Losing my mind trying to decide on tint...

[tintnewb42]

I'll preface this by saying I realize I'm wasting too much time on this, but for some reason I can't choose. I've read this forum for hours, other forums, even visited two tint shops.  I thought it may be best to just ask you guys since you are experts in this realm.  Here's what I'm looking for:

 

- Slightly tinted look and care mostly about UV protection and heat concerns. If it makes sense, you can't tell immediately the car is tinted but if you look at it for a bit then you can see the slight tint.

- My car is white with black interior, so prefer no color hue if at all possible to keep a clean look colorwise

 

My thoughts so far are:

- Crystalline 60 on sides/rear, 70 on windshield  ($750)
- Formula 1 Pinnacle 50 sides/rear, Air 80 Llumar on the front windshield ($580)

- Formula 1 Stratos 50 sides/70 windshield ($850)

I live in LA so there is basically endless choices on types/films/shops.  I prefer not to spend a ton on the tint, but if it gets me exactly what I'm looking for I guess I'd do it.  I did the heat lamp test with Crystalline and Pinnacle and while the difference is noticeable I wouldn't say it's a deal breaker.  But a part of me says with everyone raving about Crystalline I should just pay the extra and do that.  Of course, I can't find any examples of CR 60 to see the color shading, so then I'm confused again  I don't want an obvious brown/bronze/blue look from the outside.

 

Any thoughts?  Many thanks in advance.

[DynamicATL]

IMO I would go with Crystalline to have the clearer 60 option.  50 is light, but will be much more noticeable than the 60 which you don't want in CA so you can avoid tickets.  Crystalline will have much higher performance than Pinnacle and slightly higher than Stratos.  Stratos will have more of a neutral grey color, but once again 50 will be noticeable.

 

Color-wise...

• Crystalline 60 - Hint of brown, but barely there.
• Crystalline 70 - Hint of blue, this goes for 99% of 70-80 shades no matter the manufacturer.
• Pinnacle 50 - Hint of green, but barely there.
• Stratos 50 - Not 100% sure since I have seen the 50...it is basically Pinnacle with a layer of AIR...so essentially a green/blue mix but barely there due to the lighter shade of 50.
• AIR 80 - Hint of blue.

However your perception of the color may be different than mine, so some of these colors by be more or less to you.

[tintnewb42]

Awesome thanks Dynamic. Walking around today I realized I do not want to do anything that could turn out dark at all and I think Crystalline would be the better way to go.  I'm guessing the 50 Pinnacle will still be rather noticeable.

 

I saw Crystalline 50 on a small coupe with the same color scheme as mine and that was way to dark for me.  So if Pinnacle 50 is close to that I'm guessing I'd want to avoid too.

[DynamicATL]

This is Crystalline 50 on the sides/rear and 70 on the windshield.

 

[DynamicATL]

To compare this is Crystalline 90 all the way including windshield.

 

[tintnewb42]

Thanks. I may even just go 70 all around.  

 

It's interesting that I cannot find one example of 60 on the sides. I guess it's not that popular for some reason.

[tintnewb42]

Dynamic, on your website page here: http://dynamicappearance.com/automotive-window-tinting/ , under the Crystalline part:

 

What are the side %'s of those tints for the red Tesla and yellow Ferrari? Also on your Tesla Gallery page, do you remember what 1/14 and 13/14 are?  (I realize 1/14 is much darker than I want, but it doesn't look bad so just curious).

 

Thanks a million, those pictures you posted above are quite helpful actually.  Seeing the Porsche makes me think I prefer to go lighter (but not that light).

Edited May 26, 2018 by tintnewb42

[DynamicATL]

Yes, 60 is not very popular since most films don't have it...typically it jumps from 50 to 70.

 

The Tesla and Ferrari are both 40% all the way.  As far as the Tesla page, the photos rotate around everytime you reload the page, so what you see will be different from what I see.

[tintnewb42]

Got it, thanks. I guess pictures are not as helpful as I thought, kind of shocked those are CR 40s!  Appreciate the advice Dynamic.

[Jake]

Pics can be very off depending on the angle. Most look darker in a pic to me. Don’t forget many factors come in to play that will make 2 different cars with the same film look different. Window size and angle. Then dark to light interior makes a huge difference. 

 

Don’t take this the wrong way. Just remember you having a hard time deciding on a film and being particular on the look you want is your opinion and choice. What I am getting at is once you choose and have it installed, if its not exactly what you wanted that is on you not the installing shop. I just say this because I have had customers in the past that have had the same difficulty level choosing, and when all was done if they thought it was too dark/light or didn’t like the hue it then became the fault of the installer. Good luck in what ever choices you decide. 👍