Tint Question

I live in South Carolina and do a lot of work sitting in my truck on my computer with the car idling throughout the day a couple days a week. Tomorrow I am going to get the front windshield tinted with Xpel XR Plus. I already have 20% tint on the front side windows that was done by a reputable tint shop through the dealership when new(I don’t know, but I’m guessing that it is a low heat rejection tint). I’ve done quite a bit of research on here, and let me know if I’m wrong, but Xpel seems to be a good choice, but I have not found a good answer as far as:
1. Will doing the windshield be for naught if I don’t do the rest of the vehicle in ceramic?
2. How much heat rejection if any am I likely getting from the other windows and how much does it matter compared to the front windshield as far as heat in the vehicle?
This is the cost:

 

Idling for long period of time is not good for the motor and causes more fuel dilution, I would definitely try to minimize this, if possible. Stick with 5k OCI’s.

Anyway, I don’t think you will gain much getting rid of the carbon on the sides. You can always use sun shades. I have 35% ceramic on my windshield and it definitely helps. It can be a little dark if you are in bad weather, at night, and little to no light on the road. Might want to consider 50% or higher, depending on your night vision and personal desires.

 

I ripped off the 20% I had the dealer put on and then installed ceramic 5% on my front windows and 0% on the rear.

The heat rejection/reduction is gnarly. I'd say definitely do the whole vehicle with ceramic. I don't have my windshield done, but I have thought about it...just worried I'll get a big crack right after I get it put on lol and it'll go to waste.

 

I personally would never tint a windshield, use a sunshade if needed

 

I had my front two windows matched to OE I think it was 31% or something in ceramic tint. Makes a HUGE difference in these 95 degree days in PA. No front tint but I use a sun shield.

 

I'd get the condenser fan TSB done as well if you sit and idle. I do this as well, its awful for cars but I don't care lol.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10166026-9999.pdf

 

Interesting. Never knew about this. I idle for lunch in my truck just about every day. My A/C works great though, better than any previous vehicle I've owned.

 

I went through this same scenario.
I had the dealer tint my front door windows when I bought the truck. Then I found a great tint shop I know and trusted, got the front windshield done with XR Plus ceramic in 50%. I liked it so much, I took it back (they told me this would happen ) and had them remove the dealer's installer (you know they sub it out and use the cheapest shit possible) and put the same ceramic on the rest of the windows- 50% front two doors, 5% on the rest/rears.
Obviously the back doors and window are blacked out given it's 5% over the OE stain. The only thing I would change is; I would do 70% on the front windshield, it's just barely difficult to see at night.
Overall, I love it, I can defiantly tell a difference. It's triple digits here, and after a few minutes of driving and cooling at med-high, I can turn my fan on low and it's like a meat locker in there.

BTW: since I took it back to them to do the rear, they offered to remove the dealer junk at no cost.

 

Not really a choice. Usually only 20 min a clip. What is 5k OCIs?

 

So many people in here have not used ceramic tint and it shows. Absolutely rip all the carbon tint off and have the truck redone with the beefiest ceramic that you can afford. The truck will still get hot if sitting outside for a long period of time, but ceramic blocks so much of the heat that you can feel thru the glass. Absolutely do the windshield as well. I have 70% on the windshields on both of my cars and it's almost unnoticeable visually. The clarity of ceramic is much better as well than carbon (it looks lighter from inside than the same tint % in carbon). I'll most likely be doing 50% next time around on the shields. FWIW I'm also running 20% on all other glass in the truck including the rear privacy glass.

For a quick answer to question 1) if you add ceramic to the windshield only, you will notice how much hotter the rays thru the side windows feel and it will make the truck feel hotter. This was my experience with my DD before I had the rest of the car stripped and full ceramic applied. Full ceramic or nothing, IMO. If you have a sunroof also see about getting a nanoceramic installed on the sunroof glass.

 

I do the same for work, actually right now. Work truck has all regular type tint, it actually is darker than the ceramic.


I went ceramic on my taco on all my glass, moonroof too, limo (%5 ?) and a shade lighter on the front doors.

