Ceramic near clear heat/UVB blocking windshield film, any experience?

[HammaMan]

XPEL Prime XR plus is pricey, but the numbers are pretty awesome. 3M is a very close second, and probably indistinguishable in practice. I have to use my truck in places that are pretty dark, so I opted for 70% and still notice a huge difference.

One footnote: the coating will absorb a lot of the incoming IR and UV. With UV, the re-radiated photons are at a higher wavelength, so their damage is mitigated even if the photon eventually reaches you/your upholstery et c. With IR, heating the glass and/or re radiating a slightly lower energy photon into your truck still warms the interior, so that still has to be addressed. In practice, that means that when stationary, the truck interior will reach the same steady state temperature as if there were no tint. When moving, most of the heat energy absorbed by the glass/tint is removed by forced draft convection (i.e. driving the truck through the air). Note that turning the truck on before you get into it on a hot day won't be any more effective with nanoceramic tint, but once you're moving the AC will have far less radiated heat to remove. That means that some kind of cover over the vehicle in the summer may have a bigger benefit than tint for very short trips.

Indeed. Wrapping something in foil doesn't prevent it from cooking. The difference comes from the length of time it takes for the saturation point to hit as well energy required to maintain temp under operation. Sun coming in through a bare windshield vs tinted, especially w/ the front windows also being tinted is a huge delta. That doesn't stop something sitting in the sun for many hours from turning into an oven. The heat rejection allows even 5 minutes of remote start to quickly change that though without having to fight the additional heat load of clear glass.

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[Bravo36]

Another vote for the Xpel Prime on the windshield. I live in Texas, and it makes a huge difference. Did all glass, even the moonroof.
The Skin Cancer Foundation recommends PRIME XR PLUS, XR BLACK, and XR BLUE ™ Window Tint as an effective UV protectant.

 

[Etl330]

Yeah I’ve got xpel prime xr and it’s a game changer. Have the lightest version on the windshield and no haze or issues. I have a darker version on my work van(50 I think) and I probably wouldn’t do that on a vehicle thats driven at night. The heat rejection is an absolute game changer here in colorado

 

[Kodiak]

Yesterday I had the 4 side windows done with 70 and 50 on the moon roof. Driving home on the highway it was 101 degrees outside and the sun was coming directly through the drivers side window on my arm. To me it was a significant cooler difference with the sun directly on my arm as opposed to what it used to be before that film.

My wife loves the big moon roof in the F-150 and now I may be able to drive with the cover open.

 

[Old Hat]

I like to see at night so I would never tint a windshield. The topic reminded me of my daily driver in the 80's. A '63 Chevy Biscayne with 100% non-tinted glass all around. No AC either. Funny how it never seemed a problem back then. Interesting that you can now get sun protection with non-tint films. That's news to me.

 

[Ricksc]

I like to see at night so I would never tint a windshield. The topic reminded me of my daily driver in the 80's. A '63 Chevy Biscayne with 100% non-tinted glass all around. No AC either. Funny how it never seemed a problem back then. Interesting that you can now get sun protection with non-tint films. That's news to me.

Back then the weather was not as it is now. Welcome to technology. Your car back then didn’t have 1 computer compared to now that have many.

 

[HammaMan]

I like to see at night so I would never tint a windshield. The topic reminded me of my daily driver in the 80's. A '63 Chevy Biscayne with 100% non-tinted glass all around. No AC either. Funny how it never seemed a problem back then. Interesting that you can now get sun protection with non-tint films. That's news to me.

50% on the windshield sounds like a lot, but you wouldn't notice it in a modern vehicle with adequate lighting. Factory glass is allowed to have 70% VLT. Furthermore it helps significantly from dazzling headlights which are very commonplace these days. The trouble doesn't come from windshields, it's actually the side windows. Without 3rd party light, you can't see if a pedestrian or bike is about to cross the road you're going to turn onto, especially if there's obstructions (like vehicle parked on the side of the road). Not that untinted windows magically provides light to that area, but tint doesn't help it.

 

[aaexpert]

well. I had mine done with the clear ceramic , the UV blocking type you are talking about.
and while its great at doing just that and helps reduce sun “heat” , I would suggest you google Low angle Haze, or LAH.

and while I paid for a quality ceramic tint I still get this effect driving into the evening sun.

to be honest, I dont think I would get it again.

Exactly what brand and make of tint was used on your vehicle??

 

[Kidder]

I have Llumar Air 80 on my front windshield and pano roof. Just clear (no tint) to reduce UV and temps. It works. I don't have any distortion like they said may be possible.

 

[252Tremor5oh]

I had Autobahn Ceramic i3 installed on all windows in my 2023 Tremor 402A. Did the 70% on windshield and pano, then 25% doors and back glass. Thing I like about Autobahn is their lifetime warranty / guarantee. I also had a small brow strip of 5% ran across windshield to help with sun glare. I also had their Incognito PPF installed on hood, headlights, foglights, bumper, front fenders, mirror caps, and behind door handles.

 

[staying_tuned]

Hey folks thanks again for the wealth of input! I ended up going with XPEL Prime XR in 70% this morning and love it. I was going to go with the clear but when I got there he showed me 50% & 70% on windshields and I felt like 70% added a nice aesthetic with it being darker than stock but not so dark that I might get popped. The place I use is nearly 2 hours away and I could already tell a huge difference just driving back home in today's sun. Thanks again!

 

[PBXL]

I live in California where they pull you over for everything and the sun is blistering and have ceramic on the windshield on two vehicles. I never get pulled over, always forget I have ceramic on myself, and it greatly reduces how hot the vehicles get sitting in the sun. I used to have those sunshade things you have to pop open to protect the dash and reduce temps while parked, but I find I never need those any longer. Dashes are still in great shape and show no signs of cracking and my F150 is parked outdoors 100% of the time (garage too small).

 

[lrb_35128]

Hey folks thanks again for the wealth of input! I ended up going with XPEL Prime XR in 70% this morning and love it. I was going to go with the clear but when I got there he showed me 50% & 70% on windshields and I felt like 70% added a nice aesthetic with it being darker than stock but not so dark that I might get popped. The place I use is nearly 2 hours away and I could already tell a huge difference just driving back home in today's sun. Thanks again!

Glad the input helped. It looks great.

Can't tell if you have the moonroof or not. If you do, did you put ceramic on it as well? - I saw a *huge* benefit from doing so.

On a side-note, love the rim/tire combo...

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