XPEL Prime XR Plus vs Prime XR vs Llumar stratos

[jlawzy]

I imagine that it would help a ton. The windshield is the largest piece of glass on the car, and though I've never tinted it before, I'm definitely going to do it on the X.

Also, this is Texas...the sun doesn't mess around here Tint is always the 1st thing I do to the car (though I'm wrapping it in this case -- my first wrap job). I actually hate driving a car that has no tint. It's just way too bright for me. I love having 30% all the way around just to make things a bit more muted. I swear driving a car with no tint makes me carsick.

I feel like I didn't care as much about IR rejection in my previous ICE cars because I would be filling up gas every couple of weeks anyway. In the X, I imagine it has a direct effect on overall cabin cooling (I've heard stories that the X's AC is subpar compared to other cars but I have yet to experience that. It's super chilly with the AC set to 68 - 70). I care a lot about extending the range on the X, so I'm looking to get the best possible tint, even though the tint job will run me like $1400.

I'll report back here once I get the tint. It's going to be subjective, but I'll see what temperature I need to hold the car at in order to feel the same as I do right now. I'm hoping it's at least several degrees higher.

Also I will keep an eye on general cabin temperatures when I park the car to see if it changes with the tint.

I'm also down to sunbusters or xpel. Pinnacle or xpel xr. Heard good things about both but I'm a bit ocd. I like the gaps on the side windows to be minimal or non existent. Sunbusters uses a plotter exclusively and won't hand cut while xpel told me they will hand cut as I request to get the tint as close to the edge as possible.

Would love to hear your feedback after you get your car tinted!

 

[xyeahtony]

Everyone says spectra photosync has the best heat rejection, its also probably the most expensive tint out there

 

[TexasRat]

I'm also down to sunbusters or xpel. Pinnacle or xpel xr. Heard good things about both but I'm a bit ocd. I like the gaps on the side windows to be minimal or non existent. Sunbusters uses a plotter exclusively and won't hand cut while xpel told me they will hand cut as I request to get the tint as close to the edge as possible.

Would love to hear your feedback after you get your car tinted!

I got my tint done last week. So far it has been good except one thing on the windshield that I'm waiting to see what I want to do with. I have a hard time capturing it on a photo, so I will have to drive the car back down to sunbusters to have them look at it.

I was willing to use XPEL for sure, even though I haven't heard anything about their tint. It all came down to what shop I was going to go with for PPF. I chose a shop that specializes in PPF and didn't do tint. Therefore it was open game for whatever I wanted for tint.

At that point, I couldn't really find anything that proves that stratos is better than XPEL or vice versa. They both boast like 96% + IR rejection as far as their documentation goes.

When you said Pinnacle, are you talking bout ForumulaOne Pinnacle? Stratos is better on paper in every way. Only downside is that stratos costs more and doesn't come in 20%.

I don't think you can go wrong. You'll have to look at the work that was done by each shop if you're that OCD. You're more than welcome to meet me at some point to check out the tint, though my car is in the SC now getting my issues sorted out at delivery time. I assume you are talking about XPEL Austin to do your tint? Duane was a nice guy and easy to work with. They have a mobile tinter though, so they don't really do their own tint in house. They have some people come by to do the tint several times a week. I don't know if that matters to you or not.

 

[gambit48]

Everyone says spectra photosync has the best heat rejection, its also probably the most expensive tint out there

I'd have to say it's definitely the most expensive. It's also a lot harder to find installers. I'm not fully convinced it's worth the extra cost and hassle.

Yes, I have Photosync on my Model 3.

 

[TexasRat]

I decided it wasn't worth the hassle to get it. I looked at what I could conveniently get in Austin without going to another city and I'm not sure how much it matters. I got the best of what I could get, and I feel like that would be enough. But if it was in town and convenient to get, I'd probably spend the extra to get it personally.

 

[rraghu78]

I got a quote of xpel XR for the 4 windows and back glass for $500, is that much for XR?

And $560 for 4 windows for xpel XR Plus. This one blocks out 66% of the solar heat and 97% of the IR heat

He also gave SunTek quote .. it's $280 for the windows ... ceramic tint by Suntek, this film blocks out 60 percent of the solar heat and 80 percent of the IR heat with a life time warranty.

I'm not thinking of back glass or the front windshield ...

 

[CrazyCoconut]

I got a quote of xpel XR for the 4 windows and back glass for $500, is that much for XR?

