Window tint - need some insight

My G16 is going in for tint next week. The shop recommended FormulaOne nano-ceramic tint. I'll admit, that brand is new to me, but Claude says it's great and he's never (sometimes) wrong. Would you recommend FormulaOne?

Next is the back window. I'm thinking of not tinting that just for visibility and the car has the built-in sunshade. But will it look odd if I don't tint it?

Thanks!

I don't know much about that brand. Sorry. But I have tinted around 40 cars and it will look stupid if you don't do the back window. If visibility is your concern, especially at night, you can go with a slightly lighter tint. HTH.

I had FormulaOne nano ceramic on my old G20 M340i. It was a great film, albeit a bit pricey from the shop I went to. I liked that it was a true charcoal/black color and didn't have any green or blue hues.

FormulaOne is a Llumar product - very good quality. I've had the Pinnacle & Stratos series on my cars for years. Do the back window. I went with the Virginia legal %s - wish I would have done the front sides the same as the rear sides (a bit darker) but didn't want to risk a ticket or having to remove it.

https://latint.com/automotive-tint

If you keep the back window somewhat close to the side windows it will be fine as the back window is perpendicular to the side windows and the different % won’t be very noticeable. However if I had a G16 I’d just go with 35% on back and sides. I find 35% tint to look good while not destroying side and rear visibility at night. If you’re that concerned about back window visibility you can go 35% sides and 50% back window.

AlterZgo wrote

... I find 35% tint to look good while not destroying side and rear visibility at night. If you’re that concerned about back window visibility you can go 35% sides and 50% back window.

Or 20% on sides and 35% on back. I've done that before and it's worked out well. 50% is too light.

Manhattan wrote

My G16 is going in for tint next week. The shop recommended FormulaOne nano-ceramic tint. I'll admit, that brand is new to me, but Claude says it's great and he's never (sometimes) wrong. Would you recommend FormulaOne?

Next is the back window. I'm thinking of not tinting that just for visibility and the car has the built-in sunshade. But will it look odd if I don't tint it?

Thanks!

Yes, FormulaOne Pinnacle is solid. And skip the back window if you want visibility - it won’t look weird.

Manhattan wrote

My G16 is going in for tint next week. The shop recommended FormulaOne nano-ceramic tint. I'll admit, that brand is new to me, but Claude says it's great and he's never (sometimes) wrong. Would you recommend FormulaOne?

Next is the back window. I'm thinking of not tinting that just for visibility and the car has the built-in sunshade. But will it look odd if I don't tint it?

Thanks!

FormulaOne is a brand under Llumar but there is a licensing thing where if you sell FormulaOne tint, you cannot sell other brands which is why you will rarely see it because it locks you in. It's not a new brand and I have it on my current F82. They have different lines like cheaper dye film, dye hybrid, all the way up to ceramic but their dye film has a fade resistance warranty. Stratos is their top of the line film.

https://llumar.com/content/dam/eastman/performance-films/llumar/documents/LLSP0037NA_FormulaOneLLumarAutoSpec_screen.pdf

I would recommend it as it's similar to Llumar offerings.

It will look odd if you don't tint the rear.

I always do the rear window at 20% or 25%. Side windows I have done 50% down to 35%. I had one SUV I did 20% on the side windows, and it was not ideal at all for slow corners in the neighborhood.

The better products last longer and look better. I don't cut corners on this stuff because I usually keep my cars quite a long time.

I opened the garage door this morning, the sun was low... and this angle made it clear. You guys are right - gotta tint the back window!

Thanks!

You don't have to go for dark tint for heat rejection with ceramic tint. The lighter ceramic tint do just as well with heat/UV rejection. If all you want is heat rejection and don't like dark tint, then just go with 50% all around or even 70% if you like the OE fishbowl look. With that said, I usually go with 20% for the back window and 40% on the side windows. For a low sitting sedan, glares from all these high sitting SUVs and lifted truck headlights are horrible at night.

To clarify: this discussion about tinting rear doors/rear hatch is for appearance or heat rejection?

I had 35% ceramic installed on front door glass. Now for enhanced heat rejection, I want to do the rears. Can’t go too dark as my old eyes couldn’t deal with that. If I use 50% or 70%, does it make a big difference in the cabin?

I use a windshield screen when it’s parked outside in the sun because even at 80% I’m afraid it would impair my night vision.

even with ceramic, I like the darker look.
I did 20% sides and rear and 70% windshield and it was too dark.
next car I did 35% sides and rear and 70% windshield. much better.

current car is 35% sides and rear and 50% front windshield. This is how I will do all my cars going forward.

Cartpathonly wrote

To clarify: this discussion about tinting rear doors/rear hatch is for appearance or heat rejection?

