yabi

markcincinnati

I had mine tinted to allow ~60% of the light in. The picture in the preceding post is virtually the same as mine, but mine, technically is 40, not 35.

Having said that, the place I had the tinting done said that most of their "german car" customers tint another two levels darker, which I assume means their tints allow 40% of the light in. For me, 40% light blockage works great and I didn't have to declare (and become) my status as a drug dealer. I saw an S3 in a dark gray metallic color (it could've been Daytona) with a black interior and 70% or 80% light blockage -- the damn thing looked almost opaque.

I didn't have mine tinted for aesthetic reasons -- although I must say I do like the look of a Daytona Gray Pearl exterior with a semi-dark gray tint looking into a red leather interior.

There are two reasons to tint: Light blockage (which can actually be detected at a 20% tint level; my wife got this on her SQ5) and heat/UV blockage (the invisible sun rays that can cause the car to become very hot inside and also -- over time -- speed up the deterioration of the plastics and leathers.)

Because it is -- apparently -- expensive to buy UV blockage, many customers will get inexpensive tints that seem to look pretty good to very good but they scratch easier, don't last as long, and seem to actually appear just a bit cloudy, even when new.

My Audi dealer offered up the names of a couple of tinting shops they vouch for -- I called them both. One of them, upon my mentioning my sales rep offered a 20% discount. I had the side and rear windows tinted in a very nice looking gray tint that blocks 40% of light and 99%+ UV. The tint is of a type typically called "ceramic" -- unlike the non-ceramic tints, you essentially treat them exactly like glass; you can use anything to clean them, not only special chemicals (some of the "lesser" tints are not guaranteed to withstand certain cleaners and in fact recommend you use the manufacturer's cleaning spray (only). Ceramic -- just take it to your normal full service inside/outside car wash and don't worry about the "generic" blue liquid they spray on the windows -- ceramic can take it.

As I recall, you get high heat blockage and 99% UV blockage with Ceramic tint, but there is a lesser tint that also was touted as having good heat/UV blockage, but it lacked the durability of Ceramic. My wife had the inside of her windshield tinted at 20% blockage (light) and 99%+ UV blockage. I did not tint my windshield.

I used "UP Ceramic"

As I recall, I had mine done at the price $500 - 20% + 7% sales tax. Maybe it was $400 - 20%, can't recall now. Took about 5 hours. Couldn't roll down the windows for a few days (it was summer -- the hotter it is the shorter the "cure" process). When you pick up the car the windows are covered in tiny tiny bubbles -- they "magically" disappear in about 2-3 days, shorter if you leave the car in the sun. When you get in the car immediately after having it done, you may think: "My god what have I done," the look is so bumpy and bubbly. Not to worry.

Now, I can drive anytime with my sunglasses on (non-polarized since I have a Prestige model and polarized sun-glasses don't play well with the HUD) and NO SQUINTING!

Plus the car is a bit cooler physically and a bit cooler in its appearance.

There are two brands that my dealership seemed good with: 3M and Solar Gaurd. I went with the latter. Both of these brands are highly regarded.

Eclipse Automotive Tint - Cincinnati, OH

https://www.solargard.com/product/ultra-performance/

The "best in the world" is here: Hüper Optik Automotive Window Films

https://www.huperoptikusa.com/automotive/

mplsbrian

Any pictures, Mark?

@yabi & stanj -- I think I'm basically looking to split the difference between your two cars. Stan's is a little lighter than I want and yabi's is a little dark. I am glad to hear that Crystalline is both good at heat rejection and doesn't affect RD signals (though I'm sure with its IR blocking properties it would affect laser detection--which is OK, because all a laser detector really does is tell you you're already getting a ticket). Crystalline seems worth the price.

markcincinnati

I think the quality of the picture (that I have posted previously) isn't as good as the one I referenced that has the 3M 35 (above). Mine is SolarGaurd 40 UP Ceramic -- they are virtually identical. I'm not physically near my car at the moment, so just let me assure you that any "noticeable" tint in gray ceramic will look terrific. If you want darker, you can go to 30, 20, and even LIMO-Dark 10, which essentially means no one can see in and when you look out of the car on a sunny day it looks like you might imagine things looking with two pairs of sunglasses on at the same time.

dbuxton13

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-ecs-part.../020796ecs01a/

It's listed for the A4, but there is no difference between them

BrockDM

Nano Carbon Ceramic S7 tint. 35% sides with 40% windshield

UGADawgFan

Whatever tint my tint guy uses at 35% on a $200 tint job . No expensive, fancy ceramo-metallic-unobtanium-dark-knight-supercalifragalistic film here.

Tinted in September of 2017

mplsbrian

Going in for tint this afternoon and have a few quick final questions. Hoping someone sees this!

1. I'm planning to get either Suntek CXP or Suntek CIR, either 40% or 50% -- making my final decision at the shop. Does anyone have experience with the Suntek films? Like it, hate it, recommend something else? Primary interest is heat rejection and secondary interest is a subtle tint for a classy look without hueing blue (which I'm told Crystalline does).
2. Installation question. I spent an hour in the garage cleaning all my windows (inside and out) with Invisible Glass and a quality microfiber to get them streak-free for tint today. I believe I did a really good job, but I did notice that my microfiber shed some some fibers onto the rear glass: I'm guessing the defroster lines pulled them off. They are apparent enough to be visible as slight sparkles in my rear view mirror as I drove into work today (it was sunny out). My question: is it reasonable that the tint installer will take care to get these off the glass / prepare the surface before tinting it -- or am I going to need to spend some more time on this myself and come back next week to have them tint the rear glass if I want this done perfectly? The installer is highly regarded locally so I trust the work will be quality, but I don't know what is typical to expect in this industry: do they take great pains to prep the glass, or do they just slap film on expecting the customer will have prepped the surface or paid a detailer before swinging by?

yabi

PGrefal

They usually prep the windows or areas they are going to work on for the most part. Any updates on how the tint install went? I'm getting my car PPF'd and tinted at the same place and they apparently only use suntek tint. I was thinking of going for the CIR.