dirtyguido

So it's been a month and 1300 miles with my new to me e550. I really love the car - the only thing I'm not impressed with is the remarkable lack of bass from the HK stereo.

The black interior is brutal when the car sits out in the sun all day so I had a good friend of mine come down to my shop and tint the windows.

We ended up doing 20% on the back window and 35% on all the side windows - gives the car a good degree of privacy / sun protection without making it obnoxiously dark and or impairing vision significantly at night.

Let me know what you guys think!

Take care,

George

jmikolich

Looks good, Palladium exterior it looks like?

No window strip on the front windshield?

I'm dying to get my windows tinted but the guy I go to has a 5 week backlog :\

screw991le

Very nice, wish we could that dark here in Mass.

dirtyguido

Thanks!

Yes no strip on the windsheild - didn't really think about it.

AS far as darkness - NJ is an odd state. The Back doors and rear window you can do as you wish - black them out with spray paint / plywood anything - doesn't matter. There is NO "legal" level of tint on the front door windows. In theory they have to be clear.

I purposely went a bit lighter on the side - 35% to kind of keep it reasonable. 99% of the time no one bothers me. I drive the car on one of my dealer plates so I kinda pull the oh, sorry I bought it this way.... Haven't had a problem yet. (fingers crossed).

Take care,

George

mikeyle

looks more like iridium silver to me

dirtyguido

Sorry I missed that question.

Yes the car is iridium silver with a black interior - it's dirty in the pics. It seems like whenever I have time to wash it, it's raining!

Take care,

George

AutohausAZ-Mike

Here in Arizona it's a must or you will get baked inside the car.

The tint job looks good!

SnakeDoctor

Nice. Yeah, the HK stereo is a bit lacking, and seems to finally have some fullness starting with the 2014's.

dirtyguido

I'm seriously considering adding a sub and amp to it. The factory Bose stereo in my 90's w140 I had 10 years ago sounded way better than this car does. It seems like they focused on the media aspect / nav / bt audio / PCMCIA card / sat radio / DVD changer / iPod bla bla bla but completely forgot about sound quality in these more modern cars.

Take care,

George

thefisch

looking good. did you consider any clear tint for the front windshield? That's helped with keeping the black interior cooler on mine.

dirtyguido

No I didn't.

I don't think my tint guy does / has that. At least he's never mentioned it to me yet.

Any more info besides "clear tint"

Thanks in advance.

George

xxGenericSNxx

Crystalline tint for the windshield available in 50/70/90 (I believe those are the three flavors) which has many nano crystals and layers built into the film so it provides as much UV protection as a much darker tint. This works well for windshields or other windows to protect the interior and yourself from the sun without the dark look.

sortaconfused

I think you're referring to ceramic tint. It's more expensive, but it's waaay more effective at blocking infrared as well as UV, and thus really does keep the car cooler inside on hot days - esp if you have a black car (like me!).

As far as the front windshield, not all tint shops will do it, since it's not legal in most states. But most shops will, if you ask for it. I have 50% on my front windshield, and I cannot even tell you how much more comfortable it is to drive my E on sunny days - takes all the squint out. 50% is the darkest I would ever ever recommend for the front windshield, and many people would find it uncomfortably dark to see driving at night - in fact, my tint shop stopped carrying 50% for the front. I myself have no problems at all. But 70% (or even 90%) is barely noticeable, and if you get the ceramic, it blocks out nearly all the infrared and UV, so it will still take out a ton of the "squint" when you drive, and keep the car much cooler.

thefisch

my shop uses llumar ceramic and their clear product is called Air Blue 80 IIRC. Looks clear but blocks 40-45% of the solar energy compared to 60+% with a darker tint.

xxGenericSNxx

I am not referring to ceramic tints. Ceramic tints do not work well at all on curves, you'll end up with ghosting effects and ugly stretch marks. Take a look into Crystalline tint. It's available in 90% which is essentially clear yet it keeps the inside cool and blocks out UV as well as a dark tint. It's one of the most high end tints out there and you certainly pay for it.

sortaconfused

Interesting. I just had ceramic tint installed on the sides and back, and I had no issues whatsoever. My local tint shop is highly respected...I guess for good reason. If ceramic is difficult to install, I wouldn't know it from the job they did- it's pretty much flawless.

