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Tint
- Thread starter wayneshainfeld
- Start date
Yes. The car looks incomplete without the front windows tinted.
Also, if you live anywhere sunny, you’ll need it.
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journey.w.vic
Member
I highly recommend the setup I have on my Y..
3M "Ceramic IR" Tint on Lift Gate and Rear Windows at 25%
3M "Ceramic IR" Tint on Front Windows at 30%
3M "Crystalline" Tint on Windshield at 70%.
With this combo, my Y stays significantly cooler and I can physically notice the increase in UV ray protection... Now, anytime I ride in a car without tints, or lower quality tints, I can feel the sun's intensity on my skin.
As an added bonus, I've had the car for almost a year and everything still looks brand new on the interior with absolutely zero fading from the sun (if this is an issue on these cars).
Total cost: $750 at solar tint in South Florida
3M "Ceramic IR" Tint on Lift Gate and Rear Windows at 25%
3M "Ceramic IR" Tint on Front Windows at 30%
3M "Crystalline" Tint on Windshield at 70%.
With this combo, my Y stays significantly cooler and I can physically notice the increase in UV ray protection... Now, anytime I ride in a car without tints, or lower quality tints, I can feel the sun's intensity on my skin.
As an added bonus, I've had the car for almost a year and everything still looks brand new on the interior with absolutely zero fading from the sun (if this is an issue on these cars).
Total cost: $750 at solar tint in South Florida
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Easiest path is tinting the front two windows 30% to match the rears. get a roof sunshade if you want to keep the interior cooler.
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I checked with a few local installers in my area and they were unwilling to tint the front windshield. Three different shops said that because of the electronics located at the base of the windshield, they had run into problems after tinting previous windshields. Two outright refused to even touch the windshield and one said I would have to sign a waiver if any of the electronics were damaged because of the install. I chose not to ceramic tint my front windshield. Luckily, I live in the Pacific NW and it doesn't get too hot here, so I did not go forward with windshield tint. If I lived in AZ or CA, I would have continued to look for a shop to do it. Just be aware.
I ceramic coated all of my other windows. I matched the front windows to the tint level of the back windows. I did not do the glass roof. I really like the way it looks!
I ceramic coated all of my other windows. I matched the front windows to the tint level of the back windows. I did not do the glass roof. I really like the way it looks!
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My tint guys did not even use any rag or towel to catch all the water dripping when installing the windshield tint. The speaker mesh area was soaked with water and I am sure a lot of water went inside the dashboard.
It has been 5 months so far and no issue at all.
I don't understand why people are worried so much on this. Also, is there any documented issues with windshield tinting and water damage to the electronics under the dash?
I am not even sure if that small amount of water can damage anything under the dash. it is not like pouring a bucket full of water at all.
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journey.w.vic
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Solar Tint. Its in South Miami. There's a Haitian dude that's been running the shop for years. He also owns a Tesla.
Most everyone I know in the area goes to Solar Tint and has been for years (I've taken all my cars there). They do high end stuff all day long and are professional.
Bonus: go on a Tuesday in the morning. They'll be slow and willing to haggle on price.
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Yep. I pulled up beside '22 MYP with the 30day paper tags on and that's precisely what he did. Granted he didn't know if it was 20, 25 or 30%.. but he did say that he told the installer to match the tint on two front windows.. to whatever percentage came from the factory on the two rear windows and glass hatch. Most importantly he paid $80 to do both front windows. Exactly what Im looking for!
There is no way Im paying $750 for tint or for all this ceramic stuff. I've tinted most of the vehicles I've purchased over the past 25 years.. (about 10 or so cars) and have never paid more than $250 to do all 4 windows + rear glass.. which includes an absolutely huge Lincoln Navigator.
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Welcome to "Present". You might be able to get some cheap/backyard tint guys to do the all side windows and rear glass with cheap Chinese eBay film (non ceramic of course) for about $300-$400 (big maybe though).
$750 for all windows including the windshield with 3M ceramic tint (or any other brand name ceramic tint film) is actually great price.
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No thanks! His tint job looked fantastic.. and it's exactly what I’m looking for. I also certainly do not believe all other non-ceramic tint materials suddenly because horrible because 3M came along with ceramic tint. Another thing I’ve noticed that is popular with anything Tesla.. its that people love to spend thousands adding some type of plastic wrapping to their car. From $7000 PPF wraps to $1000 tint jobs.. if you've got a Tesla there is a good chance you've also spent a thousand adding some of this stuff.
Im sure the car installers absolutely love this trend. I'm personally not a fan and definitely not a customer.
I'll take the $80 tint job that does exactly what I need it to do: which is primarily match the front windows to rear windows in color.. and give me the extra privacy I'm looking for. So I don't feel like Im sitting in a fishbowl when stopped at stoplights.. or sitting in a parking lot eating lunch or charging up my vehicle. I'm not at all concerned with whatever super duper protection promises ceramic tint claims to offer.. and I will never keep the car long enough to even notice the difference with a fading interior. That's before even mentioning my car is parked in my garage for 22 hours most days.
