I have a appt. at 12 for my windows to be tinted. I am going to a very experienced Auto glass tinting co. They use the laser plotter system and supply very high quality window films. I'm not sure how dark will go ....any suggestions?

I will post pics of the finished product later today.

25% Rear...35% sides.... at least that's what I would go. :D

I did 35 sides, 18 rear...

doubt the laser plotter will work... it uses a database of cars. Certainly at the place I got it done, they didn't have the 8 in the database yet, so they had to hand cut. they did a good job though...

If I get tint.. I'm not going too dark. Cops around here are horrible :\

I'm certainly looking forward to your pics to see how it turns out. I'll bet it's going to look great.

Originally posted by Gyro
I have a appt. at 12 for my windows to be tinted. I am going to a very experienced Auto glass tinting co. They use the laser plotter system and supply very high quality window films. I'm not sure how dark will go ....any suggestions?

I will post pics of the finished product later today.

Where in MA is this shop? If it's good, I'm sure the rest of the guys here in this area would like to know.

Pics are required and detail on what tint you went with..

Here it is!!

Llumar Film: 35% rear and 40% all 4 side windows.
I have other angles if anyone would like to see.

another

40%? What's legal for you there? That seems high. I think Georgia is 30 or 35.

Originally posted by ATL RX-8
40%? What's legal for you there? That seems high. I think Georgia is 30 or 35. That's not too high, considering that Georgia gets more sun and heat than Massachusetts.

---jps

The tint is a great move on the Sunlight Silver...it just looks right.

can you post some more pictures, or email them to me? I have a silver too and might be getting tint- would like to have a better idea of what it looks like.

Roughly what does it cost?

More pix please. What you showed so far looks great. I see you already got ur plates. Is that normal in GA? Here in Cali you get temp paper registration and wait many weeks for the plates.

I'm gonna tint too (on Velocity Red); I'm more certain now that I've seen your car. I'm waiting till that 3M clear bra stuff comes in for the 8, they're saying in 2-3 weeks, so I don't have to drop off my car twice. I've have 4 cars tinted at this place in San Diego. They don't use templates or lasers or anything; they are just just very skilled installers.

heres some more......

more

in the sun:)

That's really cool Gyro.

Does anyone out there have any pics of a Titanium Grey with tints?

Nice look Gyro.

I'm with Danny - anyone over their got their Tit Grey or Black tinted? I reckon it'll have to be a 'true' grey (sorry should that be 'gray'?;) ) rather than having that greenish tinge like Gyro's - or is that just the photo?

Originally posted by Evil Weevil
Nice look Gyro.

I'm with Danny - anyone over their got their Tit Grey or Black tinted? I reckon it'll have to be a 'true' grey (sorry should that be 'gray'?;) ) rather than having that greenish tinge like Gyro's - or is that just the photo?

Just found this in the US brochure - it's a but tarted up but at least it gives us an idea.

the tint looks sweet. keep diong those mods guys, and post them so i can drool about your cars some more. matt22

Ahhh... yesssss!

Thanks m8! Gives it a bit more attitude I reckon :D

I haven't ordered yet cos I can't decide on the damn colour!! I'm torn between Black, Tit Grey (I'd get these tinted), or the blue which might look a bit naff with tints ?

Anyone seen/got the blue with tints?

forgot to mention... those 'eyebrows' look pretty good too!

Originally posted by Evil Weevil
Ahhh... yesssss!

Thanks m8! Gives it a bit more attitude I reckon :D

I haven't ordered yet cos I can't decide on the damn colour!! I'm torn between Black, Tit Grey (I'd get these tinted), or the blue which might look a bit naff with tints ?

Anyone seen/got the blue with tints?

Black's a nightmare to keep clean and looks dull when dusty (all the time). I only wish the offered the X-Men 2 blue which I think is so much nicer than the one on offer at the moment.

It's Tit GrAy all the wAy with me.

I want to get tints .... but my RX8 is yellow .... i think it looks better without.


Here is the tints on my old car (still for sale if anyone is interested)

http://colosseum.com/nuss/bmw2.jpg

Danny - I hear what you say about keeping black clean - I had an MX6 for a couple of years. But Black just looks so damn sexy when it is clean. My wife says she'll kill me if I order black - reckons I spend long enough cleaning my car as it is (currently silver!)

Hi Pete. I reckon you're right to keep the yellow un-tinted. Yellow looks kinda 'plasticky' with black glass IMO. That front lip on your beemer should take the tops of those pesky weeds you got growing in your paddock there ;)

Originally posted by Evil Weevil
That front lip on your beemer should take the tops of those pesky weeds you got growing in your paddock there ;)


hahaha .... that cars my new lawnmower ... lol :D

Originally posted by DannyA
That's really cool Gyro.

