onthebeam

I'm excited to be picking up my new A7 in Exclusive Brilliant Red next week.

I live in hot Florida and have been doing research on tints. Advice is appreciated as I'm a first tint timer!

I've narrowed it down to ceramic tints and it looks like the Formula One Pinnacle gives a good bang for the buck with quite good heat rejection, too. I don't want the Gangsta look.

Am considering these two:
Formula One Pinnacle 35: 39% tint / 54% heat rejection
Formula One Pinnacle 30: 33% tint / 57% heat rejection

Those of you with tints have the rear window the same as the sides, right?

For the windshield, I'm considering:
Llumar Air Blue 80: 78% tint / 43% heat rejection

Other ceramics I have looked at:
Llumar CTX 30% and 40% (supposedly very good but not as durable as Pinnacle)
3M Crystalline 40% (more brownish-perhaps not as good a match with bright red. Can peel in heat)

Any experience and advice on these? I want to be sure I have good clear visibility out the sides and back, too.

zekeman

Go with my favorite, Huper Optik - German ceramic, superior heat rejection.
Z

moosehead1

3M Crystalline 40% on rear deck, 50% on sides. OK to go darker on rear glass given larger horizontal plane, and in this case it isn't even noticed. 30% seems right for Florida, but I've used 25% on another vehicle and had trouble seeing at night with no ambient street lighting.

onthebeam

I also researched the Huper and it's superb at heat rejection. I'm in a small market and can't find it here. Talked to one installer 90 minutes away that might be closest. He was positive on Huper although he admitted it's much more time for the install since it's thicker. He also sells the Formula One Pinnacle and thought that its charcoal color was a better aesthetic match for a bright red car, with almost as good heat rejection here in Florida. He was less keen on the shiny shimmer visual characteristics of the Huper although I'd have to see in person to tell if that's even noticeable.

This guy ran a family operation with his mom and dad and seemed excellent with no axe to grind either way. He is in Wesley Chapel, FL, just north of Tampa.

Zekeman, what percentage did you go with on the Optik? Anything on the windshield?

chenthu

Lovely picture! In its elements!

moosehead1

So long as you choose one of the premium tints, you'll be happy with heat rejection, no fading, and nice looks without the interference of a metallic film that interupts cell/radar/other electronics. Compare the heat rejection and you'll see they are all similar at this quality level.

It is also helpful to see the tint manufacturer options and grades of light side by side mounted to a white board so you can personally see any color bias. Your red vehicle will look really sharp with the tint contrast.

Most importantly, find a good installer with a clean facility that manages dust well and uses custom machine cutting for templates. Those who hand cut film, no matter how skilled, can cut into the glass, paint or clear coat quite easily. If you are also doing a clear bra (recommended), note the A7 front bumper is very intricate and complicated, and the machine cut film helps get this right.

The Huper is spectacular, but it is particularly fussy due to its thickness and only so many dealers have the installer skill set to lay it down correctly. 3M Crystalline is also moderately thick.

^thanks chenthu. still snowing here, spring fever setting in.

zekeman

I think it was 38% or whatever was legal for our state. It picks up the interior color (black in this case) and it appears even darker from the outside. Nothing on the windshield - have to have a prescription to get it installed...could have done illegally, but pretty much try to stick by the law and not set myself up for a reason (and hassle) getting stopped. In my opinion, it's not worth it even though there are swarms of people driving illegally in that respect.
Z