So i thought this would be interesting to see how many people that owns the new model of the TL (04 or 05) have their windows tinted and who opted to keep them as is with no tint at all.

2005 TL
NBP/Camel/Navi/AT
Protection Package (wheel locks, splash guards, trunk tray, all season mats, moonroof visor)
Decklid Spoiler

 

Oh i didn't include myself... I actually have an appointment with FormulaOne on tomorrow to have my windows tinted. I'm going with the Pinnacle Series/35% all around.

 

Boy have you come to the wrong forum to have an unbiased opinion...
What's next? You gonna ask MT or AT?

 

Is it not illegal to drive without tint ????

 

of course TINT....no doubt about it...your car would look way better with tint on...

 

The windows are already UV tinted from the factory. I think it is more of a looks thing. I live somewhere that it has been over 100 degrees everyday for almost one month. Tinting the driver and front passenger window in California is illegal. Most people ignore the law and some don't get caught. I have not tinted the windows on this car yet.

 

Yea i know it's kind of no brainer, but hey you never know. It's one of those things that you don't know what other people's thoughts are, not unless you create a poll and get some feedback. So thanks for participating.

 

ask them to watch out the middle rear break light cover when tint the rear window.

 

MR1, where did you find info about the windows having UV protection? All I can find is that they are heat rejectiing and that does not necessarily mean having UV protection. If this was the case, wouldn't Acura have included that as part of the description? Just curious as to your source!

 

Mio, what exactly are you referring to when you told me about the break lamp and them tinting the rear? If you would please clarify.

 

Mine are tinted - See my signature at the bottom.

Some people forget that window tinting is also a security feature as far as walkers by not seing inside the car while it's parked thus less chance of getting that expensive laptops behind the driver seat stolen.

Best regards

frenchnew

 

Busted! - I made it up!

Actually, I have had tint shop personal tell me that more than once but no official source. If Acura was to print that information, I can assure that someone would sue because it's not 100% protection (I think)

 

Yea but also keep in mind that cops want to be able to see in the car as they approach for their own safety. This I have been told by cops that I know.

 

I have heard it before from our local cops too but please notice that contrary to USA, we are not allowed to carry firearms in Canada.

I do realise this law does not prevent lowlifes from getting black markets guns and carrying them but we do not have as bad a problem, especially outside of major cities.

On the other hand, we have probably the worse City in North America for car theft - MONTREAL- and breaking in cars is even worse.

I am more concerned to keep my notebook computers then what the cops thinks please. Here in Quebec the cops will not bother you unless you really draw their attention.

Best regards from 30 miles north of Montreal

frenchnew

 

Same world, different rules. I suspect that I will get my windows lightly tinted soon. They steal lots of cars here too! I just pay my insurance and try to stay lucky.

 

I'd never get my windows tinted. It looks better au naturel, IMHO.

 

I like the way tinted windows look, but because of the poor visibility in the TL design I'm staying away.

 

Hey narnia... What do you mean about the poor visibility in the TL design?

 

I'm 20% all the way around and the only visibility probs I have is when backing down my (extremely dark) driveway.

 

Quite a few folks think it's hard to see out of our cars...headrests, small rear window, wing spoiler, etc. I've said it before, seems fine to me (headrests, wing, and all).

 

Well yea it seems to be fine w/ me as well. I have the Decklid spoiler instead of the wing (just my personal preference) so i know that won't be a problem. So what would that have to do with the tint of windows! Only from the people that's on the outside looking in would be complaining. But even with that, the tint shouldn't be that dark.... Assuming that you have Pinnacle @ 35% all around. That's what i'm getting. FormulaOne should actually be finishing it up very shortly since they close at 5pm. EST

 

You need to post some pics...I went and checked some out Saturday, and the 35% looked light (on a display window)...might've been because the window was sitting in the middle of the room and therefore had light hitting it from all sides. Price was good - $200 for Llumar 35% all around. They had 2 kinds, one more smoked, one more reflective...definitely liked the smoked one better (unless I were to white out the car...but I can't clear the tails like an RX330, so that probably isn't going to happen).

 

Oh so you went with the Llumar??? You know that's like a lower quality of tint compared to the Pinnacle Series right? Nothing in the Llumar packages compares to the Pinnacle. So i guess that would explain the low prices that people say they've been getting for their tint, etc... (assuming that they actually get it done at FormulaOne) Because my price was $359 originally $400 but since i'm a repeat customer they knock off $40. There is nothing else out there that compares to the Pinnacle Series as far as looks, quality, heat reduction, etc... Llumar is a step down from the Pinnacle, Ultimate Series, etc... So that would explain the drastic difference in cost

 

After reading this thread for a few days I stopped and got a qoute today

$354 Tint + $140 Moleskin = $494 That is for FormulaOne Pinnacle.
Should I keep shopping?

Also, according to the tint shop; factory tint provides some UV protection. They thought it was 50-60% compared to 99.5% for their tint.

 

Well i got my car back today from getting the windows tinted from FormulaOne (Pinnacle Series @ 35% all around) and it looks AWESOME from what i can tell so far. The reason why i say this is because my Dad picked it up for me since i don't get off till 7pm. He even liked it as well and he's gonna put it on his S430.