If I lived in Florida or Arizona.. had no home garage.. and parked my car in the driveway or on the street.. with it baking in the sun all day long. Maybe I'd be interested in extra protection from the newer ceramic stuff. But even then every tint product I've used over the past 25 years has met my needs just fine. That includes that Navigator I mentioned.. which I owned for 15 years and eventually traded with 200K miles. I bought that truck so long ago.. it was when Tom Brady won his first Superbowl. That car actually did sit in the driveway and parked on the street.. as it was too big to fit in a typical 2 car garage. And the interior still held up well considering age & amount of use. I would go right back to the exact same shop & use those same materials again without thinking about it twice. If I could remember where I even got it done lol.
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Do they remove the existing tint on your lift gate and rear windows before installing the 25%? Also, how much does 70% on windshield affect viewing out of it? Never tinted a windshield before.
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I tinted my front side windows at 20% with XPel ceramic. It seems to match the factory rears exactly. Of course, it still appears a little lighter because the windshield is not tinted and lets a lot of light in.
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The rear windows are not tinted with any film. They are smoked within the glass, soi there's nothing to remove.
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journey.w.vic
Member
They do not remove existing tint, and installing the 25% makes for a deep, dark tint, which is the look I went for. You have to figure with the existing tint, plus the extra 25%, you're at about 5% light passage. What's really nice is even in low light, with a flashlight, or pressing your face up against the glass, you can't see into the trunk through the lift gate.
On terms of the 70% on the windshield, I notice no perceivable difference in viewing out of it, during the day or at night. What I do notice with the crystalline tint on the windshield is virtually not heat sinking through the glass. Even in 90+ degree days in south florida, the glass remains warm as opposed to hot.
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journey.w.vic
Member
If you're looking for color (aesthetics) and privacy, I totally agree with you. There is no need to spend big on tints.
To your other points, because I live in South Florida, spending the extra money on ceramic or crystalline products is well worth it. If you ever have some free time or find yourself needing new tints, stop by a higher-end tint shop. They will have a heat lamp on display which allows you to rotate different tints between you and the lamp to feel differences. No tint is hot, baseline tints is hot, ceramic is warm, crystalline is no heat penetration. Feeling the difference is an eye opening experience, at least it was for me.
The best reason for the ceramic or crystalline tints is to mitigate UV ray and infrared heat on your skin. As I said in an earlier post, anytime I get in another vehicle with no tints, or baseline, aesthetic tints, I can almost instantly feel the sun beating down on my skin. Whereas in my car, it can be noon, 95*F, and a cloudless day in Miami and I won't even notice the sun in my car. This fact makes for an extremely comfortable experience in the car.
As added an bonus, with the ceramic and crystalline products, with the Tesla overheat protection off, the car's interior simply will not get as hot, nor hot as quickly as a car with no tints or a car with baseline aesthetic tints. Needless to say, in South Florida, this is a huge plus. Also, in South Florida, preserving the interior from UV damage is a concern (mainly for aesthetic purposes, as interior UV damage won't likely decrease the value of your car overtime). On my last car (2013 Golf R, purchased new, had "color match" grade tint, had for 8 years, and mainly garaged), the interior blacks were significantly fading after 4 years. There were points where you could start to rub away the top layer of interior trim because of the heat...
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All great points!
I'm certainly not discrediting the effectiveness of ceramic tint or 3M products. Both have a great reputation and generally speaking in life.. you get what you pay for. That said the law of diminishing returns is still very real and I just don't find it necessary that everyone suddenly needs to spend $750 on new tint job. As you pointed out all that Im looking for color & privacy. That's about it. So Im fine with regular "old" tint materials for my needs.
What I do find is that many Tesla owners have no problem spending extra or more for the most premium products available when it comes to protecting their vehicle. And while that's none of my business, its definitely over-kill in many circumstances. Perfect example, I've lived in either DC or NYC for the past 25 years.. even daily drove a '07 C6 Corvette from 2011 to 2018.. and sold it with 98,000 miles on the clock. This is what the super-cheap GM rubber/plastic/vinyl/leather interior in all black looked when I sold it almost exactly 4 years ago. Bear in mind this car had no tint whatsoever and an all-glass roof straight from the factory floor that would the interior absolutely boiling hot in the summer. That car would get so hot in the summer you couldnt touch the steering with your bare hands.. until the A/C had a few mins to cool down the entire interior.
And this car was only garage kept for 5 of those 7 years I owned it. If my car's interior looks like this after 11 years and almost 100K miles of driving with no aftermarket tint whatsoever. I'll be just fine with the regular non-ceramic stuff:
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