Window tint in PNW...

741 Views 13 Replies 4 Participants Last post by PNWariya, 8 d ago

PNWariya

Hello fellow PNW forum members -- Some forum members who reside in sunnier locales have chosen to add after market window tint to their Ariyas. I totally get it for those in Texas, California, Arizona, and other places where the car can get really hot without tint, but I'd like to know your opinions and experiences as to window tint. Our current vehicle is an ID.4, and it came with factory tint (or privacy glass) on the rear passenger windows. I notice that the Ariya is described as having "light tint", which looks like "no tint" to my untrained eye. Some online photos and videos of the Ariya show it with the rear passenger windows nicely tinted, but I wonder if that was for pre-production ones? The photos of ones at dealerships appear to have "no tint" -- anyway, for those who have taken delivery (and those who anticipate taking delivery soon) are you satisfied with the light tint, or do you plan to add after market tint?

Edit -- the Ariya is classified as a "small station wagon" -- I wonder if it had been classified as a small SUV, would rear passenger tint be there...

Save

1 - 14 of 14 Posts

mechmyday

· #2 · 13 d ago

I just got my Ariya tinted, and I feel like it's a definite must, especially with how hot the PNW is becoming. I had about 30% tint done on the rear and sides, not the darkest option, but I think it looks pretty good.

And for the other Ariya driver I spotted on Science Drive in Beaverton, sorry, I couldn't roll down the window since the tint was just applied! 😅

Save

Reactions: 2

PNWariya

Discussion Starter · #3 · 13 d ago

mechmyday said:
I just got my Ariya tinted, and I feel like it's a definite must, especially with how hot the PNW is becoming. I had about 30% tint done on the rear and sides, not the darkest option, but I think it looks pretty good.

And for the other Ariya driver I spotted on Science Drive in Beaverton, sorry, I couldn't roll down the window since the tint was just applied! 😅

Yes I'm considering tinting as well. Science Park drive -- did you have the work done by Highline? My sister had her car tinted there and liked their work.

Save

new2niss

· #4 · 13 d ago

For all of you have the car tinted, didn't Ariya come with tinted window? Mine did, and I just wonder if I need to apply another tint layer or leave it alone. I couldn't tell if the tint is good for TX heat.

Save

PNWariya

Discussion Starter · #5 · 13 d ago

new2niss said:
For all of you have the car tinted, didn't Ariya come with tinted window? Mine did, and I just wonder if I need to apply another tint layer or leave it alone. I couldn't tell if the tint is good for TX heat.

The specs said "light tint", and while pre-production photos of the Ariya seemed to show tinted rear windows (privacy glass), in reality they appear to be the same tint level as the rest of the windows.

Save

mechmyday

· #6 · 12 d ago

PNWariya said:
Yes I'm considering tinting as well. Science Park drive -- did you have the work done by Highline? My sister had her car tinted there and liked their work.

Yup, it was Highline. They did a great job. Some of their tints are on sale right now.
(now with pic)

Wheel Tire Vehicle Car Automotive lighting

See less See more

Save

Reactions: 3

PNWariya

Discussion Starter · #7 · 12 d ago

mechmyday said:
Yup, it was Highline. They did a great job. Some of their tints are on sale right now.
(now with pic)
View attachment 2218

Wow that looks really great! I bet you were one of the first Ariya for them to work on. Please pardon my ignorance with my additional questions -- I know very little about window tinting, other than that there are different tint amounts or darknesses. You mentioned earlier that you opted for "30%" tint amount, are there any other different aspects to be considered? Are there quality or grade levels? How long does it take for installation? You also mentioned that windows should not be rolled down soon after tinting, is that to allow for a curing time?

Save

new2niss

· #8 · 12 d ago

Same here, don't know much abt tinting.. My windows do look dark like the above pix, but I have no idea if that is optimum...

Save

mechmyday

· #9 · 12 d ago

PNWariya said:
Wow that looks really great! I bet you were one of the first Ariya for them to work on. Please pardon my ignorance with my additional questions -- I know very little about window tinting, other than that there are different tint amounts or darknesses. You mentioned earlier that you opted for "30%" tint amount, are there any other different aspects to be considered? Are there quality or grade levels? How long does it take for installation? You also mentioned that windows should not be rolled down soon after tinting, is that to allow for a curing time?

Yeah, I think I remember they offered like between 15-40% tint. The 40% wasn't technically legal in Washington I think. They have a couple different brands and types. The cheap stuff really just offers tint and basic scratch protection, as you go up you get stuff like UV protection, infrared thermal protection in various reduction levels.

I ended up going with the higher end stuff because of the thermal reduction. With all the 90 degree days we've been having, it seemed like a good choice.

I had some paint protection done on the front, so in total it took about 5-6 hours. If you're just doing windows, I would guess around 3-4 hours depending on the shop. And yeah, to allow the film to cure, you need to leave it as is for 3-5 days before you roll down the windows. They said it can take up 45 days to fully cure, but since we're getting a lot of hot sun it should be usually less than that. When they gave me the car there is still some bubbles with liquid underneath, it just needs some time to outgas/evaporate. Looking at it today, most of them are already gone.

