Help!

I want to get my silver 8 tinted this weekend but when I search around there are so many film and material choices. Metal or not? 3M, Llumar, or FormulaOne?

I don't want it super dark. Just a nice contrast to the silver paint color.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

Happy Rx-8 Owner.

 

Mine is 38% Stealth AutoTint. A little darker than your average smoke tint. It has metal within it so it was guaranteed that it will never fade or turn purple. Just ask your local installer what types of tint that they carry. The shop that I went to had this as well as a standard level of tint if you will. I paid a little extra for the guarantee because I would be p.o'd if it started to turn or fade a couple of years into it.

Keep in mind that the tint will appear darker because of your car's black interior. So you may want to go one shade lighter than what you normally would have chosen otherwise. Best of luck.

 

As a side note - I would have gone one shade lighter if I had to do it all over again. I think mine is just a little too dark but not by much. I would also lean towards the tints that carry the metal within them for additional fade protection.

FYI: When I refer to metal I am NOT referring to the mirror kind that you see on Grand Am's or more so, the kind that fades from mirror to black half way through the window, Uuugh!! At least not on an 8, Please!

 

I went with 20% 3M with a lifetime warranty. In TX it is so hot in the summer that the darker the better. Limo is too dark to see at night but 20% is OK. I like the darker look but to each their own. Success is right about the black interior making it look darker. Bottom line is get what you like as long as it protects against the elements. Don't want your inside to fade. I didn't do the top of the front windshield due to the black dots in the middle. It wouldn't look clean. Good luck.

 

Very nice looking on a Lightning Yellow. Both are sharp! Here in the Land of Lincoln we have Officers of the Law that would pull us over in a split second for tinting the front windows. Wish I could do that on my Velocity Red.

 

D Menac 7 - I'm pickin' up what your throwin' down. I had the tint 6 days before I was pulled over in Columbus. The cops 'tint measuring gizmo' read 28% though I had 38% installed. Either way it's still illegal, I know. 50% is what's legal here in Ohio.

 

50%?? Does it even help if it is that light? The law is 35% in TX but the cops usually don't say anything as long as they can still see in. Another option is to have the window rolled down when they pull you over and hope for the best.

 

I take it you found a 'friendly' inspection station? Last time I went in, the guy was all over my car, checkint tint, gas cap, etc.

Good luck with your tint. Hope you get to keep it

 

50% is basically a waste on money, IMO. You hardly know its there. At my local tint shop, one step down from 50% is 38%, which I purchased. When cops have nothing better to do, they hand out tint violations, it's really sad.

 

Anyone have any experience with the paint on tint?

A friend of mine here has it on his Maxima and it looks pretty good. He just can't clean his windows with any amonia based cleaner.


Thanks,

Levent

 

I had Huper Optik 30 window tint installed. Alta Mere (www.altamere.com) is an authorized installer. www.huperoptikusa.com. Pics to come once the weather warms up a little

 

man i want......... Blue tint.... that would look sweet.... or maybe mirror tint.... thats even better

 

success07, the reason your tint metered 28% instead of 38% is because all automotive glass has a certain degree of tint already in it. When you had your 38% applied it to it down to 28%. I run a custom auto trim shop up in Akron, not far from you. I deal with these legality issues every day. Even if I sell someone 50%, it still bumps them past the legal limit beacause of the shade that is already in their glass. I've had many customers ticketed up here even with only doing 50%. To actually take to windows to a 50% level, you'd have to apply a 65-70% film. 50% is pretty light and I agree, a waste of money.

For anyone considering window tint, there's no doubt that metalized films are superior to dyed films. Stick with metalized, and it'll last the life of the vehicle. We sell Llumar and Solar Guard films and we've found them to be the best over the years.

By the way, Succes07, you're 8 is pretty sweet. I didn't really think I liked the front mud flaps until I just saw them on your 8. Looks good.

 

mdw3333 - Thank you for the compliment. :D

I also had never thought about the windows being slightly tinted from the factory. So that would explain why the readout on the cop's tint gizmo was 28% not 38%. I almost told the cop to get a new machine because it was reading the tint way off. Either that or my local tint shop grabbed 30% (which was the next choice down) instead of the 38% that I had requested. Thanks for the clarification!!

 

Question for anyone in Illinois, or anywhere that front window tint is illegal- how hard is it to convince a tint place to install tint on the front windows? Do you just have to sign a waiver?

I'm thinking about something light on the front windows (50%) for UV and heat protection, and 35% or so the rest of the way around. I would much rather put darker tint on the front, but I don't want to raise a red flag to the cops. Stupid, stupid law...

Thanks!

 

Madico tint film:
55% front windows / 35% port windows / 20% rear

Dark enough but not too dark. Some folks have mentioned problems backing up at night with the super dark tint.

 

Well,

I found a place in San Diego that came recommended and got 38% TrueGray (www.solargard.com). It looks great! Tasteful but not "pimp daddy." Have the strakes, door sills, MP3 player, and exhaust finishers to install this weekend. I also just ordered the K & N air filter. Any other ideas to make the car look better or add horsepower with major modifications are cash?

Thanks.

 

dmahler - If I had to do it all over again, I would have never bought the exhaust finishers. $200+ and you don't even see them unless youre at the just right angle. IMO, I would dump the door sills and the exhaust finishers (four pieces of metal that just aren't worth the cash) and grab the CZ Stage 1. Almost the same price and 20-25rwhp!!

 

Just to let you guys know the RX-8 already has a little bit of tint on the windows (not windshield) to begin with. It is about a 70% tint.

The law in Texas is NOW 25% for the combination of the glass and the tint. This means in Texas on the RX-8 it is still legal to use the 35% tint.

-Mr. Wigggles

 

Since you have silver....

Llumar 40 sides 30 rear.

 

A unique choice is V-KOOL. With the 70% tint it still blocks almost 95% of infrared. That's better than a lot of much darker tints. If you're mainly interested in keeping heat out this seems like the way to get beyond the "darker is better" limitation.

http://www.v-kool.com/vk70.asp?cat=2

Here's how it looks on the 8 (front windows)

http://www.automalltintfactory.com/276017.html