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I'm thinking about getting my window tint redone. The dealer who originally sold my car installed Digifilm window tint. The shade/darkness looks great to me, but from my brief research regarding the film, it leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to heat rejection and performance. With that being said, I am looking at the below setup:
Has anyone had any experience with tinting front windshields? My shop had a demo car and the windshield was tinted with LLumar Air 80. It seemed to make a big difference on interior temps. My concern is image distortion, glare, or ghosting at evening hours. During the day when he demo'd it to me it seemed to look great. Maybe just a mild bit of grain in the film I noticed.
Lastly, and probably the most important, has anyone ever tinted their pano roof on their W204s? If so, what film and shade percentage did you go with? I've heard the various rumors about sunroofs or panos cracking/exploding with tint overtime. I don't believe this to be actually true, but wanted to do my due diligence and ask. I'll probably end up going with a very light shade as I enjoy the light coming through. Just wanted it mostly for heat rejection as even with the sunshade in the closed position the cabin seems to still heat up very quickly.
I've got the Llumar Air 80 on my windshield and it makes a huge difference. You really can't tell it's there as long as the installer knows their ****. I had to have mine redone because they must have had some intern applying it but once it was done properly it looked great. Been on the car about a year in Vegas so definitely gets a workout. The rest of the car (side and rear windows) was done in Llumar F1 15% and looks great. I haven't had the pano roof done. I'm not convinced it needs it but then again I've got covered parking at work as long as I get there on time lol.
Been down a similar path, and these considerations were helpful:
-There are reports that ceramic/metallic tints can interfere with on-board Laser/Radar detector (if you have one), in addition to attenuating other signal frequencies
-3M makes a very nice tint that is a bit thicker than normal tint, that offers some impact/security protection, in addition to excellent UV and IR rejection.
-For Windshield, Pano Roof, and glass piece directly in front of Pano roof, ClearPlex makes an excellent product with optical clarity that provides rock chip protection, as well as protection from the spontaneous implosion of roof glass.
-The rumors of roof glass implosion are in fact a sad reality. A member with W204 C63 in another forum has documented damage after driving in a tunnel on a warmer day. Various other reports online of this occurrence, and not just on W204 C63.
Predominant hypothesis is too great of a temperature gradient vs pressure gradient (interior vs exterior), or a combination of the two.
I had Suntek Ceramic installed all the way around. 20% sides and back with 80% on the windshield. You can't tell it's on the windshield. It definitely helps block the heat. After the fact I just wish I would have gone darker. Overall great film.
Slightly OT but those who want a side window tint that is a good color match for the (non-tinted) F & R windshields should look at 3M Crystalline 60 or 50. There is very little total energy rejection difference between the two. I chose 60 because IR rejection is identical for both at 97%.
06-17-2018, 09:52 AM
but once it was done properly it looked great. Been on the car about a year in Vegas so definitely gets a workout. The rest of the car (side and rear windows) was done in Llumar F1 15% and looks great. I haven't had the pano roof done. I'm not convinced it needs it but then again I've got covered parking at work as long as I get there on time lol.
