I had not thought about scratches. That is something I'll watch out for. I've never owned a car with aftermarket window tint before. One thing the installer said was that I can't roll the windows down for 48 hours.

Excellent! I can't wait to go for a long drive to really try it out. I have been on a few long road trips during the summer since I installed the Griffith's A/C. Like you said there have been times where the sun is still coming through the windows and you can really feel it. Plus when it's >90°F and the car has been sitting outside it's like an oven when you open the doors. Hopefully this will help.

:eek:

That is double what it cost me! Maybe try not telling them what kind of car is -- just ask what the typical price is for a 2-door coupe? Hopefully they aren't charging you Porsche tax.

If I had the front windshield done too it would've cost another $120 or so. That's still a good bit less even if your shops are quoting all the glass.

Very cool (pun intended) product. Any idea whether any one can do a tint film on the flexible rear plastic cabrio window? I have sent a note to one of the local installers here in the Detroit area with the same question, and I will let you know what they say. Thanks.

I love the stripe on the side too. Is it a decal ( stick on/vinyl?) or magnetic? Also, where did you get it?

Ok, so wait. I had the 3M installed on mine as well, but was told it couldn't be installed on the windshield because of distortion. Did any of you guys get any of this?

My black on black car with no a/c has had a similar product from Wincos for a few years now. It's made a huge difference during the summer. Still need to get the windshield done at some point, though.

I did the Lumar Air 80 on sides and back, and 90 on my windshield. Out the door was $489.

To me, tinted targas look terrible so I wanted something clear. The Lumar has a slight bluish tint which I think adds to the look of the car (the glass looks more "high-tech" or something, hard to describe.)

It looks very similar to the 3M. I wanted the 3M but the good shop here in Austin that installs it has said "verboten" to doing any more targas or 944s after some bad experience with that rear window.

So far, heat rejection is great and the car is much more comfortable even in direct sun. Let's see how it feels in July. Still going to need A/C upgrade but the tint will def help.

Wait, what? My understanding is that a full system should be up to "modern" standards (ie, comfy in 100°F sun in stopped traffic).

After I get into my parked car, I drive around with the windows down for a bit until all the hot air equalizes with the ambient temperature, and then close the windows to let the AC do its work. Can't say I have much issue with heat soak.

I used this same tint on a black 996. All windows including the windshield. Im generally not a fan of the tinted look...its an excellent product and provided a very slight smoked look to the glass.

If you do the windshield be aware that it will create a halo effect at night, especially if your windshield is not new...not terrible but can be a little distracting.

Technically it is illegal in Georgia to have any film on the windshield. I read the state law and it is actually very absurd the way it is written.

Anyway, some places will not do it and others will.

I'm "told" that most customers opt to have the windshield done anyway. The Crystalline 90 is what they typically use. Optical distortion is in fact something I was worried about and part of the reason i opted to not have it done yet.

I would like to see first hand what it looks like installed on the windshield of someone else's car. If there is no distortion or issues with polarized sunglasses then I would consider doing it. I'm not really sure how enforceable the law is. Maybe if you got pulled over for something else and the officer just wanted to be a jerk they could trump up something. Otherwise I doubt it would ever be an issue as long as the film is light enough. Of course I see totallly blacked out cars at local car shows so at least some people seem to be getting away with it...

Right it's a couple of things that made me think it was worth a try. A parked car sitting in full summer sun is going to absorb a lot of heat no matter what. Keeping the heat out to begin with means the cabin will get cooler faster.

The other thing is the added benefit of protecting the interior. I redid my interior a few years ago and even with the fact that the car is mostly for weekends, I can already see that the sun is starting to fade the carpet. Also my dash is not cracked yet so I'd like to maybe try to prevent that from happening.

Right now if I decide to put the film on the windshield then I'll obviously have all the glass protected. Otherwise I'll buy a sun shade for the times it's parked outside.

Indeed. I actually find it surprising that all automotive glass doesn't reject UV. Seems like a one-time cost for permanent benefits.

I'd be very wary of putting anything on my windshield. Glare is bad enough. What might it look like in 5 years? I'm interested in hearing experiences.

One more thing on the A/C... I have a slight disadvantage with the SC because I have the little slit vents next to the driver and passenger side doors. The later Carreras have much bigger vents there. While I get really, really cold air blowing out of the center vents, I have been driving on long road trips where the air coming through the little side vents is struggling to keep up with the heat coming through the driver side glass. I'm hoping this will just take some of the edge off in those situations.

Yea I don't understand that either. My truck and my wife's SUV both have factory tint in the 2nd row and rear glass that I suspect is darker than GA state law allows. It seems like every jurisdiction around the world having different laws would be such a pain in the butt for the automotive industry. It would be easier on the auto manufacturers if there was a federal law that made it the same everywhere in thr US. But the real problem is probably that it would add money to their costs for something that not everyone wants or cares about.

Of course the problem with dark tint is always going to be safety for law enforcement. Dark tinted windows on a Mercedes = drug dealer right???

It is vinyl. I got it from Pelican's favorite graphics guy -- Joe Bob.

I am still thinking about changing just the Porsche letters to red. Can't decide. Discussed that with JB and decided to try the single color first for a while.

I don't see why not. I am probably going to put this stuff on my E350 cabriolet too so I will report back.

I've had near-black tint on a few cars (all previous owners). I always roll the windows down and make sure my hands are visible on the wheel...One time a cop told me to roll my rear windows back up...I thought that was weird, but maybe it had to do with there being passengers back there.

These days you can reject a lot of heat without rejecting much light. I would expect that to find it's way into factory cars, but I suspect it runs afoul of much regulation, just like headlights do.

Huh. Yea I don't understand why the officer would say to roll up the rear windows. I got pulled over once for having a brake light out. When the officer turned his lights on I was entering a blind curve so I waited a few yards until I was on straight part of the road to pull over. I got fussed at for not stopping sooner. I think it was still the right thing to do. Oh well. As Brad Pitt's character said in Inglorious Basterds, "I've been fussed at before."

Might want to read the fine print on your insurance policy.