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Windows film expectations

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by cleverchimp, Jun 2, 2019.

  1. cleverchimp

    cleverchimp Junior Member

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    I tinted my car with Huper C40 all around besides the windshield and felt it wasn’t performed as expected. What is the right expectation for this tint?

    I did a quick test using a handheld thermo and these are the results between C40, No Tint and Factory tinted privacy glass :

    (C40) - Surface : Around 128F, Inside : Around 124F
    (NO FILM) - Surface : 120F, Inside : Around 132F
    (FACTORY) - Surface : Around 127F, Inside : Around 126F

    In conclusion that it help reducing the temperature around 10F and seems to perform equally with factory tinted glass at maybe 20%. Measuring with a solar meter, 360BTU outside, after the film is 62. I also feel the heat from the side when driving the car, is this expected for a $500 tint?
     

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  2. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    I just got our 2019 tinted with Llumar ceramic at the same shop that does Huper tinting. He recommended the Llumar this time instead:

    What did you do to your Prime today?

    I can take my IR thermometer with me this week and see where the temps end up(y).
     
  3. cleverchimp

    cleverchimp Junior Member

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    That will be cool! I love to see your result, if I know all this beforehand I would go with LLumar CTX too. It’s just not worth paying double the price for HUPER. What percentage of shades do you get?

    I take the readings from 3 different cars just to be clear. The other thing I noticed that ceramic film is hotter to the touch, it seems to retain the heats. I think it’s a gimmick in a way, did you tint the front windshield too?
     
  4. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Had the IR thermometer with me the last 3 days at work and here’s what I got:

    Day 1:
    outside temp: 91 F
    Interior temp: 114 F (measured on the front cloth seat)

    Day 2: (used sun shade for windshield as the only difference)
    Outside Temp: 93 F
    Interior temp: 111 F

    Day 3: (used sunshade with front windows cracked)
    Outside temp: 88 F
    Interior temp: 98 F

    Of course I don’t have a comparison without the tint, but that’s a baseline;).

    Front windshield is tinted with the CTX at 80%.
    Front windows are 50% CTX
    Rear windows and hatch are 15% CTX:
    8457D9B5-9039-4927-BDB1-264EE0E37AE8.jpeg 0CBF1149-483B-4A93-8313-930E6E9E7DA3.jpeg 69156803-1F23-4C99-9881-B0316E208639.jpeg

    It’ll be in the low 100’s next week, so glad I got the tint last weekend(y).
     
  5. cleverchimp

    cleverchimp Junior Member

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    I was measuring surface glass temperature, the weather the day I did the test is 80F, the car soaked in the sun for several hours. It does looks like your number is a lot better then mine, but your rear is 15% while mine is 40% all around.

    Not sure if they are the same, but does LLumar Air Blue 80 is the same as CTX 80? I was wondering what do you think about the front windshield before and after the tint? Can you feel the difference if you put your hands on the windshield?

    I was about to go with Xpel Prime Plus 70 or 3M Crystalline 70 (but heard reports that crystalline make hazy effect), might go with air 80 like you did depending on the prices.

    Did the tinter says anything about what if your windshield need to be fixed for rock chips by a company like safelite. Would you need to redo it? Looks nice, how much did you pay if you don’t mind sharing.
     
  6. m8547

    m8547 Senior Member

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    The window surface will always be hotter with tint, because the tint is absorbing heat. But at least in theory about half that heat radiates out and half radiates in, versus no tint where the heat makes surfaces in the car hot. The exception would be a mirrored tint, which would be a hazard to other drivers, or a tint that reflects infrared more than visible light, like a low-e coating. But I'm skeptical that "ceramic" tints can have any effect on heat.
     
  7. cleverchimp

    cleverchimp Junior Member

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    I was skeptical at first then I’m starting to hear many peoples saying that ceramic is basically God send, even though there are out there that bash it but there are more who worships it. Either they have low expectations, they don’t know better or those are comments from fake account that the tinters themselves create to promote sales.

