Anyone tinted with Huper Optik?
 

I'm looking to tint my Titanium Grey 8 soon, and I heard this stuff was the best. The price is expensive, from what I've heard ($400 seems average), but it's supposed to have a terrific amount of heat shielding and never discolors (gotta love the classic black dyed tint jobs that turn purple).

Anyone?

Anyone tinted with Huper Optik?
 

I got it about 7 months ago. I'm just now able to really judge how well it works. If you use the RX-8 sunshade (it is a great fit)with the tint, it is so nice inside your car. I need to test out the tint facing the front of my car away from the sun in the mornings to judge how well the side and back keep out heat.

Anyone tinted with Huper Optik?
 

And Another

Anyone tinted with Huper Optik?
 

Sencond to last one

Anyone tinted with Huper Optik?
 

Last one :D

Oh yea. I paid $300 for my tint and I use a silicon window cleaner on it. I should have waiting until spring, tint dried quicker.

Great pics and write up. I'm planning on Huper installed next month. One question though. From what I've read, the ceramic tint is thicker than diyed tint, thus requiring two or three piece sections to be installed in the back window. Is that true? What was your experience?

Thanks

Al

Oh yes. I was also quoted for $300 also. This included the front windshield strip. Place in Allentown PA. I'll let you know how it goes.

Al

back should be one piece.....much easier to tint than a lot of cars

The back on mine was one piece. I have HO ceramic 40 all around and 50 on the sun roof. Cost $450. There are limited installers around so there is little or no dealing on price.

The HO ceramic 40 on the stock windows gives a light transmission reading of 33% (+/- 3%) This just meets the 35% Maryland minimum.

It's great stuff. Roll up the windows and you immediately feel the hot sun get shut out. It's nice and cozy inside without being too dark.

Highly recommend -- I paid $450 last Sept. -- back was one piece.

Okay, one piece for the back. I'll make sure they do that.

Thanks

Al

Do your front window in the lightest gradient. I put 60 on mine. During the day you can't even tell and at night it's only slightly darker but the heat reduction is immense. Remember this is the largest piece of glass on the car.

We have Huper Optik on the rear window and V-Kool on the sides. V-Kool has better heat blocking and less reflectivity for a given tint but since it's metallic not good for radar detectors. Hence the Huper on the rear window. I consider this combination a good compromise for max performance. Both brands are tops in quality and will last without fading or bubbles.
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VAPIR NO2

Why don't you ask if this place would be willing to give a group discount if 5 guys were willing to take their 8's in for say like 230-250 bucks each for 5 guys. I know that I and Wayne from the tristate rx8 club and a few others would be willing and Allentown is right around the corner for most of us.

PoLaK,

Sounds like a plan. I'll give them a call Monday. Here is the address if you want to see: http://www.andrettiglastint.com/ Sorry don't know how to insert a link (more like did not try).

But I'll ask about a GB and let you and Wayne know.

Hope it works out. It would be good to reach 100 posts with something to contribute.

Al

Oh, the link worked.

One more till 100 post, Woo Hoo!

Al

Ceramic
 

Just got off the phone with Mark from andrettiglastint.com.

First need to clear up some things. I miss quoted, not $300 for the Huper (ceramic line), but $375.

Second, andrettiglasstint will not install Huper (ceramic line) on the rear window of the 8. Too much curve in the glass. The ceramic tint is quite think and may bubble or kink if the glass is too curved. Thats why I asked how many pieces of tint it required for the back window. I read about this issue with ceramic tint and our rear window on a thread or maybe another forum (don't remember).

Andrettiglasstint does install Huper tint however. They offer the Huper's HP line. I was quoted at $199 (side, back and rear windows). I also asked if they were open to a group buy. Mark needed to ask his boss and get back to me.

But since they don't install the ceramic line for the 8. I may, may not be interested. Too far to travel and really wanted the performance of Huper's ceramic line.

I also asked if Huper ceramic can be installed on the sides, while installing Huper HP line in the rear. Mark mentioned that that is possible, but the shading will not look uniform.

I'll be doing a little more research on the Huper HP line as well as searching for other installers for the ceramic line.

RXhusker and PHA RX-8, just to confirm, is that Huper ceramic that is installed in your 8s?

I'll let you know what else I come up with.

Thanks

Al


100 post! I feel old....

Installing tint is an art. Mark may not be willing to install Huper Optik on your RX-8 but my local tinter did on ours maybe six months ago and we haven't experienced any problems. No bubbles, kinks or distorted vision.
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LuxuryStarXXX

PUR NRG,

I would love to travel x-country. My wife and I both enjoy SF. But, no.

Yes, installing tint is an art. Maybe Mark is not much of an artist. Or maybe he didn't feels like being creative with the 8. I don't know. But how can he refuse a job? It's still $$$. And additional potential clients as well?

Oh, well. Need to keep searching for a willing installer in the area. Installer of the Huper Cermaic that is. I don't think I want to settle for regular dyed tint (that just me).

Thanks

Al

Al, I simply wanted to let you know it can be done even if Mark doesn't want to himself. Personally I feel it's great that he's willing to turn down work because he doesn't feel it's possible. That's much better than taking your money and giving you a shoddy product. Unfortunately Huper Optik has regional licenses so chances are Mark's the only guy in town licensed to install that brand. Your search may be harder than you thought.
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SHIP SALE

Right on both accounts. Mark meant well. And my searches have turned up short.

Maybe SF is the way to go.

Again thanks

Al

Yes. I have HO 30% all the way around. My back window is one piece.

Same here.. Huper Optik Ceramic, one piece back window.

