S4 might look a bit lighter than the S5 due to more glass area ...

I looked into the specs of Huper, Wincos, and F1 - after you reduce them to actual light transmitted vs. the quoted value (for instance - F1's 50% is actually 54% light transmitted) - they are all very close to the same heat rejection around 50% - as you go down toward 30% or 20% the Huper is a better performer in general - but only by a few percent...

Can't help with "carbon" - assume that would be like the "Comfort" F1 series - http://www.formulaone.com/pdf/FormulaOneSpecSheet.pdf. If so, it's about a 15% difference in total solar rejection - 15% out of about 50% seems fairly significant to me, but that's a value decision for the OP to make

That's my opinion, so take it for what it's worth - which is very little.

[image1.8t]

Go over to tintdude.com and ask away on there. I'm in the uk but have many tinting peers in the states and I'm sure one will be near you and willing to help

[AwdPwns]

The main reason I'm getting tints is because I think it looks good and the heat reduction is also a benefit.

[turr520]

I got Hüper Optik ceramic tint, for $400. 35% I believe. Totally worth it.

[Vandalrg]

I had 35% ceramic on my GTI and went with 35% carbon on my S4. Both are white cars and I've had them both through the warm summer months up in Boston. I do not think the ceramic is worth it for the additional heat rejection here. I doubt you would even notice a difference. Maybe further south you could, but I think it's a waste of your money. Plus the ceramic also had an annoying tendency to make the window look dirty when looking out the in certain conditions.

[b6onboost]

50% is very light. I had it on my last car and you can barely tell a difference from stock. Isn't worth getting in my opinion.

I'd recommend 35%. However many companies make 40-43% which is the highest worth doing.

[AwdPwns]

yea ill definitely have to see samples of 35, 40 and 50 before i do anything.

[vintagespin]

35% Huper Optik ceramic all around:



I have a black interior (Grey upper half). The tint changes with the lighting. Sometimes it's very reflective. It's fantastic and I wouldn't recommend anything less.

[bengtc]

here is huper optik 30% in direct sunlight.

[Extreme-AutoWerks]

It's good to see there was some good input on this. Very good info.

My $0.02 - I would disagree. A car without tint here in the summer makes the AC work very hard mid-day when the sun is beating down. It will take longer to cool down - and I don't like to be in the direct sun without tint. With ceramic tint, the car starts out cooler (granted only just a bit), but cools off quicker in mid-day driving, and makes the sun angle a non-issue for me. Driving a loaner without tint (an A4 very similar to mine) made it very clear how much it was helping and convinced me of the benefit. F1 50% ceramic tint still rejects 49% of total solar energy, the 35% goes up 5% to 54%...

$500 sounds steep for ceramic - but even at that I'd say it's worth it. Had 35% before on my A4, and from the start I thought it was a bit too dark - both from looks and night visibility backing out of a lit garage (bright forward view made seeing out the sides/back more difficult). Visibility wasn't bad, but a few times I wished it was a bit lighter. This time I got 50% and it's just about right. With the all black interior & headliner it looks darker - the S4 might look a bit lighter than the S5 due to more glass area ...

I looked into the specs of Huper, Wincos, and F1 - after you reduce them to actual light transmitted vs. the quoted value (for instance - F1's 50% is actually 54% light transmitted) - they are all very close to the same heat rejection around 50% - as you go down toward 30% or 20% the Huper is a better performer in general - but only by a few percent...

Can't help with "carbon" - assume that would be like the "Comfort" F1 series - http://www.formulaone.com/pdf/FormulaOneSpecSheet.pdf. If so, it's about a 15% difference in total solar rejection - 15% out of about 50% seems fairly significant to me, but that's a value decision for the OP to make

That's my opinion, so take it for what it's worth - which is very little.

[phanker]

35% Pinnacle F1 ceramic. Just right I think. Looks classy on the S4. Visibility is great in daylight and surprsingly actually better at night too as it eliminates all the headlight glares.
Had 20% before and found it too dark at night.

[jfabes]

My $0.02 - I would disagree. A car without tint here in the summer makes the AC work very hard mid-day when the sun is beating down. It will take longer to cool down - and I don't like to be in the direct sun without tint. With ceramic tint, the car starts out cooler (granted only just a bit), but cools off quicker in mid-day driving, and makes the sun angle a non-issue for me. Driving a loaner without tint (an A4 very similar to mine) made it very clear how much it was helping and convinced me of the benefit. F1 50% ceramic tint still rejects 49% of total solar energy, the 35% goes up 5% to 54%...

Umm, you live in league city, i'm 30 minutes from you....my response was directed at the OP who lives in the northeast. of course you have to have a tint here, its a milli0n degrees every day. i grew up in ohio, been in texas for 11 years, i didn't know what window tint was until i moved here. i'm being facetious of course...but my point is that of course ANY tint makes a difference, but i think that if he's going to go for it, he should do something that you can actually tell is on the windows. at 50%, your basically cooling off the interior for 3 months of what, 80 degree weather with a few hot days near 100...and you won't even be able to see the tint. if he does say 35%, it will look great, but still give him some heat rejection, which will suffice for a northeast summer. also, your too hung up on the heat rejection numbers, you sound like the guys at the tint shop :) the reality of it is that all these tints reduce the heat, some more than other...but will it be noticeable, especially at the additional cost.

[AwdPwns]

I will stop by a few shops but from what i heard i will be getting 40% tints.

[AwdPwns]

http://automalltintspecialist.com/270511.html Just found this link and it was very helpful to show the differences between the tints back to back. What do you guys think?