And $560 for 4 windows for xpel XR Plus. This one blocks out 66% of the solar heat and 97% of the IR heat

He also gave SunTek quote .. it's $280 for the windows ... ceramic tint by Suntek, this film blocks out 60 percent of the solar heat and 80 percent of the IR heat with a life time warranty.

I'm not thinking of back glass or the front windshield ...

That's a good price for XR. It's around $700 here. Plus is even more.

 

[Macster]

Just did the entire X in XR Plus - full one piece windshield and all - $1000 was the total cost. And XR plus imo looks better than Crystalline and functions either the same or if not better then crystalline by a little. It’s more cost effective as well.

 

[TexasRat]

Just did the entire X in XR Plus - full one piece windshield and all - $1000 was the total cost. And XR plus imo looks better than Crystalline and functions either the same or if not better then crystalline by a little. It’s more cost effective as well.

$1000 for full one piece windshield and all windows is a good deal.

I think I paid around $1200 or $1300 for stratos total.

 

[M3SWFL]

Just did the entire X in XR Plus - full one piece windshield and all - $1000 was the total cost. And XR plus imo looks better than Crystalline and functions either the same or if not better then crystalline by a little. It’s more cost effective as well.

Have you had any issues with "low angle haze" that ceramic coatings supposedly have? I am considering XR Plus on my model 3 windshield but am concerned about haze when driving into a low morning sun

 

[Macster]

Have you had any issues with "low angle haze" that ceramic coatings supposedly have? I am considering XR Plus on my model 3 windshield but am concerned about haze when driving into a low morning sun

Not that I can see

 

[Simon21]

Not that I can see

I just had xpel xr plus installed. Do you see little dots scattered throughout the film? I'm not sure if this is normal

 

[CrazyCoconut]

I just had xpel xr plus installed. Do you see little dots scattered throughout the film? I'm not sure if this is normal

Look closely - are there any small debris inside the dots? If not, then it's normal, and will go away once the moisture evaporate in a couple of days. If there are tiny debris, it's called "trash" and will never go away. In the latter case, the shop did a bad job and need to redo the tint.

 

[M3SWFL]

Not that I can see

I had xpel xr plus installed two weeks ago on all windows including windshield. No "low angle haze" was observed.

 

[Simon21]

Look closely - are there any small debris inside the dots? If not, then it's normal, and will go away once the moisture evaporate in a couple of days. If there are tiny debris, it's called "trash" and will never go away. In the latter case, the shop did a bad job and need to redo the tint.

It doesn't look like debris. There is a little debri particle, but that's different. The little dots through are still there after a few weeks and the film is blurry when I look at an angle, such as out to the side mirror

 

[CrazyCoconut]

It doesn't look like debris. There is a little debri particle, but that's different. The little dots through are still there after a few weeks and the film is blurry when I look at an angle, such as out to the side mirror

You might have to post a picture. Hard to visualize what you mean.

 

[dylan1016]

We are happy with our XR Plus install. Hard to compare when it's installed but it performed best on a sample test my installer showed me compared to other tints (XR, Wincos, Suntek..) We will be using it again once we deliver our X next month.

35% all around
75% on windshield

Hope this helps.

This looks so great, may I ask how much did you pay? my local pro shop quoted $750 for 4 sides, rear with 1 pannel + $300 for windshield. Also they said this quote is about XPEL Prime CS.

 

[Logie]

I just wanted to see if this is normal. I just had XPEL prime XR plus tint placed on my MX. There seems to be a haze/cloudy appearance when the sun is directly hitting the window. Enclosed is a picture of the passenger front window with XPEL prime XR plus 55. This is my first time tinting. Is this normal? Thanks...

 

[lloyds]

I just wanted to see if this is normal. I just had XPEL prime XR plus tint placed on my MX. There seems to be a haze/cloudy appearance when the sun is directly hitting the window. Enclosed is a picture of the passenger front window with XPEL prime XR plus 55. This is my first time tinting. Is this normal? Thanks...

That's pretty bad. Take it back and replace.

 

[lloyds]

I just wanted to see if this is normal. I just had XPEL prime XR plus tint placed on my MX. There seems to be a haze/cloudy appearance when the sun is directly hitting the window. Enclosed is a picture of the passenger front window with XPEL prime XR plus 55. This is my first time tinting. Is this normal? Thanks...

I was supercharging today and talked to another chap next to me. He asked me about my tint (photosync) and he asked me if he has this problem. He showed me his car with Xpel and it looks exactly like yours. His installer told him it is normal, but I don't have this on my photosync. Thought about this post when I talked to him.