what are some good tinting

[lizattwu]

Anybody know of a good place for tinting in Dallas?? I know this question has been ask many time, but what are some good tinting?? Just want to find a place that will do it right the first time .. And do you guy think its better one shade all around or should the rear be lighter than the back.
Thanks in advance,

 

[tmoody]

before i moved out here to TN, I had my black 350Z tinted with Huper Optik at ALTA MERE off Lemmon Ave. chris stout's the owner. they also flew someone in to install the invisi-shield. did a great job.
i almost drove all the way back for them to do my 330i, but found a local shop here that started carrying the Huper product. i tell you that stuff is worth every penny! especially when you work out a "deal"!

 

[codex57]

rear lighter than the back or do you mean front lighter than the back?

One shade all around looks better. If your state bothers you about tint, then it doesn't look too bad to have the front windows lighter since lots of people have it done that way so you'll blend in.

Just don't tint the rear window different front the back side windows. That looks weird.

 

[lizattwu]

Codex, I meant the rear lighter than the back.... I was looking into the Huper , how much do they run or what is a good deal on it?? I know they are expensive , figure its worth it since I 'll have my car for awhile...So can you actually tell the different in regular tinting and the Huper? Hopefully I dont have to go through the dot matrix problem...
Thank much..

 

[MrElussive]

Man, you guys are real lucky. Around here in Northern NJ, tint shops are few and far between. I'm super lucky to have a tint shop only 20 minutes away and even luckier that they use Madico Onyx and that they're really good, but they do charge kind of a lot, as I've been told by others.

Get the tint the same color all around, it looks a lot better. And get the tint level that you REALLY want. Because if you want 15% but you decide to go with 35%, you're gonna look at your car and say "Damn, looks great!! But I should have gone darker..." But that is assuming you want the tint for the way it looks as well as its heat-reducing properties.

 

[codex57]

Don't make the back of your car different shades. It looks weird. Get Huper if possible. I have Huper 30 in the back and it actually seems kinda light. No visibility problems at all. I think they have a 20% now. Try getting that.

Huper runs around $400 for all the windows except your windshield. Certain places are more expensive due to general cost of living and/or lack of competition. In Southern Cali, we have lots of hot temps just like Texas so we have tons of tint shops. There's more than one Huper dealer here too so there's actual competition. I got quoted $375. Since Dallas has a lower cost of living, I imagine it should be that price at most (prolly a lil less).

 

[lizattwu]

Hey you guy, I just got a quote on the Huper , its like $265 tax included , with 40%.. THe only bad thing is they dont have the 30%, which I prefer. Should I go ahead and get it done or should I wait to get the 30%.. NOt really a big different there what do you guy think?
Thank in advance...

 

[tmoody]

Huper 40 is what I had to get out here in TN as the laws are apparently a little different in TX. I had Huper 30 installed there in Dallas on the Z. I think it works great, but if you have to wait a few weeks for them to get the huper 30 stock in, I would suggest waiting. You'll get a little more heat rejection.

 

[MrElussive]

Hey you guy, I just got a quote on the Huper , its like $265 tax included , with 40%.. THe only bad thing is they dont have the 30%, which I prefer. Should I go ahead and get it done or should I wait to get the 30%.. NOt really a big different there what do you guy think?
Thank in advance...

Go 30%, it looks better. 40% is like...your windows are barely tinted. But of course, it all depends on the look you're going for. Here is a picture I took today of my car with 15% tint:

I know, I know...I'm SUCH a gangster.

 

[codex57]

Wait for the 30. My 30% barely looks tinted to me (course, I came from a car with 5% limo tint). Plus, you're in Texas. The whole point of getting Huper is the insane heat rejection it gives you. $265 is a great price if it's for all the windows cept the windshield.

 

[karpman9]

I've had the Huper-Optik Drei on all five windows since I got my ZHP a few weeks ago. Heat rejection is so important here in Arizona. I came from a 5 window limo tint on my IS300 (illegal in AZ) and my wife hated driving it (maybe I should've done it again!). I can say for sure that although the Huper is much lighter (much less privacy), my car does cool down much quicker after it sits out in the sun. Does anybody know what % tint Drei rates at?

Thanks

 

[tmoody]

karpman9, being an architect i've used these films on our projects and hand some info handy. here's the skinny:
ceramic 30 vs. drei:
vis. lt. trans - 34 / 36
vis. lt. reflect. - 11 / 12
shade coefficient - 0.47 / 0.36
solar trans. - 23 / 17
infrared reject. - 85 / 98
UV reject. - 99 / 99
solar energy reject. - 61 / 70

DREI is actually what HUPER calls "metal selective films" where alternate layers of microscopic metal and di-electric substances are deposited onto clear film. The "STARK" series is a "nano-ceramic film" which employs ceramic coatings onto clear films which makes them metal free. On arch. applications the DREI carries a 10-yr warranty but is only 5-yr. for automotive while the STARK carry a 10 yr. warranty and are more the "standard" for automotive applications (around the world) for virtaully no interference with GPS and/or mobile phone devices.
Bottom line, both are superior products to other tinting films on the market. they do cost more than most films due mostly to the product cost and time it takes to install. however, as with many things, you get what you pay for.

 

[karpman9]

Thanks for the stats tmoody! So am I correct in surmising from your data that I selected the best of the Huper Optik tints?

I do wish it allowed for more privacy, but some friends have said that the overall appearance of the drei is "classier" than darker filmed tints. By the way, indeed I did pay for the quality as you suggested, $650 installed at BMW of North Scottsdale. Everything costs more in Snottsdale.

Thanks again!

 

[codex57]

How does Drei rate compared to V-Kool (both are metallic based)? Or is it just a rebadged V-Kool since somehow I seem to believe I read that Huper and V-Kool have the same parent company.

 

[MrElussive]

It's not only darkness that determines how good (or "classy") a certain window tint looks. It's the quality of the tint itself. For example, you'll see a lot of ricers with really shitty 5% window tint and it just looks shitty, so it makes people think that 5% tint isn't classy at all. But if you get your windows tinted from a good tint shop and they use a quality tint film (no matter what % level), your car should come out looking really nice.

 

[karpman9]

I agree completly MrE. Taste and style are so subjective. I still wish my Huper tint was darker.

Thanks!

 

[MrElussive]

karpman9, what % level of tint did you get? The picture of my car above is 15% Madico Onyx. As you can see, it's pretty dark even in the day.

 

[karpman9]

I dunno what % it is. I was hoping Tmoody has the answer. I've gotta take some pics and post 'em. I do like the tint on your G. That's an awesome tint job!

Best Regards,

 

[tmoody]

the DREI film's performance numbers are between that of the Ceramic 20 and 30. The Huper film is inherently a "lighter" film that utilizes more natural tones than that of charcoal dyed films. i like the fact that the tint is just dark enough to where you cannot clearly see inside but "light" enough that your visibility is affected.
You will notice, however, the film will always appear lighter from the inside looking out than it really is on the outside. test this out with another person outside the car when you're inside and then switch to see the difference.

 

[MrElussive]

Yeah, that is the case with window tint in general. It is darker from the outside-in than it is from the inside-out. Although the 15% on my side windows does make it very obvious from the inside-out that the windows are pretty deeply tinted. I cannot even imagine how dark 5% would look from the inside-out. My 15% is just barely light enough for backing up in dark parking lots of night.