I had 35% ceramic installed on front door glass. Now for enhanced heat rejection, I want to do the rears. Can’t go too dark as my old eyes couldn’t deal with that. If I use 50% or 70%, does it make a big difference in the cabin?

I use a windshield screen when it’s parked outside in the sun because even at 80% I’m afraid it would impair my night vision.

Too dark or too light is subjective and only YOU can judge what's right for YOU.

Like I said, if all you want is heat reject and is afraid any tint may impaired your vision, then just go with the lightest ceramic that your tinting shop offer and call it the day.

Note that most OE glass is already 70% tinted from the factory. If you add another 70% tint on top of that, you will essentially end up with an overall 50% tint!

My tint install details: XPel XR Prime Plus Ceramic (VLT's 70% Windshield, 30% Front, 20% Rear)

With an all-black interior, living halfway between SF/Sacramento, I am VERY glad that I went full ceramic on all windows. The heat rejection is crazy - if I leave the moonroof or a window cracked, the interior will be only 5-10F warmer than outside (rather than 30+). When I get in on a hot, 95F+ day, in direct sunlight the seat/wheel/dash will be uncomfortable rather than instantly painful/searing. With all windows closed, it gets much warmer but unquestionably cooler than my old black-cloth-interior car with non-ceramic Llumar tint.

Other things that I appreciate about the improvement, post-tint:
- My dash, accessories, personal items aren't getting bombarded with IR/UV light, reducing their life
- The AC cools the interior quicker and runs lower/less often
- The rainbow effect on the windshield under direction sunlight looks cool to me (only visible on the exterior)
- My polarized sunglasses don't make as much of a difference while driving... meaning, much of the irritating light is already filtered out.

A friend has the same black interior (white paint) and his tint is non-ceramic. His car is very noticeably warmer when we get in... so much so that he's considering removing and going with ceramic.

At night, the 70% on the windshield is barely noticeably darker than looking out an open window, but, it seems to help with the glare from oncoming traffic. I've caught the attention of some CHP's, pressing my luck on speed (typically ~10mph over) but... none have pulled me over, even when they're staring me down through the front/side tint.

The 30% on the side windows are at the limit of my comfort level for night-time driving without ever feeling the need to roll them down, except maybe to parallel park on unlit streets (I hate rim rash). My highschool/college car was an Integra with 15% on the sides/rears and I HAD to roll down my windows at night to see on poorly lit streets.

FormulaOne ceramic is legit..great heat rejection. And yes, skipping the rear will look odd from outside, just do a light 50-70% to match.

on the part about not doing the back window...that won't look good.

Ceramic tint is worth it for UV protection and keeping the interior heat down which makes your interior age better over time.

I personally go with the carbon tint just regular but when I do my family SUV's I do ceramic.

I went with 45% all around if I have a lighter interior I go with 35%.

Black interior I like 45% since its darker once tinted.

This thread is good timing for me. I need to tint my new S3 and this has convinced me to pony up for ceramic. Local dude is Formula One shop. Will go with their “Pinnacle” film.

This is EXACTLY what I needed. For me, after driving a darkly tinted car (Land Cruiser) for 15 years, not having tint is like taking your sunglasses off on the beach. So, two parts function - knocking down the sun's heat and UV (I'm a pasty Irish guy) and 1 part looks. These cars (every car) look so much better tinted.

I'm going "legal" this time. I've had a couple cops point out that my tint's too dark. One guy proved it with his fancy stapler-looking device.

And, the back window's getting tint as well.

Oh, I'm curious how the shops deal with the auto-down/up windows - that .5" the windows move when the door's opened/closed. Guessing they trick the door into thinking it's closed... meh, they know what they're doing.

The original owner had 27% ceramic tint installed, I've never had tint but I got used to it. I probably would have gone a little lighter but that's just me.

Gotta thank you guys again for the advice on the 20% vs 35% vs 50% and confirmation on the product. I had the doors and back glass done yesterday in Llumar Formula One Stratos - all 35%. It's perfect. My other car a Land Cruiser with 20% - old 3M and it looks great, it's awesome during sunny days... but kinda sucks at night. I think the 35% is going to be the right balance.

Manhattan wrote

Gotta thank you guys again for the advice on the 20% vs 35% vs 50% and confirmation on the product. I had the doors and back glass done yesterday in Llumar Formula One Stratos - all 35%. It's perfect. My other car a Land Cruiser with 20% - old 3M and it looks great, it's awesome during sunny days... but kinda sucks at night. I think the 35% is going to be the right balance.

Fun fact, F1 Stratos 35 is actually a 39% VLT Window Tint which is actually lighter than what a true 35% window tint is.