    The problem with ceramic is its absorbing it a LOT of that energy and the car need to be moving to dissipate those heat on the outside of the glass. The inside feels like a convection oven, it’s feels like the sun hitting you as you dont have any tint...but it’s probably not, its the heat that were absorbed and convected through the glass...I’m not sure 100%.

    To make things worse, to tint your car with ceramic cost more. The average joes do not have the tools needed to accurately measure the performance of the tints. This make it a good market for people who like to sell snake oils, you pay for one thing but you actually getting something else.
     
  8. evpv

    evpv Active Member

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    My window tint guy said ceramic is just a scam to get more money. He noted that the infrared lamp test is not the same as sunshine.

    It would be fairly simple to get a 12" x 36" piece of glass, apply normal tint to 1/3, ceramic tint to 1/3, and nothing on 1/3. Then set the glass in the sun over a black piece of paper and temp gun the surfaces.
     
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  9. benagi

    benagi Active Member

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    I have the Huper Optik tint in my windshield and all I have noticed is I don’t need sunglasses as often. I was hoping my dash temp would go down. I still can’t put my hand on the dash when the sun is out and it’s over 80 degrees . Now I’m looking for a dash mat. Has anyone purchased a dash mat and if so, are you pleased?.
     
  10. lextoy

    lextoy Active Member

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    surface temp of the glass is not a good way to assess the performance of window tint.
    the tint stops the UV and IR from going thru the glass. it can only do it two ways, absorb it, or reflect it.
    most tints work via a combo of the two.
    you need to compare interior temps, with and without tint.
    also it doesnt matter what level tint you get, if you leave your car in the bright sunlight long enough, its gonna get hot.
    main goal is to reduce UV damage to interior(and you) and reduce temps somewhat, and privacy.
    i do find with my formula 1 pinnacle tint (15) and photosync (75) windshield, that i can cool the interior much faster and be more comfortable with the AC at a more mild setting, and fan at a lower speed. thus less heat is getting in.
    without the tint the black dashboard was like a broiler radiating heat constantly, now its not that hot to begin with and cools down completely when i'm driving. which is exactly what i was hoping to accomplish. i had an 08 prius, it was never tinted, and the dash was always annoying in the summer. now on my 18 with the photosync, dash isnt a broiler anymore.
     
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  11. cleverchimp

    cleverchimp Junior Member

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    I completely agree, even that kind of test wont be feasible for the average joe. We wont have access to the materials.

    What percentage did you use on your windshield? The dealer told me to get C50, I’m sure it will attract cops. I heard the C70 have haze issues, I will be looking for cheaper tints like LLumar Air 80 for my windshield. I use a sun screen from covercraft while parking. It definitely help, the thing though I have it for 2 months and the shades buckled a bit in the middle. It still does it jobs, so I dont mind.

    I totally agree with you, thats why I get the solar meter....however my HO dealer use that method. I mention this to him, he said that he cares more into how it feels...the numbers on the meter means nothing to him. This is from a guy that have been tinting for 30 years...I was shocked.

    He said automotive film is mostly absorbing the heat, I did confirm this with the heat gun. How much did you pay for the windshield on photosync 75? I told him about that film is better then HO spec wise and he said its a lie, it was a lower grade film made in Korea. The number were tested independently and the wavelength it was tested is not as wide as HO.

    My problem is, after spending $500 on a high end tint, I would like a result like yours...or at least close (since I have not tinted my windshield yet) but instead when its 90 out there the AC need to be max out with high fan, maybe 1-2 bar lower then without the tint. I thought the tint must be defective, if this is what expected I would not spend that and go with cheaper brand instead and I’ll probably see the value proposition reducing the cabin temperature by 8F to 10F.
     

