DARKEST tint for the rear window that isn't frustrating to see out of?

I am getting quoted $150 for the two front windows using 3M Crystalline, so its on par with your Llumar CTX ceramic pricing.

I've called around and got quote for $300-400 for a windshield using Crystalline so I am confident that pricing I am getting is solid.

Fortunately this tint shop only sells 3M film, and their prices are pretty competitive. On top of that, their shop is clean and their work is pretty good.

I already got my Acura tinted with color stable, but going back to get the 4Runner done too.

Either way, excited to get this... it's a long over due luxury upgrade for my desert rig.
 
Bumbo said:
I am getting quoted $150 for the two front windows using 3M Crystalline, so its on par with your Llumar CTX ceramic pricing.

I've called around and got quote for $300-400 for a windshield using Crystalline so I am confident that pricing I am getting is solid.

Fortunately this tint shop only sells 3M film, and their prices are pretty competitive. On top of that, their shop is clean and their work is pretty good.

I already got my Acura tinted with color stable, but going back to get the 4Runner done too.

Either way, excited to get this... it's a long over due luxury upgrade for my desert rig.
Click to expand...

$150 for 3M Crystalline is a very good deal. I could have probably done better if I shopped around some more but I don't think will find it that low.
 
Hans Moleman said:
To be honest, if I had to do it over again on my T4R, I would go with the Llumar CTX ceramic instead of 3M Crystalline.

On paper the 3M Crystalline is better than the Llumar CTX.

In the real world, my Tacoma has Llumar CTX and I can't tell the difference between it and the 3M Crystalline on the T4R in terms of feeling the heat. And the Llumar was half the price of the 3M.
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Yeah this is my point....I am very glad i tinted, plus looks awesome, just thinking you may wish to go a little lower in price point as the difference is hard to tell!
 
i have 5% all around except the front windshield is stock.

honestly, it's based on your preference. When the sun is shining through the front. you are able to see the entire interior if you are at the right angle. BUT, it is a good deterrent as you mentioned for street parking in the city. I put my sunshade up to block the sunlight and it's blacked out.
 
elisabet_gg1990 said:
I went to get my windows tinted for
My 5th gen 4Runner but the guy wasn’t able To do it, he said that the dealer tint had 2 layers wich made it impossible
To Do the ceramic tinting. He tried several time But it wouldn’t stay. Any suggestions .


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Mine had dealer installed tint but I was still getting sunburnt, so I wanted to change it. The dealer installed tint has to be removed first before applying new film. You should try another tint shop.
 
20% is as dark as I would go for the front two windows. I think it’s the best of both worlds, you get the daytime privacy (especially if you darken the rears) and you can still see at night for the most part.

I had 5% tint all around on a Jeep GC back in the day and it absolutely sucked at night. I was pulled over in that thing too and the cop made me remove the tint on the spot. What a dick!
 
So, about tinting the sunroof- isn't that a big no no? I was going to do it and between the tint shop and internet searches, people seem to think it causes spontaneous shattering of the sunroof. Snopes?
 
rob_dixon said:
Sure man.

Save your money. I am going to call this "The big Tint lie"

This has to do with science I am very curious about. I get it. I do. But here is the marketing: "Light tint rejects 60% of solar energy and up to 97% of heat-producing infrared rays for the ultimate in comfort." "Reject heat" cooler car, etc.

In the installer, they have an infrared light behind the various tints. You press the button and feel the heat (or lack of) behind the tint. 100% convincing. This is REAL - your hand does not lie.

But in function, and in the science behind how heat actually builds up in a vehicle, it is 100% BS.

After tint, my truck is seemingly not 1 degree cooler than prior to tint. I am not one to fall for placebo affect easily. So I did a search and found some guy ran an actual experiment which proved my suspicions in a Tesla.

Experiment: 3M Crystalline Tint Makes ZERO Difference in Cabin Temp | Tesla

So basically I just spent just over $1K to have darker windows which I could have done for $350. I was expecting a significant different in temperatures. THAT WAS THE WHOLE POINT of paying premium.

If anyone can find another real world dispute of this (or explain) I'd love to see it. And before you say TIME may be a factor, I am talking literally minutes here in Phoenix before its intolerable, same as before - and it was only 82-85 yesterday. AND keep in mind compared to many vehicles our windshield angle to the sun is much LESS horizontal than most.

I'd love to see the industry have real world measurements in addition to all current stats: A chart of Degrees raised over time (e.g. 30 minutes) on a standard industry platform. But that might mean we see this "alleged" BS, so don't expect that. But I am just 1 guy.
Click to expand...

There are 3 types of heat transfer: conduction, convection, and radiation.

