Window Tint - Does it really help

See attached.

 

Now there is information that can be used. Thank you for finding and posting the data. That should go somewhere permanent and easy to find.

 

A moderator already compiled the data in one of the knowledge base articles.

 

Here in Dallas, Texan, tint is a must. No tint here is suicide. BUT ... you need to get the good tint ... the metal film type. The cheap stuff is a total waste of money and does not last.

I can be in direct sunlight coming in the driver window ... and not feel the heat UNLESS I roll the window down. Then it's like sitting under a heat lamp. Saves a lot of work for the A/C too.

 

Here in Florida it is not an option. Best invention yet.

 

Last year the ambient temperature was over 100°F here in Deep South Texas when I decided to tint in order to save my right arm; I went with medium grey rear side & back, light grey on driver & passenger and medium grey for the 6" strip across the top of the windshield. On leaving the local Toyota dealer I was pleasantly surprised to note that the A/C felt as if it were working more efficiently.

 

With this car tint is a must lots of glass! did mine 50%on the sides 40% back.Big differance! Stays cool AC works better.Highly recommended!

 

Do you have a photo showing showing the 40% tint on the rear?

 

Tint greatly reduces UVA and UVB along with heat. In hot climates i wonder how non tinted prius interior materials hold up if not parked in a garage or shade.

 

Check out post #81. The factory windows are already tinted in the glass with UV cut rate of 89% or better.

 

Had Ceramic tints installed on mine with 15% rears and the fronts with 35%. My arm left arm has been very thankful ever since and AC stays at two bars even at 100+ temps.

 

I've not seen anyone else mention this, but I have dark tinting on another car and I often leave expensive camera equipment in the car while I have lunch or run other errands. The dark tinting prevents others in the parking lot from noticing my personal items in my car and I think it prevents those around the car seeing in and getting ideas about breaking in.

The downside is that if you're older and driving at night, in areas where there isn't good lighting, I'm finding that I roll down the front two windows before pulling out. If there was a car without their lights on or a motorcycle, I'd have a hard time seeing them quickly.

 

The flipside argument, is that you have your windows tinted BECAUSE you have something in the car you are trying to hide. Granted, most people aren't going to break in unless they see something they want, but it could really go both ways.

I have 35% fronts, I believe, and I find it hard to see at night out the fronts, esp in the winter months. If I could do it over again (which I could, but extra costs involved), I would have gone a little lighter on the front.

It definitely does help the perceived temperature in the car, when the sun isn't blaring right onto you at full intensity. This in turn, allows you to bump the A/C temp up a few degrees to compensate, thus reducing the load on the compressor and a little more efficiency.

 

Sorry not a great photo! But here it is anyway.Car stays cooler with AC!

 

After having the Huper Optik film for about 10 days, I can say that the A/C definitely runs a lot less in warmer weather. In 80-90F weather, even when set between 70-72F, the fan only operates at 2 bars to keep the car cool.

I have Huper Optik 50 on the front windows and 30 on the rear windows. Visibility is fine both in the daytime and in the nighttime.

 

Is the haziness gone? What made you choose the Huper Optik over FormulaOne Pinnacle?

 

Haziness disappeared completely after about 4 days of being parked outside for 12 hours at a time. Once the haziness dried up, the tint also become slightly less reflective which also makes it appear somewhat lighter.

Three reasons for choosing Huper over F1 Pinnacle: 1) I've had a car tinted with F1 Pinnacle before and wanted something different. 2) In order to get the same heat rejection that I have with Huper 30, I would need to get F1 Pinnacle 15-- which may be too dark for nighttime visibility. 3) My F1 Pinnacle dealer could not fit me in for 3 weeks, and I wanted to get the job done before that.

 

Any truth to this thread? The reflective bluish color of the Huper Optik on that BMW is worrisome. Given you've had the F1 Pinnacle on a previous car, how do the two compare in color and reflectivity?

 

Yes and no. The reflective blue color, or haze IMO, is most prevalent when the film is wet and has water in between. Once the water dries out the film has a very neutral, medium carbon color. My installer used both a normal squeegee and a heavy-duty one (looks exactly the same as a gas station window squeegee), which greatly accelerated the drying process since a lot more water was removed.

I can try and do a video walk around of the tint sometime this week if that helps.