banana13

Hi everyone,

I have a black on black RDX, and man it is hella hot after I park for 10 minutes. My butt is scorching and I can barely touch the steering wheel. Mind you this is in Canada too, imagine Vegas.

lol I know I can tint , and buy a sunshade.

But I want to save my money, is there any tutorials out there, where I can do the tinting myself? I would love to learn, dont want no bubbles or purple. Also what % is the safest for the driver and passenger side?

Joe Las Vegas

Check YouTube and check your local laws for tint, nothing beats a sunshade too. I did my own tint before, won't do it again, real PITA, aggravating as hell.

RDX10

Here in Alberta the cops tend to be really hard on window tinting. I recommend you try a very moderate tint, or even one of those "new millennium" type of tints that are not actually dark at all, but block a vast majority of the heat.

I personally easily get what I call "sun headaches" so opening the sunroof during the day is a complete no no for me. I was going to purchase a tiguan before the RDX and those have a massive panoramic sunroof with a flimsy screen cover, I was planning on covering the entire pano roof in that clear tint stuff.

banana13

Yeah Joe, I haven't tried , but I might skip it and let a professional do it. It probably sucks, and I searched on YouTube and some people make it look so easy.

banana13

I agree, it's just annoying when the cops force you to remove the tint . I don't understand how people drive on the highway with the window all the way down, so loud.

Rocket_man

I live in Houston TX and believe me, a car can get hot here in the summer. I have a multi-part stratgey to keep it under control....

- first I buy cars with light interiors. So can't help you there.
- second always tint the car with the best tint you can get. There are many tints places here including low cost mobile guys. I get ceramic or one of those new nano tints (on my wifes new car). They are pretty amazing. I don't think this is a DIY job. And you probably cant get your hands on the good stuff anyway. Tints meant for house windows are not high quality enough for a car window. A high quality tint makes a big difference.
- third I tint the windshield. Only with a light tint 80-90% VLT. Even though this is very light, with these new tints it helps cut down the heat. My wife and my car both have windshield tinted and there is no safety issue. But if you aren't comfortable then don't do it.
- forth, I have visors on the front windows (weather tech) which allows me to leave the front two windows down about 2cm and allows a path for the hot air to escape but keeps the rain out. Any car, even tinted, will reach thermal equilibrium if left out in the sun long enough. You have to have a way to let the heat out. The tint reduces the rate of heating. It won't keep it cool if you are out in the sun long enough. Unfortunately Weather Tech doesn't make these for the RDX. Don't know why, it is a very popular car.
- Lastly, I lay a white towel over the steering wheel which keeps it cool to the touch even after being parked in the Sun at work all day.

Keeping the heat down and UV out also help the interior materials hold up longer. Tint down here is a matter of survival. Not many cars don't have tint.

RDX10

I haven't ever tinted my cars before and I have had 5 so far, but I have had friends who were pulled over and their tint pulled off. I personally think it is a bunch of B.S that they can have almost black windows, while on a phone, while on a lap top, while eating and we can't even tint our windows. Though admittedly, some people take tinting too far and go limo.

I personally like the idea of a SUPER SLIGHT front windshield tint.

Love the idea about laying a white towel on the steering wheel, I haven't thought about it at all and its so simple and actually kind or brilliant haha.

One more thing I could add to your list, is to try and park in the opposite direction of the sun as much as possible and to park near trees when possible.

Rocket_man

I don't really care for the limo tint either, but check out 3M Crystalline. Even the light shades are very effective.

I lay the towel over the dash and steering wheel. It doesn't cover the whole thing but it helps. It also helps keep carry out warm in the passenger seat and clean up any spills.

ceb

The ignorance about tint and tint laws is astounding.

Ceramic tint can have high UV and heat rejection without being dark. A ceramic 70% will rival a limo tint for heat rejection.

As you reduce VLT so do you reduce visibility - especially on overcast days, in the rain or at night.

Tint is also harder to clean and easier to scratch. Installation WILL introduce optical distortions - all reasons why no state allows tint on the windshield.

Finally, dark tint makes it difficult for the po-po to see what is going on inside. Most states have public safety vehicle exemptions for good reason.

If you are involved in an accident and you have tint that exceeds the allowable limits in your state then you may be found partially liable - even if you would not be at fault otherwise. Why? Because it can be argued that not having optimal visibility impeded your ability to avoid the accident.

RDX10

Yeah I hate limo tint, I can't get a firm grasp as to why someone would want to make their interior so dark and drab and what could you possibly be hiding from to need black windows.

