Llumar Air 80 windshield tint
 

The Llumar Air 80 clear window tint is apparently legal in California and Hawaii now. It claims 43% heat rejection and even better UV rejection. Good for ecomodders trying to reduce AC use. I would like to buy for the windshield. (Yes, the windshield.) Has anyone else done it? Has anyone found a retailer for a roll. Like usual, the best stuff is hard to find at retail quantities. Alibaba has wholesale listings for installers. $350-$750 for excessive amounts of the stuff.

https://www.extremeautowerks.net/llumar-air-80

https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/llumar-air-80.html

Interesting. I'll be curious to see how this works for you. Right now, I'm ordering an opaque windshield strip so I can remove my headliner and sun visors.

Also, this reminded me of a a graphic from Toyota HQ that I had stored away in a folder. The 3rd gen Prius side and rear window glass reduces UVs by 89-91%, and solar heat reduction rate of 46-51%, with visible light transmission rate of 74-76%. The front windshield has 100% UV reduction, 55% solar heat reduction, and visible light transmission of 80%.

Do you have a citation or link for that Toyota Prius set of windshield specs?

EDIT: nevermind, I see stuff on Prius chat. Cool!

2010 Prius windshield:

Laminated (Sound Insulated) & cuts 100% UV, 55% solar heat, and 20% visible light.

According to:
https://priuschat.com/threads/2010-p...w-specs.61167/

What advantage would this several hundred dollar option have over a cheap $10-$15 tint application off of Amazon besides the certificate anyway?

Reasonable question. I am not completely sure, since you did not share a specific product. But most likely the cheap tint on Amazon is probably much less effective--even if they make great claims. It might also distort colors more than wise or reflect enough to attract police attention.

I just searched for window tinting on there and sorted by cheapest price just to see what was out there. I figured if there were cheapies there for $10 that a decent one would be $50-$100, depending. $350+ still seems pricey though.

It is about the technology in the film. They are not all the same. Here is a visualization that suggests how big the difference can be:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsanqA4fo6s

I have wanted to tint my Accord since I bought her, but I could finally carry chocolate in my car in Arizona?! :D

I am more interested in my phone not overheating when I have it set up for GPS on my dash, which is part of why I purchase white cases.

I'm not sure I'd want any tint film on my windshield. Adding 78% VLT tint on a windshield will result in blocking about 30-40% of light (depends on the % VLT of the bare glass). Great on hot days, but not great at night. I have 35% VLT film on all my side windows, but nothing on the windshield or back window.

Understanding Tint Percentages | Diversity Auto Films

That's why these more advanced clear films on the Prius or from aftermarket companies like Llumar are so cool. They block more heat than most dark tints, block almost all UV/IR, and yet block less the 20-30% visible light. I think if it is standard equipment on a Prius we needn't worry might about safety. :)

Yes! That matters. Solar heat did damage to a wifi hotspot I stupidly left on the dashboard driving around one day. And it reminds me of this question too...

I don't calculate all ecomodding benefits through the narrowest direct cost/benefit assessment. Some of my modding is to make the ecomods more acceptable over the long-term. I took out the AC to lose weight and a parasitic draw on the engine and it has had some benefits for FE. But I like mitigation strategies because keeping the car over the extreme longterm is the best financial strategy the car represents (cheaper insurance, no car loans, no value depreciation). My daughter balks at the heat in my car on some days. I'd like to reduce the frequency of those complaints a little this summer. ;)

What about 3M Crystalline? Is it legal? It seems better to me.

CR90 blocks 90% in the infrared, 99% in UV, but transmits 90% of visible light. That seems ideal for a windshield.

That's pretty cool. And I see a link to a quantity small enough for a single car. Still pricey, but at least one can actually purchase for a single application. The Llumar 80 stuff seems onky available in wholesale.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/3M-Crystall...-/182166011012

Group buy? :)

Ihave crystalline 70 of my front windshield, and CR 40 on my front two windows and quarters. It is fantastic. I dont even feel the sun heat anymore. My tint blocks out 78-79% of the TSER coming through the windows (front windshield now meters at 55% and sides at 25% after factoring in the factory tint). I had a problem with the inside of my car feeling like a greenhouse on sunny 50F+ days and that has gone away. Granted its been cold lately, but it has worked.

