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The 2012 Window Tint Thread

395K views 924 replies 326 participants last post by  Tiger-Heli 
#1 · (Edited)
Let's see 'em! [headbang]
 
#236 ·
Just got contacted today by Auto Links in Scarborough - ( http://auto-links.ca/ ) I was going to go to Laser Tint in Woodbridge but Auto Links is my first choice. From what I read on a few different car sites including the people from this thread they are the best tint shop in the city. They can do my Focus Sedan with Formula1 Pinnacle Ceramic in any shade of my choosing for $300. Laser tint wants much more for the same job.

Anyhow, long story short I think I'm going to go with Auto-Links when I get the car. It's just getting a time on my day off that makes sense. They told me it would take 2 to 3 hours to do the job so timing against rush hour is critical. I can't wait though, think I'm going to stick with 30%.
 
#238 ·
I got mine done with suntek carbon XP 45 all around and 80 on the windshield. I love the difference it makes with the comfort of the interior in the sun. The premium ceramic and hybrid films like CXP, pinnacle, crystaline, huper..etc can block more heat at 50% than the cheaper dyed or metallic films at 15% I think they are worth it if you are concerned about the visibility, but if you like the looks of it dark, you may want to save some money.
The shop did a great job on all but the windshield, and I have not decided yet if I should pursue them for a re-do. They have very detailed criteria that must be met for them to do it, and I signed the contract. I went with the suntek because the specs were neraly identical or better than the other premium films, but it was much cheaper. Got the entire car done for $400, and was quoted over $800 for 3m Crystaline which was my 1st choice. I was limited to that shop because no one else carried any 80% films (except for the crystaline) I don't know if the issue with my windshield was only caused by the install, or if the film is defective as well. I am seeing wavy distortions around things.
 
#239 ·
I really have no knowledge of window tinting...been searching around for a place to get it done in Raleigh and got quoted $419 for the Llumar Pinnacle Series ceramic based tint (all side and back windows). That sounds a bit high to me, but as I said I really have no knowledge in this area. What do you guys think?

Really all I want is a tint that retains its color, blocks heat, reduces glare, and does not interfere with my car functioning in any way (I heard some tints can interfere with electronics but I don't know how much of that to believe or worry about). They also quoted me $239 for a dyed tint with a guarantee that it will maintain its color.

Also would appreciate opinions on which tint brands I should be looking at.
 
#242 ·
I don't think those prices are too out of line. If it is a good shop, it is worth a little more.
The pinnacle is a premium brand and is marked up accordingly. If you are really thorough, you can look up the specs for each film like I did.
The ceramic (best) and metalized films (often called HP) will block more heat per a given darkness than the dyed films. I have heard the rumor that the metal films can block GPS and cell phones, but I don't know how true it is. I am sure there could be some signal loss, but I can't see it completely blocking it.
The HP films also seem to have more reflection on the inside which can be annoying to see like the dash or your arms reflected in the windows. The ceramics have a tiny bit less of this effect, and the dyed films win in this category.
If you never had your windows tinted before, I do want to warn you that the back window will have distortion due to the film bending around the defroster lines. It is really only noticeable at night with the headlights behind you. I do not know of any way to avoid this happening.

Anyway, I settled on suntek brand CarbonXP or CXP which is a lesser regarded brand than llumar or 3m, but the specs were great for the price.
For example, the main spec you can compare for heat reduction is TSER or Total Solar Energy Reflection. This is the percentage of energy repelled from the inside of your car by the film. My CXP 45 (40%) has a tser of 50% this is the same as the HP at 1 step darker (30% illegal here) and beats the darkest dyed film they make which is 6% with a tser of 46%. If i got the dyed 40% the tser is 34. So my choice is to block one third of the heat or one half of it. I would have to have the darkest illegal limo dark dyed tint to even come close in heat savings to a legal (in my state) CXP.
Here is a comparison of CXP to some other premium films:
http://www.suntekfilms.com/common/files/SunTek_indv_SS_auto_comp_CXP.pdf
Any that are listed on there (and some that aren't like huper optik and 3m crystaline) I think would be good. I chose only by price, and the prices may be different near you. If all the brands were the same price, I probably would get 3m crystaline or pinnacle, but my local shops wanted almost twice the price.
I am very happy with my CXP45 sides and back windows, but not happy with the CXP80 i had put on the sunroof and windshield. I think it was an install issue, not a film issue. Suntek does not warranty install issues, others brands might. The whole job cost $400. It would have been around 250 without the windshield. I found 3 shops in the area for suntek, 1 for 3m and 1 for pinnacle, and a bunch that didn't know (or wouldn't say) who made their film. Only 1 of the 3 suntek shops had the 80 for the windshield, so I went with them, and they messed it up. d'oh
3m crystaline 40% quote was 800 w/windshield @70%
pinnacle 40% quote was around $600 w/air blue 80% on the windshield.
 