Does anyone out there have any pics of a Titanium Grey with tints?

damn... forgot my camera cable today... I'll uploade some pictures of mine (Tit Grey with LLumar Platinum tint) tonight. it does look sweet, btw.

I almost went with the platinum. I was unsure about it though. The shop I went to just finished a Jetta with the Platinum. I looks really sharp in some lights.....and others it has alot of mirror effect. I would like to see some pics when you can.
Over all I am really happy with the film I went with, The standard Llumar has some metal in it, and it shows under some conditions with my silver paint.

BTW someone mentioned that mine looks greenish, I think that was the picture...maybe my lawn showing through. It doesnt seem that way in person. Tint (I believe) is a must on this car. It blends the side windows nicely.


OK....another pic:D

is it legal to do the front windshield at all? or do people just not do that?

....

Here is where I had it done...

http://tint-king.com/

Originally posted by Gyro
I looks really sharp in some lights.....and others it has alot of mirror effect.

Guess we want different things... the mirror effect is exactly what I was looking for ;)...

Sponge.......they never tint the windshield, It looks darker due to less available light in the interior. Also the dark interior of my cloth seats and the small windows of the RX8 make any tint look darker. Mass law if very strict on automotive tint. 35% light must pass through the front windows. The state police have a pocket sized meter to measure this. They just clip it on the edge of your front window.
Legal tint on this car looks darker than it actually is........look at the pic I posted of my rear window....you can see right in.
I also like the look of legal tint. To me, there are so many "blacked out" cars cruisind around. I didnt want to make this car look like "ricey" as some say. It turned out just right. A must have.....so all of you go out and find a good tint shop!!!!

BTW it cost $220.
Dont go with a "cheap" job. You will be living with this tint for a very long time. There is a big difference in quality out there. Also get quality tint.....Llumar is one of the top brands. You dont want it turning purple in a few years.
Also......a few things to look out for. Make sure the tint goes all the way to the edge of the glass. You know a bad tint job a mile away when you see 1/2" gap atrhe top of the window with clear nail polish sealing the edge........yikes.

Heh, I use that road to go to work everyday, and I don't even notice that shop on that road. I should keep an eye on it tomorrow.

Originally posted by meat


damn... forgot my camera cable today... I'll uploade some pictures of mine (Tit Grey with LLumar Platinum tint) tonight. it does look sweet, btw.

Come on meat - were getting hungry for your pics!!!!

As Promised...

and another...

another...

gyro, meat, thanks for the great pics!

Very helpful for deciding the degree of tint to aim for. Light transmission of 40% side, 35% rear looks just about right, imo, not too dark; the seat rotor accent is still visible, which is good. For comparision, what would you say the original glass was, maybe 80% transmissive?

meat, could you post the type and darkness of your tint?

yeah, its llumar 18 on the back, and 35 on the sides... to be fair, the pictures I posted are the ones that (imo) make it look best/darkest (living in Texas, you want as much heat resistance as possible)... here are some more that don't have the sun glinting...

and one last one (I can take more if people want them)

Originally posted by meat
yeah, its llumar 18 on the back, and 35 on the sides... to be fair, the pictures I posted are the ones that (imo) make it look best/darkest (living in Texas, you want as much heat resistance as possible)... here are some more that don't have the sun glinting...

Thanks meat for the pics. That's the semi-reflective coating I am looking to get for my car. Is there a name for that particular "llumar" choice? Is that what the call 'titanium tint'?

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: Nevermind, I went back and read your old posts. It's "platinum tint".. :D

I like it!

I'd really love to see pics of an 8 with Huper Optik tint on it. I don't really care for tinted windows but the 8 gets really hot inside due to the lack of factory tinting on the windows (my Audis had this and it made a huge difference). Huper stuff is supposed to look pretty much like stock while still blocking 50+% of heat transmission.

It is really expensive though, I have heard in the $400 range for the 8.

What is $400 on a $35k car?

I wasn't alluding to it not being worth it just simply that on a comparative basis to "regular" tint it was expensive. From everything I have read of the Huper Optik stuff it is worth every penny.

Thanks meat - you're a star!

Much obliged

In my current car (92 Toyota Paseo) I had 35% in the door windows and windshield and 20% in the small rear side windows and the rear window. It cost $120 with a 5 yr warranty against scratches, peeling and discoloration. It was a perfect job! Maybe tint is cheaper where I live.

