Can someone please recommend some tint brands to use on my P5? Louisiana state law requires 50% front seat, 35% back seat, and 20% Rear.


Anyone have any suggestions?

 

I can't recommend any specific brands.....however....find a reputable shop that gives you a LIFETIME warrantee on the job.....what more could you ask for? and not just on craftsmenship...but on the film itself...as in it won't fade or purple or whatever......

:{D

 

One word. Llumar.

 

Madico is also one of the best out there, and comes with a lifetime warranty.

 

Agreed. Llumar is the best.

 

Well, a local audio shop callled Mobil One Audio says they will do my car for $179.99 for High Performance film, or $139.99 for Jet Film. $25 extra for a windshield visor.

Is this a decent price, or should I look around some more?

Another shop that a block from my work uses Sungard, and they want $180.00 plus $17 bucks for the visor.

 

If the audio shop uses Llumar, go for it. Metallized only, DON'T get the cheaper charcoal film, however they name it.

IMHO (and experience) stay away from Sungard film.

 

The first shop that I mentioned above does use Llumar film. Isnt the metallized film shiny? Im not sure if this would look good on my Vivid Yellow P5. What do you think? Do you know of any websites that have a range of pics of different Llumar tint? Llumars website doesnt have much info.

 

Just for sake of comparison- I had my P5 tinted TODAY - 20% all around, and it looks awesome - I love it.

The guy who did mine uses Madico tints. There was another customer in the shop who was having a Honda S2000 re-done - the first shop he went to did a so-so job on the install, and the guy (he had the shaded titanium-to-dark thing done) wasn't happy with the alignment of the shading, etc.

When the old tint was pulled off, it came off so easily - I was amazed. I asked the installer if it was really that easy - he replied that when you use cheap tint, sure, it's that easy. The Madico tint will leave a mess all over the window, because the adhesive is better.

Oh, and metallized film does not necessarily mean "titanium" or shiny tint - it just means that the film will last longer and not turn purple like the cheapo stuff.

Check out this thread for some good info - scroll to "mazdaspeedwest"s post - I followed his advice on getting my tint done, and I am VERY happy with the results.

You don't want to worry about the price. A good shop probably won't charge you much more than the others - but they will install quality tint film, and do a quality job.

I was SO pleased when I saw this guy pop off the door panels today! I watched his work - he did all the right things, and the results speak for themselves. And BTW - I got a little discount (my woman knows the guy hrough her work), but he did my P5 and my lady's Jeep Cherokee (that's a total of 18 windows!), both 20% all around, for $325. Regular price would probably have been about $400.

And I see in your sig that you are looking for % suggestions. Well, like I said, I did 20% all around, and I am VERY pleased. It's not nearly as dark from the inside as I thought it would be (I knew nothing about tint before researching to do my P5), and looks real sharp from outside. Plus you can barely see into the car at night. Now I will see what happens with Johnny Law - tinting the front at all is illegal here, but I see it so often - I can't believe that the cops care much if everyone has it. I'm not expecting any problems. 35% seemed too light, IMO - I figured if I'm gonna do it, I might as well do what I really want. And I personally hate the look of different % front and rear - I like it all the same.

 

Well, I checked a few shops today.

SHOP #1
The first shop has a Centaur (or something like that) tint job, its a "hybrid" metallic/dye film made my Llamar. The price for this tint is $180 plus $35 for the visor. I would get 50% front windows, 38% back windows, and 20% in the rear. This is the legal limit for Louisiana. Being that I have a yellow car, I have enough cops looking at me, so getting a illegal tint would be asking for it. The other film they have is a ALL Metallic film called Platinum film made my Llamar. This film would cost me $230 plus $35 for the visor, same % as above. This film is semi-shiny, but Im not sure if it would look good on my yellow P5. The shop gave me some decent size samples so I can see how it looks during the day and night. BTW, BOTH of these tints have a LIFETIME warranty.

SHOP #2
The second shop has a mid grade film that has dye, and is made my Madico. It only has a 5 year warranty. The cost for that film is $180. They also have a higher grade tint that is metallic and semi-shiny. They charge about $225.