Main benefit being direct sunlight onto my body is 100% eliminated. Now i can cruise around even up to 75-80F with my vent on with no AC and it feels similar to hanging out on a shady porch. Now I dont have the balls to try tinting my own windows with $100s of dollars of window tint, but yes you cannot buy most of these tints in the US because 3m forbids for US dealers to sell it to you (without it being installed by them). Only way you'll get most of them is by ordering from Australia or Europe and it ends up being very close to the same price. I think it should be worth it in the long run if I keep my car for as long as possible like I plan because it now has a lifetime tint warranty at any 3m dealer in the US and if my car clonks out I will take my windows with me.

Also for ppl afraid to try 70% on front window my local dealer quit carrying CR 90 because he has demo cars with cr70 on them for you to see and you cant tell the front window is tinted. It doesnt give off any weird colors. You honestly cant tell its tinted. At night I can still see just fine. It blocks out so much heat I dont need an annoying brow (tall person here). Cops dont know my front window is tinted etc...

Maybe. I think buying the Crystfalline 90 or 70 would make the most sense. I am in Cali and you are in AZ. We'd need some more partners and a strategy for distribution.

I have the Llumar Air 80 on my Civic with the CTX 15 on all other glass. People are shocked when they ride in the car and I tell them the windshield is "tinted". You can't tell to the naked eye unless you find an area that isn't tinted, such as around the dimpling at the very top edge near the mirror. It provides a light blue hue to the view, but again, you wouldn't know without a comparison. The difference in temperature is shocking and it will help to stop the interior from fading any further. I've had this treatment done on two other vehicles as well. My only regret was not doing it to them sooner; which is why I did it during my first week of ownership of this Civic. The cost is high though...my shop charges $190 for the windshield in Air 80. I don't care, it's worth it to me.

If you're looking for a real working example, I drove home in 75 degree weather yesterday here in Alabama with the windows up and just the fan running in the car...no AC. It was warm, but not unbearable.

Okay, so here is a weird and possibly unworkable twist on the thread idea: use window film designed for homes and office buildings. There are very cheap films with similar claims to heat and UV rejection that are also available in quantities small enough to be very cheap. For example: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P009N58/ref=psdc_517834_t1_B00Q781MOC

I'd be willing to try that on pretty much any piece of glass EXCEPT my windshield. I'm too reliant on a clear view, day or night, to really want to chance it. For the side glass though? Absolutely!

Group buy on a hundred feet of that?! :) Awww! That is the same cost-per-foot as fourteen feet! ($50 for 3 x 14 versus $450 for 3 x 100)

I do not know how a police officer would even notice a clear film on the windshield.

No all that hard. Not without difficulty. Buy extra film.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UlEvVZQ3Gao

FYI everybody - Rock Auto still has some closeout Solar Guards for $3.75 plus shipping (I don't work there, I just buy a lot of closeout stuff there). If you buy like three or four they all come in one box and I think it saves on shipping.

They go on the outside of the windshield so the heat never makes it to the glass or the interior, and they block 100% of everything as far as I can tell. I use one on the Volt every day (in central Florida) and my dash is barely warm to the touch when I get in the car. Two or three other people at work also use them now. They can take a beating - I've had my Volt a year and a half, and I'm still using the same Solar Guard I used on Ron Burgundy before I had the Volt

Before I would try adding some permanent expensive film to your windshield I would try one of these. They only have the gold ones for SUVs but they have the gold, silver and blue ones left for cars

Here's the link :

https://www.rockauto.com/en/tools/ac...eld+cover,1247

UPDATE - since I was on their site I went ahead and bought three more - it was less than 20 bucks with shipping. I pretty much have a lifetime supply now!

I added a pic of how I put mine on every day. I shut the car off with the wipers up and hold the Solar Guard down with them since it gets windy here.

i just ordered two. Shipping was half my cost! I still want to tint my windshield.

Having had various cars with tint since the 70s my concern would be the windshield tint debonding from the glass and needing to replaced. While the initial install is fairly straight forward cleaning off the old tint for reinstall is a pain. To date I have not had any that has not required some or all to be replaced.
Yes, the products have become better and fading and bubbling reduced, still the Fiesta has had 3 windows redone. This was a life time warranty, professionally installed product.

Product Specs

5% LIGHT REFLECTION
60% SOLAR ENERGY REJECTION
80% INFARED HEAT REJECTION
99% UV RAY REJECTION

Clear tint sound great for night vision, especially useful when backing.

Also to note most home window tins are mirror tints which are in fact illegal all ways. Just trying not to be blaring obvious that my windshield is tinted illegally.