Houston, TX

[RobinF]

I've been looking for a good window tinting situation for my nifty new car. Here's what I have decided upon:

Photosync (called Solar Adaptive Transition Film on the quote)
75% on windshield and sun roof.
35% on side and rear
Installed by EVS Motors on Bellaire Blvd.

I like Photosynch for its heat rejection qualities. The way I see it, Less Heat = Less AC = More Range. Also, I'd enjoy arriving at my distant Texas destinations without a sunburn.

I like EVS Motors because they're the only guys in town who install Photosync. Also, I visited their shop. They were very friendly and professional. The shop was clean and fully enclosed. Vehicles present were Hummer, Porsche, BMW, and Lexus. They claim to have done Teslas and were aware of the unique curvature of the windshield.

Warranty is lifetime against material defects, bubbling, purpling and cracking.

Quoted cost is $1,349 which seems kinda high. However, like my car, I'm far more concerned about quality than price.

So, am I making a mistake or should I dive in?

The reason the quote was so high is because of your desire to cover the windshield and roof which is not advisable. First of all it's illegal in Texas to cover the windshield so you should not do that. The roof is already tinted down to a 15 level and has IR rejection properties too it does not make sense to tint the pano roof.
Otherwise I agree that EVS does a good job and Photosync does a great job at heat rejection. I had Photosync 45 on my side windows and 35 on rear hatch in July and it has been very nice.

 

[Stenn]

Thanks for the good advice, Robin. I may change my mind 15 times about what tint to put where, but it's good at least to have nailed down the product and installer.

 

[TexasEV]

I second that. Don't waste money putting Photosync (or any film) on the windshield or pano roof.

 

[JMG]

I beg to differ about the windshield. I love my tint on my windshield. I did get it on the pano, but I probably wouldn't do that again so I agree there, but the windshield definitely.

The place I got mine done, he has a demo set up with a heat lamp. You put your hand under the piece of glass with no tint and you can definitely feel the heat coming through. Then he slides a piece of glass over with the 75% tint (thats on my windshield) and the heat is almost gone. I'd say probably 80-85% gone.

It's invisible, so no chance of getting a ticket and it does not affect visibility at all during the day or night. Hopping in my wife's SUV on a sunny day and driving into the sun, I could feel the sun on my thighs very noticeably compared to my Model S.

So in the blaring sun, my Model S rejects just about as much heat as possible. That winds up saving energy as well as increased comfort.

Just my two cents!

 

[taurusking]

I have 3M Crystalline film on the windshield and I definitely love it..worth each and every penny..definitely felt the difference on a loaner MS that I drove 2 weeks back

 

[RobinF]

I too would like to have more IR filtration on the windshield. It's the biggest window on the car after all. But in Texas, Sec. 547.613 makes that a misdemeanor. I don't know if anyone has been prosecuted for using clear film to screen IR though.
I just accept the the moderate IR screening that is part of the glass on Teslas. That's the metallic layer between the glass layers which gives fits to RF based toll tags and garage door openers. :frown:

 

[JMG]

I agree Robin, but its just the same as having too dark of windows on your side windows. Except, that is something that can be seen. The windshield tint is invisible and not detectable, therefore is poses no risk (The reason the law is there obviously is to prevent those from actually tinting their front windshield to make it darker, thus less safe).

I'm sure that if it were detected by an officer, he most likely would write me a ticket for having tint on my windshield below the appropriate line. However, he'd have to be sitting on my dash and looking in the corner to be even able to see it. So I see it as a less than 1% chance I'll ever get a ticket for it, and I'm able to utilize the benefits of it.

I'm far more likely to get a no front license plate ticket :biggrin:

 

[RobinF]

I agree Robin, but its just the same as having too dark of windows on your side windows. Except, that is something that can be seen. The windshield tint is invisible and not detectable, therefore is poses no risk (The reason the law is there obviously is to prevent those from actually tinting their front windshield to make it darker, thus less safe).

I'm sure that if it were detected by an officer, he most likely would write me a ticket for having tint on my windshield below the appropriate line. However, he'd have to be sitting on my dash and looking in the corner to be even able to see it. So I see it as a less than 1% chance I'll ever get a ticket for it, and I'm able to utilize the benefits of it.

I'm far more likely to get a no front license plate ticket :biggrin:

Agreed. I've often wondered though; what about stickers on the inside windshield like inspection stickers. How are those dealt with?

 

[stephenpace]

They cut a small hole where the stickers go so the sticker goes on the window itself and not the tint. You have to be careful when removing the sticker not to knick the tint, though.

 

[Stenn]

I just took a road trip from Houston to San Antonio and back on a clear, sunny day in a friend's minivan with tinting on all windows except the windshield. The sun shining down onto myself through the windshield was pretty friggin' hot and very annoying. I'm getting my windshield tinted. End of story. However, I will attempt to conform to the spirt of the law, if not the letter, by getting the lightest tint possible. At the tint shop, I was given a sample of 75% Photosync which I flipped in and out of my field of view. If it wasn't for the wrinkles and fingerprints, I'd have been hard-pressed to tell the difference. An officer of the law probably won't be able to tell either, especially since my interior is all-black. Also, I'm guessing that most police officers approaching a vehicle are more worried about getting shot or run over than they are about windshield transparency as long as they can see what they need to see. Through my 75% Photosync tinted windshield, they'll see my hands on my steering wheel just fine.

