StarMan

Figured i'd ask here since it's an XPEL XR Black vs Pinnicle question as well. My last car had FormulaOne Pinnacle 25% and loved it due to it's "neutral" color (I had this on a Toyota Supra and Miata). However now i'm getting another vehicle (Toyota Tacoma) and my local shop also recently switched from FormulaOne to XPEL. I know the XR Plus appears to have a blue hue, but does the XPEL XR Black (20%) have a color to it, or is it as neutral as the Pinnacle? FYI: I had 3M CIR 25%, that film has a noticeable blue hue [that was a BMW though, so i think their glass has a blue hue to start], but I didn't mind it as it was on a blue car. I also seriously dislike Suntek CIR (had this on my Miata), extremely noticeable turquoise color to it; hated it so much I took it off and it was the first time I swapped over to FormulaOne way back then.

Yea, maybe i'll take back my comment "if I had to do it again, i'd go with the F1 Pinnacle" as I didn't think about the glass window color being different on other cars. I just remember F1 Pinnacle on my 17' Miata being more neutral when looking from the outside in (i do remember looking from the inside out, it having a dark green hue to it on a sunny day). Like I said, the "blueish" hue isn't all that noticeable most days with the 3M CIR. (unlike the Suntek CIR, I could not stand the color either inside or out on my Miata, so I had swapped it to F1). Overall I'm happy with 3M CIR and glad they finally put a Ceramic film to compete with other brands :)

Figured i'd post here since there isn't much info on a customer review of the new 3M Ceramic IR. My BMW M2 has 3M Crystalline 70 on the Front windshield and 3M Ceramic IR 25 around the rest of the windows. (Windshield meters out to 60.4% rest of windows meters out to 22.9% on my BMW M2). Hottest sunny day has been 88F degrees and can say the heat rejection is pretty darn good (I had Formula 1 Pinnacle 15 on my Miata and even Suntek CIR 20 on another Miata). I've seen a YouTube video where it is said that the film is supposed to match the factory "Smoke" color to it, but I am not finding this to be the case (at least not on a BMW). From the outside the 3M Ceramic IR 25 does have a hint of blue to it [you'd really need to look at an angle] but it's not really that bad [perhaps the Ceramic IR 20 version shows less?). Anyway, it's nowhere near as bad as the Suntek CIR nor 3M Crystalline in a 20% (both those films i've seen have a strong blueish reflective color to it and swore i'd never get them (20% crystalline) again) . From the inside, on a sunny day you can tell it has a blueish hue to it and does have some of that ceramic "haze" when the sun is beaming right on it. But again, it doesn't bother me since I know that is due to the properties of the ceramic tint and loving the heat rejection. In my area at least, the 3M Crystalline combo with Ceramic IR was a better price ($200 cheaper) than F1 Stratos (for front windshield) combo'd with F1 Pinnacle. I do not regret the decision i've made (in fact the Blueish hue goes perfectly with a Blue car), but if I had to do it again, i'd go with the F1 Pinnacle on the sides and 3M Crystalline on the front. Personally, from the outside, I think the F1 Pinnacle has the best Ceramic tint color to it ("charcoal"). **To date, the 3M Color Stable is still my favorite colored film, pure black and looks nearly factory; but since i've gone Ceramic, i don't think I can go back to 3M CS.

My folks have 70% and 40% Crystalline for their Lexus and performs fantastic! I can only imagine a lower VLT% being much better. On the Lexus it has a Brownish\Greenish hue to it. That same 40% on a BMW will have a slight Blue\Purple hue to it (google 3M Crystalline BMW and you'll see a few examples). Many people in the BMW forums are using Crystalline 20% and 40%it and I have also seen it in person. 20% Crystalline will have a strong blue\purplish hue on a BMW window. Furthermore, I found that Crystalline doesn't have a really "dark" look to it, although it appears to be more reflective than other films. Personally, although I am a fan of its performance, I am not a fan of the way it looks.