Windshield tint heat blocking

This was a topic of discussion that branched off topic from another thread. I'm starting a new thread for it.

08TXRunner 4R stats- Nautical blue, tinted vehicle, sans windshield

My 4R stats- Nautical blue, tinted vehicle, tinted windshield



Some folks may not be aware of tint specifically made for windshields and that it blocks a LOT of heat. I'm posting some findings here, just to pass them along. You're probably thinking tint is too dark for the windshield or may be against the law in your state. ( I'm not condoning of breaking any laws, but protecting my person from heat ). Picture of the tinted windshield VS non tinted space:



08TXRunner

Posted this picture today of how hot an unprotected dash can get. I do not know how long the vehicle was in the sun for, but was 97 degrees at the time. A whopping 202 dash temp!





These first two pictures were of ambient temps, from sitting in my garage all night, and taken at 8 am:

Ambient dash:


Ambient windshield:


Parked outside all morning and 97 degrees outside:





Temp of the windshield:




A 55 degree difference!

 

Never have I even considered it before but this summer in AZ I'm going to do it as soon as I take it in for the new windshield. I'm tired of blasting the ac full anytime I drive anywhere. Working outside and the thermometer is telling me 118 currently

 

Though not as bad as AZ, I had windshield tint on my last car, in Florida. Night and day difference. I had not known about it, until the wife of the tint shop owner tried to upsell me on it. She told me to sit in her car, that was outside all day. I was amazed on how much cooler it was in her vehicle, compared to my vehicle that didn't have it.

Not sure if your state requires stickers and such on the windshield for inspections/ registrations, but there was a guy on another forum who put the stickers on a piece of PPF and slapped it on the exterior of his windshield. Anytime a sticker needed to be replaced, he just used a new piece of PPF film.

 

I’m definitely getting this done. Xpel has a 90% clear film I’ll get on the windshield and retint the side windows with ceramic.

 

Here is a link to the film that was applied. Everything but the windshield was Mythic tint and the windshield was the ghost tint.

https://www.ccgtinting.com/autotinting

 

@Stitches1974 thank you for your efforts. My dash reading was yesterday at noon in Houston. Had I taken that reading at 3:00 (when it was 100 degrees), I'm sure it would have been closer to 200 degrees. I'm going outside right now and getting new readings for the dash and inside windshield so we can compare my readings and yours. I think it would be a good comparison.

 

You just had to show off your toy, that I needed to get one and put it to use. That infrared thermometer is a nifty thing. Tuesday is supposed to be 100 here. I'll get a new reading then for a more accurate comparison.

 

This was what it was reading when I was sitting in the shade for a couple hours today. Been like this for a couple weeks now

 

That's outside temp.

 

Yeah it is haha. I think you guys are checking the inside when it's 100 out right? So assuming I'd be close to 200 at the dash?

 

Probably more than 200. 08TXRunner had a dash temp of 202, with it being 97 outside.

 

Going to have to get temps tomorrow. I had my Covercraft shade up - which by the way gave me dash temps of 130 degrees. It's too late in the day to do a valid comparison, so I'll post up temps tomorrow afternoon.

 

UV clear film is the one of the best protections out there for front windshields.

 

The number one mod any 4Runner should have is a good ceramic tint all the way around. This includes the rear windows, front windows, moonroof, and windshield. You can get a 80%-90% VLT tint that has as much heat and infrared rejection as a 30% tint. The technology has come a long way for tint.

 

These discussions have convinced me to get the ceramic tint when I buy my 4Runner. My one concern is the registration and inspection stickers on the windshield.

 

Per the tint shop 3M crystalline is the best tint to block heat. CR70 on my windshield was very good against heat but didn't like night driving. On my 4runner I used CR90.
Let me know if there's anything better than 3M crystalline so I can try something better for my new 4R. It's windshield is plain for now. Hopefully my windshield doesn't break this time after spending $300-400 for the tint.

 

Dashcam would be a bigger problem. If I do a tint again I should ask the shop if they can leave a cut out for the dashcam mount location.

 

Already remedied.

 

I spent $200 for the windshield tint listed in the OP and a link to the exact type used in post #5. Your issue is why I posted the pic of the tinted window, with a comparison of a non tinted view in the OP.

 

Houston at 1:30 pm, 97 degrees outside. No surprise why it takes so long for the A/C to blow cold:

 

I updated the OP. It's currently 90 out. Dash was 144F. My pic yesterday showed the dash in the shade. My pic today has direct sunlight on it. New dash and windshield temps posted. Will update on Tuesday, when it should be 100 out.

 

Really appreciate this thread and your efforts @Stitches1974. 99% of the threads are rehashes of things that have been discussed hundreds of times ("can I fit 285's on my TRD Pro rims?"). This is new, very relevant for those of us in hot climates, and is very thorough. Hat tip, my man.

 

As I told you yesterday, I get bored very easy. Once you showed off your thermometer, I had to buy one. I also wanted to see how well this windshield tint works. One thing led to another and here we are. My father told me, if you do something, do it right. I never did a thread like this before and wanted it to have meaning.

Thank you for posting your findings of your untreated windshield and updated temps. This thread would not have been possible without you and your efforts.

I'm not even in a hot year round climate anymore. I will see snow this winter, but heat is still present here in the summer.

 

Hey, keep in mind other uses for that thermometer. I use it to check the temp of the air coming out of my home A/C vents - get a little history, and you can tell when it needs to be serviced with freon. I also use it on my gas grill grates when I'm cooking something temp sensitive, like salmon or other seafood. Exhaust manifold temps on my supercharged ski, comparing inside/outside window temps on my new double pane windows, etc. I even know the temps of my dogs' butts. Trust me you're going to go nuts with it to the point that your wife is going to roll her eyes.

Appreciate the thanks, but I just chimed in. You're the OG.

 

Updated my findings again. 92 out. 153 Dash Temp, 154 windshield temp.

I don't think my dash temp is going to go up 50 degrees at 97 out, like 08TXRunner's results.

 

So a 50 degree reduction with your tint compared to mine?

 

I'll say 40 something. Your temps were at 97 out. Mine was at 92 out.

 

A 40-50 degree reduction is absolutely worth it for me. Thanks.

 

what happens when you get a crack in your windshield? is there a warranty for tint replacement? my luck would be driving back from the tint shop the windshield would get a crack.

 

The only warranty I know of is for the tint itself failing, not replacement for a cracked windshield. A cracked windshield is not the tint's failure.