FAUguy
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Posts posted by FAUguy
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I'm revisiting this thread, as I've yet to do the re-tint on my 09 Altima.
Pricing for 3M Crystalline is still around $450 here in Broward/Pam Beach.
But now I'm hearing good things about XPel Prime XP Plus.
Has anyone done a comparison between 3M Crystalline and Xpel Prime XP Plus?
Both seem to be similar.
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20 minutes ago, mr.lee008 said:
I forgot my notepad at my girlfriend house. SO here is a few places i called that i found via 3m website. I hope i can help anyone in the miami area
So it looks like $400-600 is the going price for Crystalline down in Miami.
In Broward where I am, it's $500 average.
Best price near me was Delray Beach for $425.
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On 7/31/2018 at 11:50 PM, mr.lee008 said:
HAHAHA yeah those two beast are in different playing fields of there own. I am happy i found this forum for info I needed. Gonna look at prices tomorrow at some shops for crystalline. I'll keep yall updated. sorry for thread hacking to the OP lol
Did you get any pricing for Crystalline in your area?
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4 hours ago, smartie2shoes said:
Well, ironically there wasn't any urgency to testing their products back in the day ... if you get my drift. Typical of them to arrogantly move along and not consider Global a threat because, having been a member here long enough, I was seeing the feedback users were posting on that film.
I can just give a blanket statement that any high absorption rate found in carbon, ceramic and carbon-ceramic films will have the potential for adhesive meltdown or baking-hard sooner compared to films with solar energy reflective capabilities.
In my tech days a couple vehicles reportedly had back glass ceramic film so baked on in under 6 years it was less costly to replace the glass than to strip the film (they couldn't chisel it off). Now, this does sound alarming however, if film mannies have advanced their adhesives to deal with the high heat build up from absorption in these type film products (say temp ratings greater than 250F), the discussion of early adhesive failure would be moot.
Here is his newest video doing a comparison between the CTX 15 and Stratos 15.
I guess your concern about the Stratos is due to it's high absorption of heat and IR that it will effect the adhesive that's used.
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16 hours ago, mr.lee008 said:
HAHAHA yeah those two beast are in different playing fields of there own. I am happy i found this forum for info I needed. Gonna look at prices tomorrow at some shops for crystalline. I'll keep yall updated. sorry for thread hacking to the OP lol
I'd be curious as to what pricing you get down in Miami for Crystalline or Stratos (if there are any Stratos installers).
I personally wouldn't go that far south since I'm closer going north to Delray Beach or West Palm Beach.
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12 hours ago, DynamicATL said:
Honestly, the comparison in the video is not that great...Stratos and CTX/AIR are on two different playing fields. To do a fair comparison they need to use Crystalline, Huper Ceramic, Huper Drei, Madico Wincos, and Prestige Photosync. It is like me doing a video comparing a Challenger SRT8 and Challenger Demon.
This was the video of his, shows the Stratos 15, Pinnacle 15, CTX and a few others. I asked him about comparing to the Crystalline, and he said that someone would have to send him a sample in order to test it.
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4 hours ago, DynamicATL said:
The Crystalline video is 40% on all windows including the windshield...metering around 33 on the vehicle. Just to give you an idea of the optical clarity of it at a darker shade.
Last week I had seen the Crystalline 20 and it is a brown shade, and the CTX 20 which is a "normal" black/blue shade. What color would you say the Pinnacle & Stratos 15 are? (haven't seen in person yet.) Also wondering which shade would go best with the Sand color of my Altima at the bottom of page 3.
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I found these two that I took of my car last September after hurricane Irma came through
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These are two pictures I found that show the Sand color of my car. The 2nd one has tint that looks similar to the 3M that's on there now.
http://www.nissancolors.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/2009-Nissan-Altima-2.5-S-2.jpg
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/1f/2e/f8/1f2ef8e17328e54dd8f89946e5cab436.jpg
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Regardless of what brand of tint I go with for the sides and rear, I wasn't sure about doing the windshield since I like it nice and clear. But if I were to do it, it would probably be with wither the AB 80, Stratos 70, or Crystalline 70/90, as those are the lightest colors.
I know alot of heat comes through the windshield, as I can really feel it while driving.
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I had forgot to ask about clarity. Between the ones I've been looking at (Crystalline, Stratos, Pinnacle) are any better or worse when viewing from the inside.
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2 minutes ago, DynamicATL said:
Huper Ceramic is another great film on the same playing field. IMO Crystalline had higher real-world experience when I switched it on one of my vehicles. I didn't initially say anything about it to our tinter, but when he swapped his out he felt the exact same way. Keep in mind if you are going off that spreadsheet, the higher numbers are Huper Ceramic 5% and 15%. Due to the thickness of this film, it is extremely difficult to install those shades and most dealers won't even try. The first shade that is easily installed is the 30% so chances are you wouldn't be going any darker than that. Now if you want a 35% that will beat them all, you can check out Huper Drei. This is another more difficult option to install but will have higher than the other films.