MR1... Now that sounds more like it... The Pinnacle Series is originally $399 but since i'm a repeat customer it's for $350. I didn't get the moleskin b/c they were saying that it's one of those things to wear it doesn't happen on every single car it's a case by case basis. However, i did purchase the "No fault Warranty" which is $20. So what this does is i try out my driver side window since that's the window that'll be used most often and if it does scratch then i can just take it back and they'll replace it for FREE b/c of the no fault warranty i received. Trust me if i had to pay $494 for some tint, i'd just stick to what i have.... which is NOTHING! And for those who are wondering, the reason why the moleskin is $140 is b/c they say it costs b/t $40 and $45 per window/door to install the moleskin. But again with the $20 you're covered. And that applies for any type of damage... i just bring it back and they'll fix it free and it's a Lifetime warranty. I love FormulaOne's quality and customer service. It's great!!! All i have to say is that you get what you pay for! So that's why i went with the "top of the line" and boy you can tell that it is. The only thing i hate is the fact that i'll have to go like 3-5 days w/o rolling my windows down, and that's if it's nice a sunny so the sun can help dry to tint quicker.

 

When pulled over at night, turn on your interior lights. The cops love that and appreciate the courtesy. It's gotten me out of several tickets. (Also make sure to keep your hands on the steering wheel after doing this... and have your window rolled down already so they can see in clearly.


In the day, I open the sunroof cover to let sunlight in, roll down my window, put my hands on the steering wheel, and just wait patiently. Your efforts aren't as easily noticed so less chance of getting off, but at least you won't make him angry either.

 

Sounds like you get pulled over a lot.

 

Well, I'm 34, so in my life, yeah, I have. I get pulled over at least once a year.
I drive a lot between cities, and 70 mph is just retarded on some open roads, especially in Texas.

 

IMO, I don't think Llumar is a lower quality film as they're both produced by the same manufacturer, CPFilms. You're comparing The F1 Pinnacle series to exactly what in the Llumar line? First off, Llumar doesn't offer a non-metallized, non-conductive, ceramic technology film. And if they (Llumar) did, I believe it would be comparable to the F1 Pinnacle line. The other producer of ceramic film is Huper Optik. Another reason why the cost of ceramic film is more. Another option would be the CS Film by 3M which some of the members have installed on their TLs. BTW, forgot to mention I have FI Pinnacle 35% on my TL.

 

Hawhyen51...

So you also have the 35% Pinnacle? How do you like it? Does it seem to appear a lil darker than 35%? Does it have a smoked look to it? B/c if i'm not mistaken it's similar to the Ultimate Series, but it's suppose to look 10x's better. Let me know your thoughts on it and how well you like it.

 

Does anyone know if the Huper Optic comes in different tint levels (darkness) ?? I had it installed on my 05 TL, but it isn't as dark as I would like. But it does keep the heat out .............

 

I do like the color of the film which is more smoked than black and the reflectivity is just right for me. Some of the other cars with 35% seems to be darker, but in my case, it's not. I only have the rears tinted (Cal) and the amount of light through the front makes it seem lighter. Overall, I'm very satisfied with the product. However, I might go and find another tinter and see what can be done for the fronts (maybe a lighter film?). I'm kinda hesitant because I've gotten fixit citations for my tints on my last two cars. For the time being, it's all good.

That info is located on their site.

 

All I hear on this board is how F1 Pinnacle is the best. Well it is, and you pay for it too ($400+). I have Llumar ATR 35% all around, and I am very happy with it. Paid $160. F1 is top of the line tint and might be slightly better than say Llumar, but the difference is marginal. Appearance-wise, they are practically the same. The metallized films from F1 like the Ultimate series are very comparable to Llumar's Stealth tint in terms of heat rejection and reflectiveness. I bet most people wouldn't even notice the difference. The difference is in the extra $200 you save by going with Llumar.

Okay, maybe there's no real comparison to the Pinnacle since it is ceramic, but $400+ for tint is a lot. There was a tint shop near by that quoted me $450 for F1 Pinnacle, and they were insisting that I put moleskin to protect from scratches for another $100. I had a chance to compare my Llumar with the Pinnacle the other day, and the Pinnacle look no different than my Llumar ATR, with the exception that the F1 is slightly more reflective (I'm only talking about appearance-wise and not quality-wise). I've had my Llumar for a few weeks now and not a single scratch either.

Also, I have NAVI and have experienced no problems after my tint. Still picking up the same number of satellites. But I have picked up a slight humming sound on one of my AM stations (AM 570), which I listen to every morning. It is kind of annoying too, but I've learned to live with it.

Just my ...

 

Well I guess its pretty nice to have a friend in the tint business. I'm not bragging but I think I payed $120 for 3M. I live in Connecticut and although the cops are jerks sometimes, I decided to use 20% again since my last three cars had it. It just looks better I think. Cops do look out for cars with dark windows (especially at night) but I think it's worth the possible hassle. Scott in Houston is right as well. You just roll the windows down and do the sunroof trick. Most of the time they forget about windows cause' they are so pissed that you just drove by then @ 90 mph.....

 

I'd like to show you a recent pic of my TL with 20% but it wont let me. SORRY.

 

Who's it? Anyway, to upload photo, Register with Photobucket , upload photo and copy the IMG url. When replying to the thread, go to advance and click on the "Insert Image" icon located on the tool bar. Voila, photo posted.

 

Hey socal16.... well you said in terms of what you were referring to when you made the comparison, as far as comparing the two in terms of appearance and not quality... The quality is what will last you a lifetime. That's where and when the quote comes in..."you get what you pay for". For top of line and good, excellent quality, you gotta pay for it. Luckily, since i was a repeat customer w/ F1, they knocked off $50. So it was like $350 for me. And if i remember correctly i paid like $369 for my Ultimate Series when i had my 01 CL-Type S. So i actually saved this time around. But again it's all about preference and what you want. However, it's like what other people say on this board as far as you purchasing a $35k car, but yet you opt out and put 87 or 89 gas in it to save on money. It's the same principle here.

 

Thanks alot. When I get home in a couple of weeks (overseas in Iraq currently) I'll have to try that out.

 

NO TINT

 

revkelley, is this miltary related? Anyway, watch your six and have a safe return home.