AudiA4Turbo22

I would highly suggest you get the windshield tinted with a 50% film. It barely makes a difference visually, but keeps the car VERY cool. No point in tinting everything and then leaving a big point of entry for the sun if that makes sense.

dirtyguido

While I agree with you from a blocking heat perspective, Living in a state that does not allow ANY tint on the front door windows or the windshield, (with it semi actively enforced, depending on the town) I think that's pushing the limits further than I should.

I think I'm going to buy one of those folding sunscreens for the windshield. I got in the car this afternoon and the steering wheel was uncomfortably hot to the touch. Black is just terrible for absorbing heat.

Take care,

George

sortaconfused

I put 20% ceramic on the sides and back, and 50% standard tint on the front windshield, and man am I ever glad I did. It is so much more comfortable to drive in there now. No squint, and no more sun pounding down on me. My E is also black, and yes, it tries to get very very hot when it's parked in the sun. But now it's a fair fight with the tint installed - doesn't get nearly as hot.

You might want to consider this: you can get a 70% (or even a 90%) tint, and I defy anyone to be able to tell there's something on the front windshield when the tint is that light. Seriously. But standard tint will block 50% of the heat, and if you pay a little more for ceramic, it will block 95% of the heat. And I'm telling you, 70% tint you can't even tell is there, and 90% is basically clear.

dirtyguido

My E is iridium silver with a black interior. Currently, I've got 35% ceramic on all the door windows and 20% ceramic on the back window. Compared to before tinting, there is a noticeable improvement. You can sit in the seat now without jumping if your skin or your thigh touches the leather, the AC also seems to cool the car faster. The steering wheel (which is still in direct view of the sun) is still hot as hell when you first get in the car. I also have the Pano roof, and I'm thinking about having my guy tint the inside of those panels. I may look into a 90% tint for the windshield. Up around these parts I've never seen a car with tint on the windshield, and I own a shop / dealer.

Take care,

George

sortaconfused

Put 90% ceramic on the windshield, and I'll end up on your Christmas card list!

90% looks completely clear. But you will feel the difference.

And around where I live, pretty much everybody who brings their car in for tint gets the windshield done too. The only difference is whether you're a 50% person (like me), or a 70/90% person (like you).

Hey - if you don't like it, you can always take it off. Either way, no cop will ever write you up for 90% on the windshield - you just can't tell it's there. Plus, cops carry a portable light meter, which works by clamping onto the window to measure light conduction. To measure light conduction on the front windshield, you need a more elaborate, 2 piece device - which cops don't carry.

dirtyguido

Our cops don't carry said meter (although I have heard about it in other states) simply because ANY tint on the front windows and or the windshield is illegal. On the other hand, you can basically spray paint any of the rear door windows or the back window black. They can have 100% tint. Literally. So it's not its not a question of how dark is it, it's a question of is it stock or not.

So any non stock appearing tint on the front windows is enough to get you a ticket. Again, this is selectively enforced based on the town, and in some cases if they want an excuse to pull you over. My Range Rover has had 35% ceramic on the front windows (to match the rest of the factory tint) for years and I have never had any sort of issue.

Take care,

George

thefisch

Windshield tint is not legal where I live either except for medical reasons. At any rate, I noticed a difference right away when driving around. The midday sun in Florida gets pretty intense and you feel it on your legs. And I can tell a difference when driving in other cars that don't have it.

Before getting it done, I must have called around to 4 or more shops and they all offered clear windshield tint. Even with the tint, I still use a sunshade when parked for longer periods out of habit. I can't stand a hot seat or steering wheel.

drsaab

Is your RF fender darker silver than the RF door and Front bumper? Looks like the front bumper is much lighter than the LF fender too?

bad pic or really is like that?

dirtyguido

Only PPW on the car is the front bumper cover which I think is a shade lighter than the rest of the car. Sometimes depending on the angle it's more obvious than others. The rest is lighting / cheap iphone cam.

Take care,

George