Since I have always had 20% tint on my past 4 cars (92 Pontiac Bonneville with Llumar, 98 Buick LeSabre with Llumar, 06 Altima with Llumar, and my current 09 Altima with 3M) I would want to stay around that 20% (to 15%). Not really wanting to go lighter at 30/40.
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One thing that I had read is that Crystalline isn't as durable as other films, such as Stratos/Pinnacle and Huper Optiks.
I have seen the Crystalline CR20 in person last week, and it has a brown hue when looking through the sample.
I still have to drive up to West Palm Beach to look at the Stratos and Pinnacle there.
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I'm also trying to see who does Huper Optiks in my area and what the price would be.
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This was on another site, someone made an Excel file showing the different tint specs. Shows Stratos 15 as 63% TSER and Crystalline 20 as 62% TSER.
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4 minutes ago, mr.lee008 said:
I called them and they told me they dont do F1 stratos i wonder why I'll call then again and see.
When I called, it was a lady that I spoke with. She said the Pinnacle was $269 and Stratos was $399. For windshield the Stratos 70 was $199.
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1 hour ago, mr.lee008 said:
Llumar stratos. but I see your getting a better deal of 400 bucks. where were you quoted that price I'd like to call and see about my car. Is stratos superior to crystalline?
I'm not sure if between Stratos or Crystalline which one is "better", or if they are both about equal in heat and IR protection, since their specs data is pretty similar.
This is the place in West Palm Beach that I called, since I couldn't find anyone in Broward that installed Llumar Formula One Pinnacle or Stratos.
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3 hours ago, mr.lee008 said:
I am also in Miami and trying to get tints done on my new civic and see which is best for myself. So is stratos better then crystalline? I am looking at auto nova in ft Lauderdale area, he told me 550 for the whole car and 175 for the windshield. doesnt matter what percentage I get. idk of this is a good price can any of yall chime in.
$550 for which one, Stratos or Crystalline?
Either one is more expensive than what I found: Crystalline at $425-499 l, and Stratos at $399.
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That's what I was looking for, some real-world performance info.
I had seen posts in here from a few years ago doing comparison, but nothing recently.
The 3M FX ST 20 that I've been using for the past 10 years, and the Llumar metal 20 on the previous 4 cars, all had a nice dark look to them.
It's hard to tell from a sample piece of tint film the size of your hand how it will look ok the car, or how it will perform for heat rejection.
So even thought the Color Stable and CTX have similar "specs" you're saying the CTX (ceramic) has a noticable different over three Color Stable (carbon)? Or could go from CTX to Pinnacle or Stratos. I haven't been able to see the Crystalline 20 since most places are out of stock, but I've read it has a weird color.
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I had leased an '09 Altima in November 2008, and had it tinted with 3M FX ST20, since it was less expensive than the lifetime warranty FX HP. It only came with a 3 year warranty, which at the time didn't matter since it was a lease and planned to turn it in at the end, like I did with my 2006 Altima (which had Llumar).
But I ended up financing the car at the end of the 3 year lease, and paying it off a year later.
The 3M FX ST has held up well, but two years ago it started to bubble and separate from the rear glass.
Now I've been looking to have all the tint removed and replaced, and spent the last week calling and driving around to different tint shops in the South FL/Ft Lauderdale area.
This is what I've found so far:
3M Color Stable CS20: $225 + $85 removal = $310 Delray Beach, or $249 + $100 removal = $350 Coral Springs.
3M Crystalline CR20: $425 + $85 removal = $510 Delray Beach, or $499 + $100 removal = $600 Coral Springs.
3M Crystalline CR70/CR90 Windshield: $200.
Llumar CTX 15: $269 + $75 removal = $344, Coral Springs and Pompano Beach.
Llumar Formula One Pinnacle 15: $269 + $130 removal = $399, West Palm Beach
Llumar Formula One Stratos 15: $399 + $130 removal = $529, West Palm Beach.
Stratos 70 Windshield: $199.
Air 80BL Windshield: $130.
From looking at the different PDF specs sheets:
The 3M Color Stable CS20 says it has 51% TSER and 68% IR Rejection.
While the Crystalline CR20 is 62% TSER and 97% IR Rejection.
The LLumar CTX 15 says 53% TSER, 49% IR Rejection / 69% Selective IR.
Pinnacle 15 is 60% TSER, 62% IR Rejection / 89% Selective IR.
Stratos 15 is 63 % TSER, 66% IR Rejection / 95% Selective IR.
Just based on those numbers, the Color Stable and CTX are pretty similar with TSER and IR Rejection, which is probably why their pricing is similar.
The Pinnacle is the next step up, followed by the Stratos and Crystalline.
Even though my Altima is 10 years old, it only has 27K miles on it (local driving), and since it's paid-off I'd plan to keep it for a number of years.
What I'd like to know is based upon the pricing in my area, which would be the better tint to go with?
I'm thinking the Pinnacle at $399 (since it's only $50 more than the CTX or Color Stable), or the Stratos at $529 ($130 more than Pinnacle).
Though I could get the Crystalline for $510, which is slightly less than the Stratos.
3M Crystalline Window Tint
in Window Tinting - General Discussion
Posted
Can you post a few pictures?