Haha I like this double duty cooler and heater and mess cleaner idea, should go on shark tank with it (I actually kinda mean that).

The clearer tints have already been discussed on here. I don't understand what or where the whole "ignorance" comment is coming from but whatever I don't really care. I appreciate your input, I however don't like being called ignorant.

ceb

I wasn't calling you ignorant. Sorry if it came across like that. Tint discussions revolve around personal opinions and mostly disregard common sense and laws. The "I don't know why the police make you pull off tint" or "I just roll down my windows at night so I can see" or "I roll down my windows when I see a cop".

In this thread we were discussing some of those in addition to tinting the windshield without the discussion as to why those those things are bad ideas.

RDX10

Oh thats ok, sorry for the misunderstanding. My comment on why police make you pull it down was in regards to light tints only. I can fully understand why they would not be happy with or why it isn't a good idea to have dark tint and to the people who say things like "I open my windows at night", I just don't understand it. What possible benefit or reason could you have for going that dark.

I personally see nothing wrong with a moderate tint, something like 70%-80% max though, nothing more. Even then that is pushing it, but here in Alberta, we aren't even allowed 90% tint (though most cops will not bother to mess with it).

You make excellent points though, I just thought you were calling me ignorant even though I was on the same page as you. But I should have been more specific.

ceb

Modern "clear" automotive glass has about 85-88% VLT. Adding a 80% ceramic gives you in the vicinity of 70%. While I'm not familiar with Canadian tint laws, a cop would need to have very good eyes to initially determine that the window was tinted AND would really need to be in a bad mood to pull you over for that.

Ambient lighting, angle of the sun and direction of travel all conspire together to make tint (or clear glass) look darker or lighter.

It is hard to tell the difference between 80 and 70, 70 and 60 or 60 and 50 unless you see them side by side. As tint gets darker (VLT number goes down), the easier it is to distinguish the degree o tint.

So, if the law is "no tint" then you might be able to get away with 80 or 70%, but if the law is 50%, then 40 or 30% is quite obvious.

Luckily, modern ceramics give you all the advantages of dark tint without actually being dark.

Comfy

Thanks a lot for the ample practical advise.
Won't the RDXs come with around 35% factory tints for the rear door and rear windshield anyway. So the discussion is mostly for the front windshield and front door windows I guess.

RDX10

Yup I am so thankful for the new nearly invisible tints currently available. I plan on tinting both my windshield and front side windows with the clear tint. Though I may go VERY slight with an 80% tint just to try and match the rears a little better.

Though I also hate driving at night with even mildly tinted windows because visibility just sucks, so more likely to go clear crystalline.

Thanks for the good information!

ceb

I would strongly recommend against tinting the windshield. That will introduce optical imperfections and is really unnecessary as the windshield already incorporated UV rejection - the reason that transition glasses don't get dark in cars.

Of course another reason is that tinting your windshield is illegal like everywhere.

For heat rejection, try tinting your moonroof.

giovane

I live in Houston too and I quote everything Rocket_man said.
I have 70% ceramic on the windshield (light distortion with those new materials is not even noticeable - of course you need to get it done by a professional shop).
I will put 30% ceramic on the remaining windows tomorrow (even the sunroof).

One thing I noticed on the RDX is that the rear windows and rear windshield are not tinted. The darker color is the pigment embedded in the glass. Basically it's a privacy glass but does't do anything about heat rejection. Most dealership will tell they tinted the windows but they might have done only the front doors.

RDX10

Thank you for the sound advice, I highly appreciate it! I won't do the windshield but I will do the all the other windows with crystalline tint including the sunroof and rear tail gate.

I have a friend who tinted her rear window on the pilot and it is absolutely a major hazard at night.

Good point, they do call it "privacy glass" and not tinted for a reason. Though by law all newer cars have glass that blocks 100% of UV light and not necessarily heat, but thank god for crystalline tint.

ceb

This just confirms my earlier comments about ignorance about tinting. Of course they are tinted. Why else do you think it lets in less light?

The difference is merely in HOW it is tinted. OE glass doesn't have externally applied tint but it serves the same purpose - including heat and UV rejection.

giovane

Whatever. I'm sure most people got the point. Of course I meant it's dark but not film-tinted.
Please stop being a mr Know-it-all. We are just sharing our two cents on a forum.

