Vegas: max heat rejection and shop recommendation needed

[Guest Kelly B]

Well, summer is definitely here...

Ugh. It was only 109 here in real world Vegas, today, the real world being not inside the magic white box six feet off the ground, over grass, at the airport, which I'd swear is air-conditioned.

The car in question is a '99 Suzuki Grand Vitara, which has mediocre A/C capacity as it is, and once it's above about 97F ambient, the A/C is fighting a losing battle. Lots of window area & a carryover A/C system from the smaller Sidekick...a bad combo.

I already have plans for changing the lame, engine-driven cooling fan to a high CFM electric unit, so there will be actual cooling while at idle, but I'd like to tint everything to max Colorado legal limit. Colorado as that's where we're moving to later this year. CO is 27%, which is pretty dark IIRC.

Yeah, I'd like to just have a new vehicle, but hey, this one is paid for and worth the equivalent of a 17-year old Schwinn, so for now, it's a keeper.

As it is, I need a new windshied, so I'd like to combine new glass, which I'll be paying for out of my own pocket...it's an inexpensive slab of glass, and I'm going to request a tint strip at the top, so I figure having it done before it's installed would be easier all around. I found a place in town which does both glass and tint, and the glass is pretty reasonable. They claim to have been around a while, too, which is always good, and can be difficult to find in a town which takes pride in having a rather transient population.

Anyway, I'm looking for maximum heat rejection without going metallic, as I'm trying to keep my Valentine One's performance as good as possible. I don't dig on shiny window film, even though silver tint on a silver trucklet might look pretty good. Still, reflective tint can be asking to be hassled, and I'm too old for that aggrivation.

Suggestions on tint, shops, or both? I don't want to shell out four digits for the job, but if they're gonna do a good job, it'll be worth paying for.

[Guest jtm999]

Well if the colorado legal limit is 27% you would be safe going with a 32% tint which will pass any inspections that colorado might have. As for color I personally like the charcoal colored tint. As far as shops go there is info on this website that shows tinters state by state. Hope this helps

[Guest darkdan]

Non-metalic and "maximum heat rejection" usually means EXPENSIVE tint job. Just because it has metal in it doesn't mean it's highly reflective.

Also, I find tinting windows outside of the vehicle much harder then installed in the vehicle. Especially considering windows are "glued" in. The adhensive that holds the glass in is stronger the adhensive holding the tint to the glass. Thus, it's not a good idea to tint them before it's installed because if you go out too far you're now gluing the tint to the vehicle instead of the glass to the vehicle.

[Guest 1PEECBARETTA]

that's to much to read

[Guest Kelly B]

I don't mean reflective to light only, but also to microwave radiation, I.e. K and Ka band radar. I know laser will take a huge hit, but if you detect it, you might as well pull over, if you were speeding, anyway.

Thanks for the info on tinting windows not mounted to the vehicle. Good to know!

Non-metalic and "maximum heat rejection" usually means EXPENSIVE tint job. Just because it has metal in it doesn't mean it's highly reflective.

Also, I find tinting windows outside of the vehicle much harder then installed in the vehicle. Especially considering windows are "glued" in. The adhensive that holds the glass in is stronger the adhensive holding the tint to the glass. Thus, it's not a good idea to tint them before it's installed because if you go out too far you're now gluing the tint to the vehicle instead of the glass to the vehicle.