darkhorse

I'm thinking of tinting but have reservations due to the dot matrix showing the silverish outline that is so common when tinting cars that have it. Has anyone done tints here, and if so, did your installer hide the dot matrix?

Any close up pics are welcome so I can get an idea of what to expect around the dot matrix.

Thank you.

grey67

I got tinted windows on my roadster and love it. The only downside is that the interior will reflect on the windows at night. It's a bit disconcerting when driving but I'm still glad I did it.

cooleddie

What % did you tint your windows at

Any pics?

cooleddie

Also anyone tint their rear windows only? What %?

Hau Phan

I just did 80 on front, 30 all around at a place called Tint World.

Cost ~$450 total.

Also did a ceramic coating on the whole exterior, that ran about $750.

Iguana1500

Yeah the dot matrix issue is really really apparent on the rear quarter windows (the tiny little triangle ones). I didn't know this until the tint was finished. I hadn't seen this on my other cars. But Audi seems to employ an especially wide dot matrix exacerbating the issue. There's nothing to be done I was told.

toram23901

I did not know about this issue until I read this. I had my car tinted just a couple of weeks ago and I felt it was very nicely done.

After reading this, I went out to look at my windows again and I now understand what this "dot matrix" thing is. On my windows, it is just a very thin row of dots that circle around the window. The width is really just like 5mm. It circles around my rear window and the two small triangular windows of the back seat.

I had one of my friends point that out to me earlier and I didn't understand why he said anything about it. To me, it just looks like a border around the window. I think it actually makes it quite nice...I have this 5mm border that go around the window to give it an accent. Kind of like crown molding on your walls.

Is 5mm actually a concern? Is it supposed to be completely flat / smooth like the two front door windows?

jaws12audi

The only way to deal with the dot matrix is to carve it off with a razor blade, which a lot of Vette guys used to try.

I had ny tint done yesterday. Nothing on windshield (not legal in NJ), but I did 35% on sides and quarters, 30% on hatch. It looks great. Dot matrix is not an issue.

Akenmaat

You know, I just assumed going into this purchase that I would get heat rejection tint done. But I think this time I might just skip it. On top of the dot matrix issue you guys bring up, my R32 will continue to serve as my daily. So the amount of time the TT RS sits outside in the heat should be pretty minimal.

As for the type of film I would get, I've always tried to strike a balance between clarity and heat rejection; getting the clearest film with the best heat rejection possible. I know people get dark tint for privacy, but my feeling is I feel a lot safer on the road when I can see what is going on ahead of whoever I'm following and limo tint prevents that. Beyond that, it makes traffic stops less stressful, makes it harder for someone to try to hide in the back seat, etc.

So my R32 has 80% high heat rejection film. It's clear enough that I could put it on the windshield without cops being able to tell and I can still see the nice light blue factory glass tint. Pretty sure it is meant for glass building windows, but it lasted almost 10 years before it started to bubble.

Cale262

$250 for the tint job, 35 on the rears and hatch...Lighter<?> on the door glass. I see the dot matrix and I didn't really think of it until reading this thread but it certainly doesnt bother me, I too kind of like it