What you felt inside the shop under the UV lamp, which mimics the sun, was radiation and the tint's ability to block it. This is probably what tint makers refer to when they claim heat rejection.

Outside on a hot summer day UV rays are bombarding the car, transferring heat from sunlight to the car (not just the glass). Plus, the hot ambient air transfers heat to all the surfaces of the glass, paint, fabric, etc of car in the interior and exterior (convection). The materials of the car will transfer the heat received from the air and UV within themselves and across anything they touch (conduction). All this heat is what you feel after getting in the car after it sits outside on a hot summer day. Tint is only going to reduce the UV part of the heat transfer on the glass.

Long story short, you weren't ripped off due to lack temperature reduction.
 
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Glandnut said:
So, about tinting the sunroof- isn't that a big no no? I was going to do it and between the tint shop and internet searches, people seem to think it causes spontaneous shattering of the sunroof. Snopes?
Click to expand...

It's a myth.

Type of glass and maybe being stressed in some way could cause a sunroof to shatter, and there might be other factors, but not tint.
 
Rapid_Amble said:
There are 3 types of heat transfer: conduction, convection, and radiation.

What you felt inside the shop under the UV lamp, which mimics the sun, was radiation and the tint's ability to block it. This is probably what tint makers refer to when they claim heat rejection.

Outside on a hot summer day UV rays are bombarding the car, transferring heat from sunlight to the car (not just the glass). Plus, the hot ambient air transfers heat to all the surfaces of the glass, paint, fabric, etc of car in the interior and exterior (convection). The materials of the car will transfer the heat received from the air and UV within themselves and across anything they touch (conduction). All this heat is what you feel after getting in the car after it sits outside on a hot summer day. Tint is only going to reduce the UV part of the heat transfer on the glass.

Long story short, you weren't ripped off due to lack temperature reduction.
Click to expand...

Are you thinking that on a 100 degree day that a true High performance IR film installed wont keep the cabin of a 4runner cooler while running the air conditioning than a non-tinted 4runner with just the factory tinting?

If you think a non tinted 4runner will be just a cool inside with the a/c running and a fully IR tinted 4runner with the air conditioning running, then you have NO real world tint experience. Me? I started tinting in 1984, Just saying.

have a great day :)
 
redneckj said:
Are you thinking that on a 100 degree day that a true High performance IR film installed wont keep the cabin of a 4runner cooler while running the air conditioning than a non-tinted 4runner with just the factory tinting?
Click to expand...

No, I wasn't, and that isn't what I wrote. As a reminder, I wrote that he didn't waste his money.

redneckj said:
If you think a non tinted 4runner will be just a cool inside with the a/c running and a fully IR tinted 4runner with the air conditioning running, then you have NO real world tint experience. Me? I started tinting in 1984, Just saying.
Click to expand...

Congratulations on your tint experience!

redneckj said:
have a great day :)
Click to expand...

Thanks, you too.
 
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Rapid_Amble said:
No, I wasn't, and that isn't what I wrote. As a reminder, I wrote that he didn't waste his money..
Click to expand...

Yeah thank for explaining the science exactly what i was interested in. I certainly didn't say i wasted my money, it indeed looks fantastic and i can see all around at 20%. To recap, I was interested more in the percentage of tint, but someone asked me why i thought i would go cheaper and i explained basically because it is not as cool as the marketing may lead you to believe. Basically in function the car is indeed cooler, but still hot AF due to the reasons you explained, so in hindsight I certainly would have gone a grade down and saved a few hundred.

But the overall point is yeah 20% is the way to go. Absolutely NO issues seeing at night.
 
For those of you wondering what the STOCK percentage on a 5th gen is, I metered my truck before tinting so I could get an idea of what percentage I would come up with AFTER the tint was applied.

I ended up getting Global QDP Ceramic tint.

70% windshield, 50% doors, 20% trunk. (70% front is the legal limit in NY)
If i were to do it again, i would do 5% in the trunk area.

I had a 2017 Rav4 with 20% all around over stock tint, it was very nice but felt it was too dark for my kids to see out the window sometimes. That's why i went with 50% on all doors this time around.

a>


a>


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The fronts are still technically illegal, but not THAT noticeable.

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I just got my ceramic tint installed this past weekend. Finally settled on 15ish% all around with 70% on the windshield. I work out of my truck and AZ summers are brutal so I wanted it as dark as I could without effecting nighttime visibility too much.

Love it, and my truck is definitely cooler inside. Nighttime driving is definitely a little harder to see but I can see medians and other objects in the road just fine.

The windshield tint isn't noticeable at all from the outside with how dark the rest of the windows are but still helps with the heat.
 
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