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  12. lextoy

    lextoy Active Member

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    on the prime the windshield is the biggest window, if its not tinted you arent going to notice much improvement, not that much sun gets in side windows... they get tinted just for show...lol
    get the front done, you will like it.
    i paid 500 for the rest of the car, and 250 for front for photosync. but the llumar air 80 or similar will also be good, i got photosync because they had it, no idea if its better or not, but they say it is. air 80 or air 70 would be fine on the front. my photosync is the 75, i think i could have gotten away with the 65...
    for the front its important that its a high quality film so the clarity is good...
    also depending on your state, if you have inspection stickers, that can be problematic.
    i do have stickers in PA, willsee next year how much of a hassle it is ;)
    i like the light blue color of tint on the windshield, i would not like the khaki tan color of some other tints, photosync is light blueish, very very faint.
    air 80 is a bit more blue i think ?? keep in mind the coloration of the tint when doing windshield, you will be looking at it every day !!
    i almost got huper on my prime, but was afraid the rear window shape would cause distortions...
    post up more pics!!!
     
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  13. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    The tint guy I use wouldn’t attempt Huper on the hatch as it is too thick;).

    He’s done over a dozen Prime’s so I listened to his experience (y).
     
  14. cleverchimp

    cleverchimp Junior Member

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    Yea, $250 for front windshield is a steep...half the price for all windows combined. I think I will go with something around $150. I heard photosync works like a transition sun glass, it get darker when it exposed to UV, the limitation is that that it can do so much transition so it has a life.

    The rear window indeed does get some distortions between the defroster lines but its not that bad.

    True, I got one bubble that I need to get it fixed. At least the guy did it in one piece.
     

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  15. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    So this is all Huper Optik?

    What tint % all around?

    The windshield was $200 for me, but when it’s 100 F outside, the AC isn’t running full blast to maintain 76 F inside temp, so I know it’s working :).

    Looks great though(y).
     
  16. cleverchimp

    cleverchimp Junior Member

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    Thanks, its ceramic series 40%...you got air blue 80 for the windshield right?

    I’m usually do LOW setting and 1-2 fans on 75-80 degrees day and usually need to do 3+ fans on 80-100 degrees days.

    The thing about this car is that its a pain to switch from hot to cold setting quickly on the HVAC system. You need to press that up and down button multiple times to get to where you need to be, I wish they did it with a round dial button like most other cars.

    its usually cold in the morning and hot in the afternoon. I should have gotten advanced with heated steering wheel.
     
  17. lextoy

    lextoy Active Member

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    i agree the photosync is a bit overpriced, but i wanted to try it, for the highest TSER, on the windshield. if could have tried a few different tints i'm sure i would have found one that felt like it was working as good, for less money... i will always choose the cheaper option that is almost as good as the best, rather then pay up for the best, that is only a few percent better than #2.
    but i had no ability to try out tints. and didnt want to be disappointed since i know the front dash on the prius is a broiler !!!
    so i folded and got the photosync. not disappointed. but will always wonder if air 80 or air 70 would have been just as good for 100 less;)
    tint is a once per car option for me, and i keep a car 10 yrs or longer. so hopefully i'm a cool customer for a long time, makes me feel better after dropping 750 on tint !! yikes. plus i did the wifes car the same. so that was 750X2. luckily we got good rebates etc. so it was less painful.
     
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  18. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    The air 80 is performing well so far;).

    A lot better than having nothing at all. I notice the difference when driving in particular(y).
     
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  19. Pdog808

    Pdog808 Active Member

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    Exactly right. If you don't do the windshield you won't see huge gains while the car is sitting static. I was a little iffy on doing my windshield, but now I won't have a new car without it.

    All I can say is that I was driving to Northern Cal while the outside temperature was 110 degrees F and I had my A/C set to 76 degrees (Eco mode) and auto. The fan never went about the 2nd bar.

    70 percent windshield, 35 % doors and 20% rear. Huper Optik Autobahn.
     
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  20. James1964

    James1964 Member

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    Do these tint levels provide a bit of privacy from other drivers? I know that's not the intent of tint but it's an added benefit to some folks.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
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