[BeachM5nster]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

Yeah, stick with 40% or above. I had 30 one one car and 40 on another when I lived there. The 30 got attention from the cops but 40 rarely did and mostly from stupid meter maids.

i like caves and privacy.
and i really reallly dont like when a cowboy in his ford f250 blinds me in my rearview and sidemirrors at night with his headlights.. you have to know those guys laugh when they ride behind cars "haha look at me blinding that sissy in his fancy bmw" is what they say.
but im not getting blinded and annoyed by trucks
so my back glass always gets 5% and the blind is always up
-sides 15%

27% is the legal limit here.. i think our cops here just understand its hot as hell here and the only ppl with dark windows that get tickets are cars that are clearly being driven by a teenager with their silly stickers on their back glasses.

but i'll never put actual tinted film on my windshield, only Air80.

[omasou]

Originally Posted by Germanauto

What's the sweet spot (%) for UV protection/keeping the cabin cool and not making the cabin too dark?

I just moved to California and it's become a hassle with my DD. It already has a black interior and I don't want it to feel any more cave-like. But even with propping a couple windows and putting a sunshade the interior is so hot when I return even from 5 mins at the store.

A ceramic tint will provide the UV and IR (heat rejection) the % matters very little in heat rejection. So you could have say 70% ceramic with excellent heat rejection.

For example, look at the CIR rows of this chart and focus on the %UV and %IRER columns which has no relationship to the %visible light column. Also notice how the non-ceramic films provide 0% heat rejection regardless of how dark they are.

https://d2dulpzpbyybdb.cloudfront.ne...to%20Specs.pdf

[emptyminded42]

I used LLUMAR CTX 30% on my last DD and it was excellent, but had a slightly blue reflection to it. It was not as obvious on my dark grey metallic car, but my buddy who got the same on his black car hated it. But, it performed great and I highly recommend the AirBlue 80 on the windshield to cut down on heat coming in on the dash.

I used FormulaOne Pinnacle on my wife's Forester XT and it has been excellent, too. No blue hue, either. If you have black paint, I'd highly recommend upgrading to the FormulaOne Pinnacle over the CTX. And definitely get the AirBlue on the windscreen and sunroof glass. Any other color can use CTX no problem.

[Clark_Kent]

Originally Posted by CigarPundit

I got Presige Spectra PhotoSync 35% all around. Good stuff and I’ve been happy with it. It is a carbon ceramic. It’s grey; no blue tint whatsoever. From everything I’ve read and heard from tint shops, it’s comsidered one of, if not the best ceramic. Not cheap though.

I’ve heard good things about Crystalline too, but I have no experience with it. It does have a blue hue to it though.

I had the Spectra Photosync on my last M3 in SPH45 and it absolutely had a blue hue to it. That was my initial hesitation with getting it as I prefer a charcoal/black tint. I also had Llumar Pinnacle F1 and prefer that film over the Photosync. It was more aesthetically pleasing and the real world performance is comparable.

[sixburgh]

3M Crystalline is great. Had mine for eight years. Happy with the product.

[billnchristy]

I have been using Suntek carbon for years. It matches the back windows as well so everything looks the same.

[CigarPundit]

Originally Posted by Clark_Kent

I had the Spectra Photosync on my last M3 in SPH45 and it absolutely had a blue hue to it. That was my initial hesitation with getting it as I prefer a charcoal/black tint. I also had Llumar Pinnacle F1 and prefer that film over the Photosync. It was more aesthetically pleasing and the real world performance is comparable.

Hmm. Maybe it changed. There isn’t the slightest hint of blue in mine. I’ve been very happy with it in terms of both looks and performance.

[ShocknAwe]

If I remember correctly the %light transmission is largely independent of heat/UV reduction. I'd avoid that thought trap.

Legal issues are %LT so know your local tint laws. That said, many states allow up to 50% on the windshield which I've found CRITICAL for glare reduction with all these shitty HID/xenons on the roads these days, especially from lifted micropenis compensating bro-trucks.

I've had Huber, Llumar, 3M and feel they're all roughly equivalent. I think Llumar looks best as the Huber had quite a few imperfections regardless of the talent of my tint shop. I love the way metallic tint looks but hate the RF and cell signal blocking.

When I do it again I'll probably go with 30% Llumar full ceramic on every piece of glass again though I might stick w/ 50% windshield to keep it legal as that's pretty obvious.

[Clark_Kent]

Originally Posted by CigarPundit

Hmm. Maybe it changed. There isn’t the slightest hint of blue in mine. I’ve been very happy with it in terms of both looks and performance.

The film may have changed indeed. I see something on their website about IRD. I don’t recall that marketing term being used in the past. As a matter of background I got the windows tinted in the summer of 2017.

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

If I remember correctly the %light transmission is largely independent of heat/UV reduction. I'd avoid that thought trap.

Legal issues are %LT so know your local tint laws. That said, many states allow up to 50% on the windshield which I've found CRITICAL for glare reduction with all these shitty HID/xenons on the roads these days, especially from lifted micropenis compensating bro-trucks.

I've had Huber, Llumar, 3M and feel they're all roughly equivalent. I think Llumar looks best as the Huber had quite a few imperfections regardless of the talent of my tint shop. I love the way metallic tint looks but hate the RF and cell signal blocking.

When I do it again I'll probably go with 30% Llumar full ceramic on every piece of glass again though I might stick w/ 50% windshield to keep it legal as that's pretty obvious.

I'll save everyone some time. ZERO states allow you to tint the whole windshield up to 50%. If you put anything darker than 90% you will not meet federal laws and most new vehicles come with some level of tint on the front windshield from the factory.