JMG, I appreciate hearing your experience with pano tinting and will remove that feature from my wish-list.

Now, about that pesky registration/inspection sticker: The folks at EVS said they could remove it and that I could then re-attach it using a clear piece of plastic that sticks to the windshield using electrostatic cling. Sounds good to me!

I'll be making an appointment to have my car tinted as soon as possible. Until then, I still need to decide what %transparency I want on the sides and rear. Decisions, decisions...

 

[TexasEV]

I just took a road trip from Houston to San Antonio and back on a clear, sunny day in a friend's minivan with tinting on all windows except the windshield. The sun shining down onto myself through the windshield was pretty friggin' hot and very annoying. I'm getting my windshield tinted. End of story.

What does driving in a minivan have to do with the Tesla windshield? The Tesla windshield has a metallic IR rejection layer to reduce the heat. That's why people have trouble with toll tags on the windshield. I'd bet the toll tag worked just fine on the minivan.

 

[Stenn]

What does driving in a minivan have to do with the Tesla windshield?

I experienced similar, although less severe, exposure when driving my Tesla to and from Corpus. I wonder what the attenuation is at different wavelengths for a stock Tesla windshield. The Tesla website says only, "UV and infrared blocking safety glass windshield".

 

[JMG]

My tint guy did not cut out a square for it, because that would make it more noticeable. I just reduced the sticky of the sticker by sticking it and resticking it several times. So it's just barely on there and will come off without any problem.

I agree TexasEV about the windshield already having some IR rejection, but still there is a big difference. I drove a loaner Model S with no tinting and you could definitely feel the difference of the sun coming through the windshield compared to my own.

Stenn, it was 75% on my windshield and it is invisible.

This is my installers facebook page. Scroll down to the posts in June and July and he has several pictures of Tesla's he's done with 75% on the windshield, and he has pictures from inside the car. https://www.facebook.com/speedshieldusa/timeline

 

[Stenn]

Thanks for the good info, JMG! I checked out your installer's FB page. Your guy does really great work and I found the pictures to be most illuminating. In particular, there was a 70D that's the same interior and exterior colors as my car which gave me a good impression of how my car might look after tinting.

Also, this quote caught my eye:

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]"Most factory windows and windshields are claimed to be "clear" at only 70% visible light transmission. So, the 75% Spectra Photosync is 5% more clear than a factory windshield or window. That's why this product is completely legal for your windshield. The Texas DOT law states that "A clear (un-tinted) UV film is allowed anywhere on the front windshield without a medical exemption being required.""[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Sure enough, I looked up the law and that's [/FONT]exactly[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] what it says.[/FONT]

 

[TexasEV]

Thanks for the good info, JMG! I checked out your installer's FB page. Your guy does really great work and I found the pictures to be most illuminating. In particular, there was a 70D that's the same interior and exterior colors as my car which gave me a good impression of how my car might look after tinting.

Also, this quote caught my eye:

"Most factory windows and windshields are claimed to be "clear" at only 70% visible light transmission. So, the 75% Spectra Photosync is 5% more clear than a factory windshield or window. That's why this product is completely legal for your windshield. The Texas DOT law states that "A clear (un-tinted) UV film is allowed anywhere on the front windshield without a medical exemption being required.""

Sure enough, I looked up the law and that's exactly what it says.

That makes no sense. It may be clearer than a windshield when held up next to it, but not when it's on top of it. If you apply the film with 75% light transmittance to glass that has 70% transmittance, I believe you end up with .75x.7 or 52% transmittance.

 

[RobinF]

Thanks for the good info, JMG! I checked out your installer's FB page. Your guy does really great work and I found the pictures to be most illuminating. In particular, there was a 70D that's the same interior and exterior colors as my car which gave me a good impression of how my car might look after tinting.

Also, this quote caught my eye:

"Most factory windows and windshields are claimed to be "clear" at only 70% visible light transmission. So, the 75% Spectra Photosync is 5% more clear than a factory windshield or window. That's why this product is completely legal for your windshield. The Texas DOT law states that "A clear (un-tinted) UV film is allowed anywhere on the front windshield without a medical exemption being required.""

Sure enough, I looked up the law and that's exactly what it says.

That's odd. What section of the legal code did you see this? I was looking in Sec. 547.613 and I can't see that. TRANSPORTATION CODE CHAPTER 547. VEHICLE EQUIPMENT

 

[Stenn]

That's odd. What section of the legal code did you see this? I was looking in Sec. 547.613 and I can't see that. TRANSPORTATION CODE CHAPTER 547. VEHICLE EQUIPMENT

Here's what the window tinting guy was quoting:
https://www.txdps.state.tx.us/rsd/vi/consumerinfo/windowTint.htm

Click on "Windshield" and see #5.

 

[RobinF]

Here's what the window tinting guy was quoting:
https://www.txdps.state.tx.us/rsd/vi/consumerinfo/windowTint.htm

Click on "Windshield" and see #5.

Well there you have it! Interesting.

 

[JMG]

Yeah he does a TON of Teslas. My own MS is in the pictures of the 4 Tesla's out front. That day I was there to pick mine up after some work and he said, "Hold on! I want to get a picture" So he pulled out all the Tesla's he was working on, except for one. He had five there at once and wanted to get all five of them in the picture. But one was doing a software update and couldn't be moved, so the Ferrari 458 photobombed it.

 

[Stenn]

...the Ferrari 458 photobombed it.

I wondered what that weird car in the back was.