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tintslut

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  11. Radar detectors and Tint

    in Window Tinting - General Discussion

    Posted

    Taken From valentine radar locators,

    Report #1

    Some windshields ruin radar detection range, cut it by 95%

    Car and Driver asked us to test windshields for an article appearing in its August, 1998, issue. There are two kinds of cars, the magazine reports; "okay" and "terrible."

    We found that all windshields reduce radar range by a minor amount. These are the "okay" cars. V1 can easily live with those losses.

    The "terrible" cars cut radar range by 95 percent. Even V1 can't protect you through those windshields.

    The "terrible" windshields all have a silver-based metallic film between laminations, usually put there to reflect the sun's infrared radiation. Ford had a different idea with its InstaClear system (now out of production), which used the film as a defroster.

    Here's a list of "terrible" cars:

    ?  Audi A8 with optional "insulated glass" (look for a bronze tint).

    ?  Some Ford Taurus, Mercury Sable, Lincoln Town Car, and Lincoln Continental models with optional InstaClear (look for a bronze tint).

    ?  General Motors--All 1989-1996 Chevrolet Lumina minivan, Pontiac Trans Sport, Oldsmobile Silhouette; all 1998 and newer Chevrolet Venture, Pontiac Trans Sport, Olds Silhouette minivans; some 90s Buick Roadmasters and Chevrolet Impala SSs; some late-80s/early-90s Corvettes (look for a red-bronze tint).

    SOME STICK-ON WINDOW TINT FILMS ARE "TERRIBLE" TOO. Some tint films also have metallized layers. Car and Driver supplied samples from Wal-Mart (Axius brand) and AutoZone (Gila brand). The Axius films have no effect on radar reception in our tests.

    However, the Gila package claims its films have metallized layers, and our tests of Gila films produced the significant radar loses we associate with metallized films.

    WARNING: V1's Radar Locator depends on the rear antenna having an unobstructed view back through the interior of your car. Metallized films on side and rear windows will confuse the Radar Locator.

      Report #2

    Windshields are like putting sunglasses on your laser detector. And some windshields are darker than others.

    That's the lesson of the windshield test Car and Driver asked us to do for its August, 1998, issue.

    TO A LASER DETECTOR, laser looks like a faint light. Spotting a faint light in bright daylight is hard to do; as a result, laser detectors provide less protection on sunny days. But on overcast days, detectors do much better, and V1 works very well at night.

    The windshield changes a laser detector's vision exactly as sunglasses change yours. The view is so bright on a sunny day that sunglasses don't hurt. But your detector doesn't want sunglasses any time you wouldn't wear them. That means that darker windshields hurt laser-detector performance on gray days and at night.

    TEST CONCLUSIONS:

          1. All windshields provide significant losses in laser detection.

          2. The least-harmful windshields still cut laser-detector range by 60 percent; the worst ones cut up to 80 percent.

          3. Avoid putting your detector behind the tint band at the top, unless you're sure it has no effect. We found major losses due to the tint on some cars, and no additional losses on others.

          4. Road splash on your windshield hurts laser detection, but the splash sample we tested--it was so bad a driver would stop to wash the glass--hurt laser detection less than some tint bands.

          5. Recent model years suggest a trend; that car makers are moving toward glass formulations which cause greater laser losses.

    DO-IT-YOURSELF WINDOW TINTING FILMS: Car and Driver supplied four tint-film samples, which we tested on clear window glass. Clear glass cuts laser range by about 25 percent, and all of the samples cut laser range by an additional 25-35 percent. Metallized films had about the same effect as ordinary tint films.

    You might add a tint strip across the top of your windshield to cut glare. If so, a laser detector will suffer a serious loss of performance when placed behind the tint.

    REAR-LASER DETECTION would be hurt by tint films on rear and side windows, at least in theory. V1's rear-laser performance is by far the best in the industry, but don't expect too much from it. When you're shot in the back, you're moving away, so the shooter's best shot is his first one. If he fails to get a reading on his first shot, you're so lucky you don't need a laser detector.

    HOW WINDSHIELDS CHOP LASER DETECTION RANGE...what's left after passing through the windshield, arranged from best to worst.

     

    CAR  MAIN AREA  TINT BAND

     

    1989 Toyota Camry  40%  40%

    1995 Nissan Maxima  40%  16%

    1998 Olds Silhouette  40%  14%

    1987 Corvette  32%  32%

    1998 BMW 740i  32%  32%

    1998 Porsche 911 Turbo  28%  28%

    1998 Porsche Boxster  28%  28%

    1995 Dodge Neon  28%  28%

    1998 Chevrolet Cavalier  28%  no tint

    1998 Mercedes Benz SLK    27%  no tint

    1998 Honda Accord  27%  27%

    1998 Honda Prelude  25%  no tint

    1998 Audi A8  25%  no tint

    1998 Corvette  24%  19%

    1998 Ford Taurus  20%  13%

    1998 Chrysler Concorde  18%  8%

    1998 Toyota Camry  15%  6%

     

    HOW DO-IT-YOURSELF GLASS TINTING FILMS CUT LASER RANGE...what's left after passing through the sample.

    Clear glass, no tint  75%

    Axius, 35% VLT on clear glass  53%

    Axius, 20% VLT on clear glass  40%

    Gila HPB046, 40% Smoke on clear glass  45%

    Gila HPB044, 20% Limo Black on clear glass  50%

  12. felt

    in Window Tinting - General Discussion

    Posted

    sorry, we dont felt here anymore. 1 ssr, 2 accords and a ram 1500 pickup came back.

    Putting felt on the seals essentially gives the impression that the film wont scratch anymore.

    This puts you in the postion of having to replace the film at no charge if the film should scratch again.

    Asking the customer to clean the window seals and gaskets , on ALL CARS, not just the problem

    vehicles , helps every installation last longer.

  22. Osha, be prepared in case they Visit

    in Window Tinting - General Discussion

    Posted

    Including the phone Girl :

    WOMEN!!

    HAZARDOUS MATERIALS INFORMATlON BULLETIN

    WOMEN - A CHEMICAL ANALYSlS

    ELEMENT : Woman

    SYMBOL : Wo

    DISCOVERER : Adam

    ATOMIC MASS : Accepted at 53.6kg, but known to vary from 40 - 200kg

    OCCURRENCES : Copious quantities in urban areas

    PHYSICAL PROPERTIES :

    1. Surface usually covered with painted film.

    2. Boils at nothing, freezes without any known reason.

    3. Melts if given special treatment.

    4. Bitter if incorrectly used.

    5. Found in various states ranging from virgin metal to common ore.

    6. Yields if pressure applied to correct places.

    CHEMlCAL PROPERTIES :

    1. Has great affinity for gold, silver and range of precious stones.

    2. Absorbs great quantities of expensive substances.

    3. May explode spontaneously without prior warning and for no known reason.

    4. Insoluble in liquids but activity increases greatly by saturation in alcohol.

    5. Most powerful money reducing agent known to man.

    COMMON USES :

    1. Highly ornamental, especially in sports cars.

    2. Can be a great aid to relaxation.

    3. Very effective cleaning agent.

    TESTS :

    1. Pure specimen turns rosy pink when discovered in its natural state.

    2. Turns green when placed beside a better specimen.

    HAZARDS :

    1. Highly dangerous except in experienced hands.

    2. !llegal to possess more than one, although several can be maintained at different locations as long as specimens do not come into contact with each other.

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