transporter2004

What kind?
What percentage?
Is Hyper Optik worth the money?
Which windows do you have tinted?
Photos?

Brozee

I believe mine was the 3M upgraded carbon tint.
Straight black tint, limo or 5% in the back and 25% up front. Everything done but the windshield. Has been on the car for 2 and a half years and not a scratch. It was very difficult to find a tint shop that even offered different types of tint rather then the normal "we have good quality". I found a shop who knew his stuff and offered different types, I got it out the door for $405. This included a warranty to peel the front windows and replaced should I get a ticket for them. So far so good and I love it. IMO just get a good quality tint and I don't believe the Huper Optik's worth it if it is more than $$$ than the standard upgraded stuff. As the main advantage of the ceramic tint is the cut down on heat. I must say I love what was done on my car and not a scratch or peel anywhere on it.

transporter2004

thanks Brozee. I have always had 35 on my cars all the way around. I am thining about just tinting the side windows on my A8, as to let the cops see in the rear window. The rear deck and rear headrests are large enough to cover the rear window in my opinion. I am looking to tint the car to cut down on the glare at night and the heat in the summer as there is a large amount of black leather inside.
your car looks good!

MP4.2+6.0

3M. 70% on front door windows, 50% in rear. Looks nice years later. Hard to tell front doors are tinted to keep a more or less legal look in CA. Good heat reduction, and no upholstery fade (unlike my older A6, which has no tint). Shop does HuperOptik too, but he recommended 3M for performance and color match to vehicle.

If I did it again, I might not do the rear window, but just the doors. Inevitably you get some diffraction at night at the defroster wires, no matter how well laid down. To really do the rear window top notch, the rear deck should come out. A real pain in the b... to do (which I did myself pre-tinting, together with the trim around the small rear side window). Look at the lower edge of the rear deck hard against the glass and you will see why--several inches are exposed as it drops down to the bottom edge of the glass. Some tinters won't do A8 rear windows for that reason. If you still do it, either it gets cut short or the tint gets shoved down in there, which I expect would pick up lint in the adhesive and be hard to smooth out fully.

transporter2004

yes I agree, I am just gonna have the sides done. I think I will go with the same percentage all the way. I am thinking 35% or lighter. I always have the shade on the moon roof open and this lets enough light in to see a silhouette. I drive fast and when I get pulled over I do not want the cop to be wondering who is inside, or how many.

Does the 3M come in different colors? I am not talking about glitter or mirror. But does it come in a smoke or grey?

Thanks

MP4.2+6.0

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3...ts/Automotive/

A good number of choices.

aTOMic

The PO had tint applied to my A8, and they tinted the area that the center stop light shines through. I am sure the people behind us appreciate that, but I wish it was not tinted there. My wife has been rear-ended twice (totalled both cars due to their low value, no injuries) so I need all the help I can get in the "Hey, I'm STOPPIN' HERE!" department! Maybe I'll wire up the rear fogs to come on with the brakelights. I'm sure THAT wouldn't cause a code!

To remove the 3rd brakelight housing to get at the tinted area the back seatback has to come out, there are too many more important things I need to do first.
-Tom

K9COP

Hey Tom, there is a thread on here somewhere that gives the coding for flashing the stop lights under emergency braking... maybe that would be a worthwhile VCDS exercise... I'm gonna try it.

K9

PaulW

I think it looks great, this picture is when it was overcast outside, plus I have a black interior and black headliner, so it looks dark. Just got it done in Dallas prior to picking up my 07. $375 and it was done by a professional, back window is one piece. The Audi dealer where I bought my car had it done for me.

<img src=http://www.audipages.com/s8/sm_IMG_2136.JPG>

jakematic

Looks great Paul !

How do you like the black headliner with the black interior and tinting ?
Am looking at the same combination on my next A8 and wondering if it would be too dark.
Not a big fan of the "Moon Silver" headliner though. THanks-Jake

ps Mine is 30% too, don't recall the brand but think it's ceramic. The PO had waaaay illegal almost black tint that was dangerously dark.