The bad news is that I got pulled over a month after I got the tints and when the cop measured my front tint it came up like 31%, when I showed him the bill of the shop that said 35% front tint he told me "You should've gotten 40~42% because all windows have some degree of tint from the factory that's why it shows 31%". I tried for him to give me a break as the tints were so new and it didn't pass the 35% limit by such a small margin but I got a ticket anyway and had to remove the windshield and door windows tint. Now my car has no tint in the front and 20% black tint in the rear side windows and back. I think it looks good anyway but I'm gonna have the 42% tint applied in the front soon.

Originally posted by Chadr
I'd really love to see pics of an 8 with Huper Optik tint on it. I don't really care for tinted windows but the 8 gets really hot inside due to the lack of factory tinting on the windows (my Audis had this and it made a huge difference). Huper stuff is supposed to look pretty much like stock while still blocking 50+% of heat transmission.

It is really expensive though, I have heard in the $400 range for the 8.

I just had Huper Optik 40 put on my RX-8 this morning--came to $260 with tax. The guy didn't recommend the 30 because he said it would 'ghost' on the curved glass in the back. I think he had lighter shades too, but I was going for as dark as possible.

Anyway, it looks great and really helps keep the hot Florida sun out. We've got a thunderstorm now, but I'll try to get some photos later.

--SL01

SLO1 - That would be great. I don't get nearly as much sun here in PA as you would in FL so I was thinking in the 40/50/60 range for my tint. I very much look forward to seeing the pictures.

the dealer already had tint on my 8. It was done by solar gard.

Originally posted by Chadr
SLO1 - That would be great. I don't get nearly as much sun here in PA as you would in FL so I was thinking in the 40/50/60 range for my tint. I very much look forward to seeing the pictures.


Sorry, weather didn't cooperate today -- maybe I'll get some pics tomorrow, definitely by the weekend.

--SL01

Tint photos!

Before (http://monkeybs.myip.org/rx8/index.html)
After (http://monkeybs.myip.org/rx8tinted/index.html)

(Note, the before photos are taken in the evening shade, after photos are taken in the morning sun)

--SL01

WOW.. sweet shots.. what kind of cam do you have.. those pics are stunning.

Originally posted by RX-Nut
WOW.. sweet shots.. what kind of cam do you have.. those pics are stunning.

Thanks, it's a Canon D60 digital SLR :D

--SL01

Woweee, SL01! Nice pix! A1 choice of tint! Did I miss you telling us the shades used? Huber Optic 40...is there a choice of colors/type in huber optic, and was 40 used all-around? I'm in SC - you don't mind a twin that far away I hope. I guess other mods will set us apart sooner or later;)

Originally posted by Racer X-8
Woweee, SL01! Nice pix! A1 choice of tint! Did I miss you telling us the shades used? Huber Optic 40...is there a choice of colors/type in huber optic, and was 40 used all-around? I'm in SC - you don't mind a twin that far away I hope. I guess other mods will set us apart sooner or later;)

Thanks! If there was a choice of color, I didn't think to ask and the tint guy didn't mention it.

I asked for Huper Optik, max legal darkness, the same on all the windows (not on the windshield). He said he could do Huper 30, but has had problems with it 'ghosting' on steeply curved glass and recommended the 40 instead.

I found the tint place by contacting Huper via their web site. They referred me to these guys.

--SL01

Thanks SL01, the tint looks real nice! (great camera, envious)

What exactly is "ghosting" as far as tint film is concerned?

Originally posted by Gamera
Thanks SL01, the tint looks real nice! (great camera, envious)

What exactly is "ghosting" as far as tint film is concerned?

I don't know, I tried to get more detail out of the tint guy, but he didn't really have the words for it--anyone know? He said it would look hazy--that they called it 'ghosting', and that the 40 would turn out better. I figured he knew best, even if he couldn't quite describe the problem.

--SL01

Just got mine done. Not a very good pic but it looks great outside. Still drying in the garage. Cost $125 30% all windows and lifetime warranty with same owner. Of course youv'e seen blue tinted already - xmen car.

I believe "ghosting" would refer to double image appearances due to the slope of the back window and the inherent reflectivness of the tint. Basically it would occur because both the tint and the glass have a reflective level and with both reflecting you get "ghost" reflections. You would have to be on top of it to see the reflected image but from a distance it would comprismise the clarity and would be difficult to see through with higher glare levels (at night with a car behind you or during the day with the sun hitting the window directly).

I just had Solargard's Charcoal 32% put all the way around my Silver RX-8. Visable light transmittance 32% and total solar energy rejected is 53%. The cost before tax was $139. Everything had to be handcut so it took a little longer to install. They saved the backings to make them into templates. Had the choice between Solargard, 3M, and Huper Optik.

Got ours done today.

Manufacturer: Sun-Gard
Desert Smoke
30% sides / 20% rear.
Liftetime warranty.
Cost: $150 including tax.