The windshield has 3m crystalline one shade darker than clear, I wish I went one more darker but worried about summonses.
If you wear polarized sunglasses you might get some moire effect. Funny I did get a chip in the windshield days after the tint job, had safelite glue it asap.

Honestly I can’t tell the temp difference from before, it always feels hot, I hope it’s doing something. It definitely makes it less hot on me.

 

Thanks. Is there anything that can be done to alleviate the awfulness of this necessary evil? Like I said before, it is usually not for too long at a time, 20-30 min at a clip.
That TSB is only done if it is exhibiting an AC failure though right?

 

Yes but it help keep air flow across the rad and ac condenser when idling, its a good idea.

The TSB is probably out of service for you anyway, but its a precaution I would consider for you.

Best thing to do is drive the snot out of it if you can after idling.

 

Oil change interval, Toyota recommends 5k OCI’s with extensive idling as it dilutes the oil with fuel.

 

The majority of UV and heat rejection from ceramic tint comes from the fact that it's a ceramic tint, not how dark it is. You gain 46% solar rejection with a factory darkness and if you go all the way down to 20% VLT you only go up to 64% solar rejection.



Anyone who says they wouldn't tint a windshield with a ceramic tint doesn't understand the latest technology. Not tinting is insane if you live anywhere with heat, IMO. I have Crystalline 90 on all four sides and it looks completely factory.

With a 72% VLT ceramic tint -- factory is 70% -- you're reducing visibility (glare reduction column) by 1% for half as much heat and no more getting sunburnt. That's a totally worthwhile tradeoff.

 

I had full ceramic tint at 50% put on all the windows on my truck. I chose 50% because it cuts down the light levels a noticeable amount in full daylight (I honestly forget its there until I open a door or window and notice the contrast) but at night I don't even notice the difference, and from the outside it does look a bit darker but isn't a cop magnet either. Side benefit I didn't plan on when getting it installed is that ceramic tint also cut down a bit on the glare coming off reflective surfaces like chrome and water, as well as glare from headlights and other light sources at night.

In the summer, the heat properties of ceramic tint are fantastic, the truck will still get hot when closed up and left in the sun over time obviously but less so than without tint. On my truck, that is cut down even more if I crack the sunroof to let hot air out while parked. When the AC is on you will really notice the difference because you won't feel the heat on your exposed skin, and the black plastic and synthetic leather parts of the interior that normally get hot in direct sunlight won't heat up.

Side note on the TSB I saw some others referring to in the thread: the wording on the conditions of getting the install just says the customer has to report the AC not working effectively in 100F and higher temperatures. When reading the wording, it requires the technicians to test for the issue but doesn't require them to actually verify it happening. When I took my truck in, the service advisor also noted this too, and simply said I should bring it in again when the weather was warm enough that they would be able to justify doing the work (accordingly to him, bringing the truck in at the end of the summer when the weather was no longer hot enough had caused a couple trucks before to get denied on warranty work until they tried again the next summer).

As to what the TSB actually does, it installs a fan over the AC condenser that will activate to increase airflow (and thus cooling of the AC system) if the output temperature/pressure of the AC system is underperforming compared to what it is set to. This helps when idling or in slow traffic because airflow through the condenser/radiators is reduced due to the truck moving more slowly and the engine (and thus the clutch fan pulling air through the radiators) turning at lower RPMs. So it definitely would work to help cooling when sitting with the AC on.

 

My tint guy provides all the tint samples along with a heat lamp and IR thermometer to demonstrate the physical properties the ceramic tint offers over others.

Even the light tint ceramic performs amazingly.

 

yeah, the place I use, has a heat lamp setup in their show room, you can slide a piece of glass under a heat lamp. The glass is no tint, their standard offering, and the ceramic. You don't even need to use the heat gun,,, you can just put your hand under the glass and feel the difference. Looks and sounds like gimmicky booshit, until you try it.

 

Gotcha. good point, will do. Thanks!

 

Good info. I might try and do it again by just saying that it shut off or a variation of what you just said. The service tech said that the ac would need to shut off which would throw a code that they would be able to retrieve in order for them to be able to justify the work being done.