hey guys im planning on getting my windows tinted. i called a couple local places. One guy said that i cant use "metal film" because i have a navigation. Other place said "no it doesnt matter they just say that because they dont sell it".

If anyone can recommend specific brands of film and answer if metal film matters. Thanks

 

There are three types of tint material commonly used.
- Dyed
- Ceramic
- metallic

Dyed is usually the cheapest and will fade over time.
I chose a ceramic tint. I, personally have never came across a metallic tint.
I decided to go with Huper Optik 35% all around. I wanted a classy look.

 

i have heard about this too but i went to a shop and got my car tinted with regular film. the guy said that it didnt really matter because our car had the antenna mounted on the top of the roof, and that this special fil only applied to the cars that have window mounted antennas. the bad part is that my navigation has not been working since before i got the tint so i had no way of really knowing if it made a difference or not. the guy said that it would not be a problem but if it didnt work for some reason after i got it fixed he would do my rear window again with this special film. he is a good guy so i trust him. he has done many cars for me and my friends, and also homes of buddies, and family. good quality work so i am not worried about it.

i say just ask when you get it done and if you see any issues after they are done with your tint have them change it or dont pay them.

 

Justn - that picture is pure sex.

I'm getting ceramic 35 put on my 4th gen next week. $279 installed

 

so thats ceramic 35% all around. i like the look of that i got SSM too. is the tint silver? or is that just a reflection?

 

Huper Optik ceramic 35 gives it that look. Really classy tint. Well worth the $$$

 

I paid $360.
Pricey, I know. It also gives a different look to the tint, as you can see above.
From far away its reflective and as you come closer to the car, it turns to a dark shade. My ebony interior also helps it look a bit darker.
What had sold me is that this 35% acts like a 5% tint in terms of UV and heat protection. In the hot Texas heat, I need all the help I can get.

 

Make sure you get moleskin.


Mole skin is a piece of felt that goes along the window blade inside the door panel. it helps prevent scratches.
Without this felt, dirt gets trapped on the window blade and will cause vertical scratches in your tint.

My tinter didnt want to be liable for tearing up my doors, so I installed the felt myself.

 

the roof mounted antenna is for XM, the navigation antenna is in the rear deck and it is possible for metallic tint to interfere, but I have not heard of any problems

 

The place I went to told me the Metallic Tint interferes with Navigation.
It was like $20-30 more but I just stuck with the regular tint and I'm happy with it. Even though I don't have Navi.

 

I've got 3M metallic tint (35%) and the Navi and radio work just fine.

I think it's mostly BS.

However, I will say that I don't get looong range FM reception. In my other cars I can pick up Greensboro and Spartenburg stations (~2 hours drive), but in the '07, I don't recieve them very well at all. Other than that, .

 

I had mine done last week with Llumar Formula One Pinnacle, a ceramic tint with lifetime warranty. People are right about metallic tint not affecting our Nav. With the roof mounted Nav antenna all we need to worry about is radio reception and maybe cell phone reception. The only way the metallic tint would cause a noticeable drop in performance is if you're in a place with weak reception, with strong reception you'll be fine.

 

Metallic tint won't hinder the GPS antenna to badly in open areas, however has soon as you head into a bigger city with many skyscrapers, your navi will be on the fritz!

In all honesty, go with ceramic tint, it costs close to the same amount and you'll get less trouble from cops.

 

Ceramic tint was developed due to many of the new IR communication sensors (such as the keyless ignition) that the high end German/European cars use was having issues that were determined to be caused by the metallic based tint film. Llumar and several other top tier film manufacturers have introduced a line of ceramic films that do not interfere with the IR transmission. I am going to have my TL tinted in the next few weeks, and will use the ceramic. Not sure if the Nav would be affected by the metallic film, but why take the chance.