Comfy

Now there appears to be conflicting information. I was under the impression that the factory tinting / privacy glass is as good as (or even better since it is more durable) than tint film application in terms of heat prevention. So what's the consensus? Does it provide heat protection or it is just for privacy?

ceb

Of course it is significantly superior to externally applied tint. The term "privacy glass" was a marketer's invention and means nothing. "privacy glass" can mean either externally tinted glass or OE tint glass - all it really means in marketing talk is that it affords the occupant a bit of privacy.

ceb

This is similar to the stuff used in OE glass - because they are a manufacturer of OE glass

http://www.pgwglass.com/products/Pag...gSolextra.aspx

Joe Las Vegas

Another option for those place that won't allow any tint in the front windows is to get a cling on tint thing, they have them in all auto store, so when the sun is at your 9 o'clock, you can just stick it on there and take it off in 2 seconds if cops pull you over.

RDX10

Do you mean those ones that just cover the top 1/4 or 1/3 of the windshield?

Rocket_man

There may be some UV protection in the windshield glass but not much IR rejection. Even a light version of a ceramic or nano tint helps reject IR through the windshield. If you have a doubt just test it. Any good tint shop will apply a sample for you. You can feel the difference through the glass. There is no optical imperfections of any consequence with a good auto tint.

Your statement that tinting the windshield is illegal everywhere is just not true. Texas allows a 'clear' film on the windshield, but no where is 'clear' defined. The SAE requires 70% VLT on the windshield from the manufacturer. So if you use that criteria for 'clear' then a lite tint is really not a problem and may actually be defined as clear if it is lite enough. On my car I think I have 80% and no one who rides in my car has ever noticed. It is really not a problem. But if someone is not comfortable with it then don't do it. But be reasonable. I would not recommend anything darker than 80% on the windshield. If someone is thinking about it, get a sample put on the car and test it yourself and decide.

This is an example of what I mean, but I can't vouch for any specific claim on this website.

3M crystalline 90 window tint | Windshield


They let in less light because they are colored. The method they use may not add much to its IR or UV rejection.

This seems like a proprietary coating and I'm sure an automaker would make this a 'feature' on the car and add it to the cost of the car and put it in marketing. I have no idea if Acura does something like this or not. It would certainly be cheaper if they just colored the glass.

Again, I'd get a sample on these rear windows and test them myself.

Most good tint shops have the ability to measure this directly on your car with a specific tint. I'd probable think about a lighter ceramic on these rear windows and a darker on the front to try to make them match up but increase the IR rejection in the rear glass.

ceb

Say what???????

Even if the banding isn't allowed in your state (above the AS-1 line) it is highly unlikely that you would get pulled over and ticked for that.

If you even think about "pulling it off in two seconds if cops pull you over" then you could be guilty of hindering prosecution or destruction of evidence if you piss off the cop enough.

ceb

Uhhh, no! Here are the TX inspection criteria . Look at 20.3 (page 4-28 IIRC). The requirements speak to "glass coatings or sunscreening" which is not allowed below the AS-1 mark or no more that 5 inches from the top.

Accordingly, you CAN add a strip of sun/uv/clear to the top of your windshield in TX - as you can in most states.

RDX10

No, I think that poster means if the police give you a hard time about it and try and make you take it off, you can then pull it off quickly and apply it again later on.

AmongU

Hey. Just picked up my blk on blk 2016. Did u know if you press & hold the unlock button on your remote - all the windows & sunroof open... Allowing a lot of the heAt to be dispersed before you get in the vehicle.

Rocket_man

You refer to something that is 10 years old and not even the source of the law.

Here is the 2015 law for TX....

"Sunscreening devices can be applied to the windshield if all of the conditions below are met.

Sunscreening devices must be applied above the AS-1 line. If there is no AS-1 line, sunscreening devices must end five inches below the top of the windshield.
Sunscreening devices may not be red, amber, or blue in color.
Sunscreening devices, when measured in combination with the original glass, must have a light transmittance value of 25% or more.
Sunscreening devices, when measured in combination with the original glass, must have a luminous reflectance value of 25% or less.
A clear (un-tinted) UV film is allowed anywhere on the front windshield without a medical exemption being required."

So again, it all depends on what 'clear' means which is generally thought to be 70% VLT. I've had my car inspected several times and this has never been an issue.

ceb

Where is the link for the law or the current inspection requirements? I'd like to update my database.

giovane

https://www.txdps.state.tx.us/rsd/vi...windowTint.htm

Ah, all this ignorance about tinting.

RDX10

Lol you are awful haha

Chaptorial

Here's a link showing the laws in all 50 states regarding vehicle tint:

US Tint Laws

ceb

Funny... Thanks!