#280 ·
hyronk: Have a similar Ti and wanting to get tinting done. Can you post some additional pics from different angles so I can see how it looks? The one shot looks good, but wanted a front-angled shot if possible.

Thanks in advance!
 
#248 ·
Don't know the factory tint level but when my tint guy put on some samples and tested it they were coming in at 2-3% lower than the tint applied if that helps. A 35% tint showed up on the meter at about 33% for example.
 
#278 ·
Brands?

I just got my 2012 Focus last week, and I'm hoping to have the windows tinted soon. What I'm not sure of is which brand to go with? I am looking at Formula One Pinnacle, but other dealers have said they use Johnson or SunTek for their tints. Is one brand better or worse than others?
 
#279 ·
I just got my 2012 Focus last week, and I'm hoping to have the windows tinted soon. What I'm not sure of is which brand to go with? I am looking at Formula One Pinnacle, but other dealers have said they use Johnson or SunTek for their tints. Is one brand better or worse than others?
The answer is not a simple "this brand is better" unfortunately. It's all about what needs you are trying to fill and how each individual tint fills that need. Formula One Pinnacle is one of your high-end tints...it provides great heat rejection and is ceramic based so won't mess with any electronics. If those are qualities you are after then its a great tint to go with. If you need even more heat rejection there are even better tints out there for that (I think the 3M crystalline ones have superb heat rejection)...if you are looking just for the blacked window look there are a lot of tints that will fill the same function at a much lower price point. Look at the spec sheets for each of the tints you are interested in and compare them to see which provides the best performance for the qualities you are interested in at the lowest price.
 
#281 ·
white ti

i have a white ti and am getting the windows tinted. am conflicted as to what i want to get percentages wise -- i'm in california, and on my old zx3 got a fix it ticket for getting the front ones done. but it looks so good when all of them are done.

thoughts?
50% front, 20% everything else?
35% the whole way around?

grrrr...
 
#282 ·
thoughts?
50% front, 20% everything else?
35% the whole way around?

grrrr...
I'm going 35% (maybe 40%? 45%?) all the way around. No need to make the back any darker than the front for me... plus, I think it looks goofy.
 
#283 ·
I cannot wait to get my 2012 Sterling Grey SE tinted...

I honestly could drool over this thread all day... I am hoping to get this done to my car before 2011 ends...

the biggest question is... 20% or 35%
 
#290 ·
I'm currently sitting in the waiting room getting 30% Formula 1 pinnacle put on my car. One hour down, probably another hour to go. Can't wait to see the results.
 
#291 ·
went 30% ceramic tint all the way around 50% on the whole windshield and a 35% strip. ill get pictures soon. 250$ cash
 
#292 ·
Here's the results I ended up with: Formula1 Pinnacle 30% all around- overall I'm super surprised by the results. No scratches, bubbles, warps - not one and I looked over each window for like 6 minutes. There is some minor streaking that I can barely see, even when I squint. I'm told it should disapear very soon as the film dries. Overall though I couldn't be happier with the results. It looks like factory. [clap]

Here are some pics, I'll post real ones if the weather co-operates later. Today it's been super cold and raining.



 
#294 ·
Well just got the car back from the tint shop, I went with the Formula One Pinnacle 35. The car looks amazing, and just from the short ride home I could tell a difference in the temperature level inside the car(its 85 & sunny here in NC today). I was scared that the 35 would be to lite but is turned out to be exactly the look I was goin for; private feel while still looking factory and classy. There is no hit of green, blue,or bronze which I did not want just a nice charcoal gray and it is not too reflective like some other tints Ive seen. The legal limit here in NC is 35% on all windows with a 3% leeway. The installer told me it read right at 32% so I'm kinda pushing the envelope. I guess the factory glass is around 97% light transmission. As everyone else here has said and may be needless to say, I highly recommend this brand of tint.

Would love to post pics but I have no camera or smart phone to do so.
 
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