See less See more

Save

Reactions: 1

PNWariya

Discussion Starter · #10 · 12 d ago

new2niss said:
Same here, don't know much abt tinting.. My windows do look dark like the above pix, but I have no idea if that is optimum...

I wonder if your Ariya, being sold in TX, had some additional tint done by the dealership? The factory "light tint" that they come with is definitely not that dark, can see quite clearly through the side windows. I'm interested in being able to block out some heat, as my Ariya has the charcoal interior.

Save

new2niss

· #11 · 12 d ago

PNWariya said:
I wonder if your Ariya, being sold in TX, had some additional tint done by the dealership? The factory "light tint" that they come with is definitely not that dark, can see quite clearly through the side windows. I'm interested in being able to block out some heat, as my Ariya has the charcoal interior.

Yeah, I think the dealer added the tint for 345$, Lifetime warranty, I just checked the little add-on sticker. I guess I saw it but I keep thinking it as "factory tint". I don't think I paid for that add-on, unless they jacked up the so-called MSRP already

The other dealer tried to sell me the white Evolve+, no tint and if I want tinting, would be 400$, they told me they would give the tint for free if I took that car, as I told them I didn't want white color though I like the interior color. Wish the copper comes with that light gray interior, and that'd be perfect. The charcoal, I don't really like it that much, but I guess I have to live with it

Save

PNWariya

Discussion Starter · #12 · 12 d ago

new2niss said:
Yeah, I think the dealer added the tint for 345$, Lifetime warranty, I just checked the little add-on sticker. I guess I saw it but I keep thinking it as "factory tint". I don't think I paid for that add-on, unless they jacked up the so-called MSRP already The other dealer tried to sell me the white Evolve+, no tint and if I want tinting, would be 400$, they told me they would give the tint for free if I took that car, as I told them I didn't want white color though I like the interior color. Wish the copper comes with that light gray interior, and that'd be perfect. The charcoal, I don't really like it that much, but I guess I have to live with it

Yes, I would have preferred something lighter than "almost black" 😆, but I like the copper exterior color, and at reservation time the only one that was available in copper was the Premiere, and only with charcoal interior! I do like the uniformity -- there is very little contrast with the charcoal interior, although others prefer the contrast along the dash and doors with the light grey and the blue-grey interiors.

Save

Hank

· #13 · 8 d ago

PNWariya said:
Wow that looks really great! I bet you were one of the first Ariya for them to work on. Please pardon my ignorance with my additional questions -- I know very little about window tinting, other than that there are different tint amounts or darknesses. You mentioned earlier that you opted for "30%" tint amount, are there any other different aspects to be considered? Are there quality or grade levels? How long does it take for installation? You also mentioned that windows should not be rolled down soon after tinting, is that to allow for a curing time?

I highly recommend tinting the windows. It gives a nice pop aesthetically besides providing heat reduction and UV protection. There are two types of tint materials: carbon and ceramic. Ceramic is the higher end of material.

The lower the percentage, the higher the sunlight blockage. For limousine tints, that would be like 0% tint. My Ariya has 20% tint. It’s classified as “dark” but it’s really not dark at all, IMO. Other drivers can still see me inside. Each brand will have its own shade. Medium tint is about 33%. It’s best to see it in person. If you have money to splurge, 3M tints are expensive but totally unnecessary.. it all comes down to your budget. Expect to pay anywhere from $250 to $600. Here in SoCal, it’s a very competitive market. I was able to get volume discount of $350 (which isn’t great) for ceramic tints.

installation usually takes about 2.5 hrs for all 5 windows. After installation, you can not open the windows for at least 2-3 days for drying.

Here in SoCal, it’s been cool and gloomy. Our June Gloom is here. If anyone wants to visit SoCal, now is the best time before we start heating up in July. Thank goodness our Ariya has an automatic sunshade cover.

See less See more

Save

Reactions: 2

PNWariya

Discussion Starter · #14 · 8 d ago

Hank said:
I highly recommend tinting the windows. It gives a nice pop aesthetically besides providing heat reduction and UV protection. There are two types of tint materials: carbon and ceramic. Ceramic is the higher end of material.

The lower the percentage, the higher the sunlight blockage. For limousine tints, that would be like 0% tint. My Ariya has 20% tint. It’s classified as “dark” but it’s really not dark at all, IMO. Other drivers can still see me inside. Each brand will have its own shade. Medium tint is about 33%. It’s best to see it in person. If you have money to splurge, 3M tints are expensive but totally unnecessary.. it all comes down to your budget. Expect to pay anywhere from $250 to $600. Here in SoCal, it’s a very competitive market. I was able to get volume discount of $350 (which isn’t great) for ceramic tints.

installation usually takes about 2.5 hrs for all 5 windows. After installation, you can not open the windows for at least 2-3 days for drying.

Here in SoCal, it’s been cool and gloomy. Our June Gloom is here. If anyone wants to visit SoCal, now is the best time before we start heating up in July. Thank goodness our Ariya has an automatic sunshade cover.

It's usually cool and gloomy from about October through April here, but we've had increasing numbers of heat waves, it seems. And we joke that we will always have rain during "Rose Festival" time in early June! I've never had a need for any of my vehicles to be tinted before, but with the charcoal interior I'm inclined to have it done.

Save

1 - 14 of 14 Posts

Top Contributors this Month