For stock purists, what is your stance on window tinting?

[Hydrocket]

Originally Posted by RANDY P

I did the expensive UV tint on my windshield. 70% tint. It's not as effective against glare as dark tint, but you can feel the UV reduction- my totally unscientific method involves putting my hand near the glass, on my BMW the windshield area is generally cooler than the side windows- I can feel the heat radiate from the side glass much, much more.

Given that, I'm gonna do the rest of the car in 30% UV block instead of the cheap stuff on there now. I think it helps, on a black / black car in AZ anything helps.

Also check out some other brands other than 3M. That stuff commands a premium, I don't know if it's worth the $$$ or not.

I think the 3M Crystalline would change your mind. It's 200 layers of film, all the thickness of a regular film. It's impressive.

[RANDY P]

Originally Posted by Hydrocket

I think the 3M Crystalline would change your mind. It's 200 layers of film, all the thickness of a regular film. It's impressive.

I choked on the price tag. It was literally double the other stuff and the stats and warranty looked identical..

rjp

[Hydrocket]

Originally Posted by RANDY P

I choked on the price tag. It was literally double the other stuff and the stats and warranty looked identical..

rjp

We own Porsches. We're used to choking on prices for stuff!

[stomachmonkey]

OP has never lived in TX.

[rusnak]

There are the purists who dislike window tint.

And there are those with window tint who get butthurt when someone makes a remark about their window tint.

I say no big deal, it's a big world and everyone has their place. I did finally added window tint because the 110F summers are just too hot here without ANY tint. I think it's a practical thing, but if someone thinks it's a pimp thing to do, then fine. I'll try not to trip on my cheetah coat and platform shoes.

[Laneco]

I tinted the windows on my 911 a very dark color. It made a significant difference for the heat inside of the car. I was using it as my business car and working in Nevada, California, etc all during the summer. With that tinting, the a/c was adequate. Before the tinting, in the 100 plus heat with slow traffic, it was just not cutting it, particularly when I was dressed in business attire.

At the time, the new basically clear UV products were not out. At least not out long enough to actually be tried-and-true. So I went with the dark color. I don't really like the look of it on the car as I think a 911 has lovely glass area and this sort of hides that. But it did its job and I've no qualms with it. I'll probably have it removed this winter and the new UV stuff installed just because I prefer the look of it better.

I did take a little flak from purists, but it's a pretty short list of people who truly own a "blue collar working class 911" like mine. In this case, function took precedence over absolute beauty and "purists" would only see my beloved car as fit for a scrap yard anyway, so I just don't worry about snippy comments.

angela

[slodave]

I actually think my Targa looks better with the tint, but I think that's due to the large rear window.



Kinda helps on the track too... Can't tell if that guy behind me is flashing his lights to pass or not.

[masraum]

It depends upon where you live and how you drive your car. If the car is a daily driver in Houston (or Phoenix or anyplace with lots of very hot weather), then I'm all for tinting. It's reversible, and an improvement.

Tire technology changes, and new compounds and constructions are much, much, MUCH better than the tires that were available in the 80s. Would I want to use the best modern tires I could afford, hell yes, because they improve the car.

Would Prof Porsche want you to use old inferior tires? I'd be surprised if he did.

Would I put a carbon fiber overlay on the dash. Hell no.

Tint can be like new tires, it'll improve the performance of the AC, and possibly keep you from getting cancer.

Shoot, they now have a clear coating that blocks UV rays. That sounds like something I would install/have installed.

[slodave]

I don't have A/C. Oh wait! I took it out. Never worked right anyway.

I did it to keep the heat out as well. I was going to do my Corolla as well, but got lazy, then decided that without it , I kept that "urban camouflage" image. Now finding out there is clear UV available, I may just take care of the Corolla as well.

[manbridge 74]

What is life expectancy of 3M clear stuff? Will it cloud up or scratch easy?

[Hydrocket]

Originally Posted by manbridge 74

What is life expectancy of 3M clear stuff? Will it cloud up or scratch easy?

It won't fade. As with any tint, sure it can scratch if you're not careful. It's is guaranteed for life against fading/purpling, bubbling, peeling, etc...

A good tint shop will put moleskin on the edges of the door so rolling the window up/down won't scratch the tint if there are any sharp edges.

[aigel]

Waste of money for UV protection. Only 5% of UV comes through a regular car windows anyway. Have you EVER gotten a sunburn in a car with closed windows? I didn't think so. So, just fix your a/c and keep the windows up. And save your money on the UV tint.

UV exposure in cars. [Photodermatol Photoimmunol Photomed. 2003] - PubMed - NCBI

G

[speeder]

Not sure that I understand that study, how does one only get 62% of the sun's rays in an open convertible?

[aigel]

Of course I have not read the paper, as it costs $$$ to download.

You can assume that they look at real life scenarios, i.e. sun angle across the day, different driving directions and then compare it to someone standing or sitting in the open sun wearing the same clothing. I can see that the windshield and doors cut a lot, considering that the sun hits from a pretty flat angle for large periods of the day.

I once drove north with the windows down for about 45 min in the evening sun. I had sunburn from hell on my left neck. Never had anything close with windows up, even during very long road trips in direct sunlight.

But don't feel bad. I love the welding shield sun screens some of the Asians wear driving around in addition to long white gloves up to the elbows. I should forward them the study.

G

[rsNINESOOPER]

I don't care for how it looks on classic cars at all however I have heavy tint on my 85 Mercedes wagon to keep the sun and wandering eyes out of the interior and it makes a very noticeable difference. Hate the look of the dark windows, its purely for function.
I did not need it when living in Northern California but in Costa Mesa/Newport its a necessity.

As others have said it is easily removable- I have removed it once from the wagon and it took about an hour start to finish with a clothes steamer. Magic.

[5String43]

Around here, tinted windows seems to be a tipoff to the police that the vehicle's occupants have gang connections. They stop cars solely because the cars have tinted windows. Often find lots of interesting stuff, too.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by 5String43

Around here, tinted windows seems to be a tipoff to the police that the vehicle's occupants have gang connections. They stop cars solely because the cars have tinted windows. Often find lots of interesting stuff, too.

You must live in a bad area. Around here, well over 50% of the vehicles on the road have aftermarket tint. In Bel Air/Beverly Hills or Malibu, it's probably more like 75%+.

Now if the police see a clapped-out Honda Civic or Nissan Altima with really dark tint, they probably take notice. They completely ignore cars that *look like they belong* with illegal tint, (any tint film is illegal in CA. on front door windows).

[GH85Carrera]

I love the tint on my 911.

[bivenator]

Nice car Glen, I think the stone guard and the tint look good. I don't have tint or stone guard on my 88. No A/C so the windows are down 95% of my driving time.

[GH85Carrera]

My windows are up 99.8% of the time. I drove an un-air conditioned 914 for 20 years. I have had my fill of wind noise and hot interiors.