Solid tint. Can't really compare to other tint, as I only sit in my 8. but did feel a heat lamp test and it was a remarkable difference. Wish it was slightly darker though..

Can someone please tell me what difference these is between the look and feel of the HO vs. the V-Kool? My tint shop always has mentioned the V-Kool, but everyone here mentions the HO. Is one better than the other? I don't care about it blocking radar detectors.

I just got the Huper Optik at Executive Automotive here in Houston for $499, which includes the 1-piece rear window piece. It took them barely over an hour. I will report back on the heat reduction capabilities, if it ever quits raining here.

Has anyone else had their windshield lightly tinted? I mean is this something you can generally get away with? Also, I asked them if they tint the sunroof, the guy basically said "no, because you don't want to tint a piece of horizontal glass, it absorbs too much heat, there's a chance it could break, blah blah." Has anyone heard that before? I haven't, and it didn't make sense to me. Then again, this is the first car I've actually bothered to have tinted.

I had my sun roof tinted with HO 50. The guy who installed it never mentioned any weird problem with tinting horizontal windows. The HO Ceramic tint does make the windows warm because it is reflecting so much IR (heat), but the sunroof doesn't feel any hotter than say the back window.

As for the front windshield, most states don't let you tint that at all, except for maybe the top 4 or 5 inches.

Had mine tinted all the way around yesterday with HO 30. One thing I've noticed - it does seem to inhibit nav reception to some degree. The signal's there, but it's now intermittent and not nearly as strong as it was. The tint looks good (one piece rear window), but I'm hoping the nav issues are just a function of it not being dry yet (crosses fingers).

My portable nav unit works just fine with the HO Ceramic tint. I also use an iPod with an iTrip FM transmitter to connect it to the 8's sound system. The transmitter sends it's signal through the HO tint to the antenna mounted in the rear window. I noticed no degredation of reception after having the tint installed. By the way, the iPod/iTrip combo works very well. I put the iPod in one of the cup holders in the console. Just don't close the console cover, it gets too hot in there and the iPod starts going crazy.

Go back and read my first post in this thread. You can also try doing a search for other mentions of v-kool.
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SILVER SURFER VAPORIZER REVIEW

I did try. And I did read your first post. It was the best comparison I've ever read. But I was looking for more, honestly. My friend owns a tint shop, and he's told me things too. I found huper optiks website, but can't fnid a website for v-kool. I was looking for some more technical nifo. I've talked to the huper optik company, and to the local rep. I've also talked to the v-kool local rep. They both pitch their product, but I wanted to do my own research, and see what opther people have to say. I do appreciate your candor, but I consider myself pretty computer savvy, and I have found it hard to find any responses that speak technically. I'm a technical guy, so I'd like to find something that will quell my quest for knowledge. I've searched on many boards, and many search engines. It's hard to find info like the heat index of the tint, actual reflectivity, IR blockage, etc. I was hoping someone that has read this knows where I can find that info.

Google turns up www.v-kool.com as the second hit when searching on "v-kool".

Sorry but what I mentioned in that post is all I know when comparing the two tints. You can try reading the forum at www.tintdude.com to see if they have more technical info.
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VOLCANO VAPORIZER

Yeah, tintdude.com is where I did the most searching. I came up with very little there, but thanks anyways.

I really was sure I tried that website the other day and it went to a dead link. Either I'm a moron, or their website was down. Either way, I thank you. I'll be able to do at least a little more research now.

I'm sure you know... but I wanted to let you know that you did help me on this one. You're right as far as I can tell. From the two websites you can see that they list the 40% visible light transmission models with very different infra-red rejection and shading coefficients. The v-kool was listed at 98.3% and 0.42, whereas the HO was listed at 80% and 0.53 respectively. I'm thinking about getting a K40 radar detector, so the metal content of the VK doesn't bother me. So again, thank you. I'm going with the V-Kool all the way around.

Here's another bit of advice: don't get the K40. I have it installed on my BMW and it sucks. The stealth aspect is nice but it gives way too many false alarms. I end up ignoring it and "missing" true positives as well. The Valentine 1 is really the best way to go.
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Vaporite Review

I actually have been selling K40 for a while now. Honestly, I like it. I know it's a dumb way to buy things, but I do like it. I have been paying very close attention to the updates they have been doing to the product (specifically on the laser diffuser), and I think they are at a good point. I have multiple customers that have them in many cars (including a 1000+ hp porsche, and a Lambo Diablo VT). All of them that have received the product within the last few months has been happy. They figured out that HID's were falsing the laser diffuser, and they have been tweaking the radar circuit to make it false less also. So as much as I may or may not agree with you that the Valentine 1 is better or worse, I get the K40 at cost, and I have a cool install in mind. Thank you though.

Anyone have V-Kool and the Nav system? In other words, does the V-Kool tint have any negative effect on the Nav system?

Try www.tintdude.com and sniff around there on the forums to see what you can see. There's so much conflicting data on what does or does not interfere, it's almost impossible to believe (re: my experience with HO). Basically, it's a crapshoot - have a shop cut a piece and throw it on your package tray and see what happens...

Huper Revisited
 

Trying to make contact with a installer/dealer in my area again. This time I called Huper Corp. They directed me to a regoinal distributor in for the northeast. The distributor is located in Jersey. I called and left a message for a return call. I'll fill you in with any results.
As I mentioned in my pervious posts, the local dealer near (relative) to me would not install HO Ceramic on the back window of the 8 because of the curvature (sp?). Although I appreciate his honesty and concerns, there are theres on this forum who have had it installed with no problems. I am still interested in their product and am willing to research further.
Polak, I'll ask about GB when I get to that point and let you know.

Al