SHOP #3
This shop uses Sungard. The first grade is $129.99. It is a dye based, and has a lifetime warranty. The second grade is $180, and is metallic. He didnt recommend me do my yellow P5 in this film.

The first shop has been in business for well over 15 years, and is a very reputable company. The second shop is so so, as well as the third shop.

These are the questions I have:
1. I wanted to know how these prices sound?

2. Has anyone seen the metallic tint on a yellow car before? If so, how does it look?

3. Mazdaspeedwest, I read all of your recommendations on the other thread, should I ask the installer all the questions, like will he remove the panels, not cut rubber gaskets, etc etc? I did ask the shops how long it would take to install, and they said about 2-3 hours. Is this a good time frame, or is it rushing it?

I hope that you can answer these questions, since Im not sure what the hell I should do! LOL

 

Llumar Centaur has a blue color to it. You can see pics of it on my car on my site, as i had Centaur 18% on my car before i changed to the 35% Sputtered Metal silver reflective film.

(IIRC i don't think Centaur comes in 20% - 50, 38, 18, 5)

I really like the silver reflective film and on a yellow car (or any car for that matter) it will look very good. I don't think you'd be happy with the blue Centaur film on your yellow car.

Forget shop 2 and 3. Dyed film is the cheap purple crap.

this is how the silver refletive film looks on my car:


1. $230 is a good price for the Platinum.

2. It will look great

3. Yes ask all the questions. 2-3 hours is just about right for a professional job.

 

Sounds great! Id rather spend more money for a better film/job then have to kick myself in the *** down the line. The shop is called Mobil One, and are a VERY reputable company in the New Orleans area.

The only thing im really worried about is how it will looks with 50,38,20. Like I said before, I want to keep it legal so the pigs wont be after me. Do you think that the Platinum would have a better even look at 50,38,20 then the Centaur or Bronze? (Bronze was the other mid level model besides Centaur).

Any other suggestions before I shell out the money?

 

Just a thought.....

Unless the cops in your area carry around light meters (and I know that some places, sometimes they actually do ), it will be very hard to visually tell the difference between 50% and 38%.

So if you are worried about the looks, you could probably get away with 38% on all the sides and 20% in back, and skip the 50% up front.

Also, I think that the titanium films tend to look "darker" than they actually are - especially at certain angles/lighting/time of day - due to the reflectivity of the film. So if you are really looking to completely avoid confrontation with the cops, maybe the titanuim is not the way to go. Whether you are truly legal or not, you still might get hassled anyway by some overzealous rookie who thinks he knows it all.

Isn't it a shame that they will pull over someone for suspicion of illegal window tint, yet the guy with a bald, wobbly tire with blisters on the sides, no brake lights, and who's car spits out fumes like a deisel dump truck will just get to drive on by?

 

The cops in my area do have a light meter . You are right about the WRONG people getting pulled over. Just the other day I saw a guy with a early 90s Honda Accord with NO REAR BUMPER! I wrote down the license plate and contacted the cops, but probably nothing will happen. I was really worried about the guy driving (dumbass), but if he came to a sudden stop, then whoever is behind him may hit him and cause an explosion! I also HATE when 18-wheelers drive like maniacs! Where are the cops when you need them! One time, this 18-wheeler cut over 2 lanes, almost hitting me and another guy. I called the "HOWS MY DRIVING?" number, and got a recepionist. I told her I would like to talk to the manager, and she said "Hes not in at this time, you can try back later". OMG! I couldnt believe it! I guess those numbers are on the back because the government requires it?? The drivers/truck companys dont give a **** about it.

Like you said about the metallic tint, it does look darker than normal tint because of the reflection. Im thinking that 50/38/20 wont look so bad, since it probably has the same reflection, just different darkness, i dont know? Im going back to that shop to see if they have any cars with 50/38/20.

 

All I can say is that you're doing the right thing - research is key to getting things how you want.

I looked at about 7 different cars with different tint jobs at this shop before deciding what to do.

You'll feel confident once you make an educated decision.