So what's the consensus on tinting?

[REM]

I don’t know how that can be true. There is a palpable difference in temperature when I put my had by a tinted window vs not in Arizona.
Also, before tint, my Starlink in the windshield and power bank in the back seat regularly cut off for overheating but not after. Finally, there is a noticeable difference in energy consumption for cabin overheat protection when parked.
Am I hallucinating this?

Tinting the windows will help reject IR heat for a certain amount of time, but it generally breaks even around the 20-30 min mark. After that, the entire vehicle thermally soaks and generally makes no difference.

It does, however, make a huge difference in the amount of heat soaking you will intake while driving down the road since the wind is constantly cooling the windows.

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[mcastle]

Perfectly logical. For me, I’m much more comfortable even if the car looks like a high school civic.
Though honestly, I don’t think it looks too bad and I appreciate the extra privacy my family gets from it too. There is no reason people flipping off the Cybertruck on the freeway need to make eye contact with my kids.

I know this is off topic but great wrap. Can you share details on the wrap? Colored PPF or vinyl? Which brand?

 

[dalton108]

Respectfully, I couldn’t disagree more especially in Arizona. Without a doubt the best mod I’ve done to the Cybertruck. By a mile.

I, disrespectfully, couldn’t disagree more. Tell me you don’t live in the desert Southwest (or are aware of its existence) by saying some stupid shit like, “no tint is the best tint.” No!!! Lots of tint is the best tint, the more ceramic the better! NASA rated heat-shielding would be preferable!

The equivalent would be us saying something stupid about cars not rusting! I don’t need to live in Michigan to understand that they get snow and rain there. ಠ_ಠ

 

[hemiarch]

I know this is off topic but great wrap. Can you share details on the wrap? Colored PPF or vinyl? Which brand?

Thank you. It’s flexishield ppf. The light blue color is called “dusk sky” the dark blue cantrails are the same brand and called “admiral blue”.
Ceramic on top of all of that keeps it very clean with almost no effort.

 

[dalton108]

Tinting the windows will help reject IR heat for a certain amount of time, but it generally breaks even around the 20-30 min mark. After that, the entire vehicle thermally soaks and generally makes no difference.

It does, however, make a huge difference in the amount of heat soaking you will intake while driving down the road since the wind is constantly cooling the windows.

Very correct. And it does make a huge difference when you’re driving around in the desert!

 

[JUSTICEQD]

It depends on your driving patterns. Tint only helps with comfort for where sunlight shines directly on the occupant. So, if you rarely have sunlight shine directly on you through the windshield, adding any tint there is a waste of money and potential hassle if you go below the line or if the windshield cracks (Tesla has denied warranty coverage to windshield breakage if tint was applied). Tint will have zero impact on how hot the vehicle gets sitting in the parking lot or how hard the ac has to work on keeping it cool. The physics backs this up and every time someone has tested it it has been confirmed. That's not to say it isn't helpful. I have it on all my side windows to keep the sun off me and offer some privacy.

Maybe if you're looking at it from the perspective of sunglasses. And by that, maybe just the cheapy non-uv ones where you're trying to dim the brightness and not squint - sure. But from a heat and UV perspective, certainly recommended and very noticeable and measurable difference.

 

[dalton108]

Maybe if you're looking at it from the perspective of sunglasses. And by that, maybe just the cheapy non-uv ones where you're trying to dim the brightness and not squint - sure. But from a heat and UV perspective, certainly recommended and very noticeable and measurable difference.

It’s not just about comfort either dashboards melt/crack, fabrics fade out here in Suncountry the sun is brutal and you absolutely need UV rejection greater than what factory glass typically does. And regarding heat rejection, although Tesla is probably the best in the business it’s not enough by itself to contend with our reality in the desert Southwest and other very sunny, dry, largely cloudless places. Ceramic tint sells like hot cakes here for a reason.

It’s neither vanity, nor luxury, it’s necessity. People routinely tint their residential house windows here for the same reasons— not cause it looks cool (it doesn’t); because it helps you to BE cool.

*Many noobs out here realize that they NEED window tinting (or at minimum a sunshade) during their first summer when they park their car, leave their favorite pair of sunglasses on the dashboard like they’re used to doing in Whereverthefuckingtonvilleshire and come back to a contorted melted modern sculpture that used to be their 200+ dollar sunglasses.

 

[Hazard One]

He's right that temperature will be the same whether the car is tinted or not... Bear with me here.

Put a big flame under a pot and the water will boil. Put a match under the pot and the water will boil... eventually.

The RATE at which the truck heats up is the difference. Tinted or not, the truck will eventually reach the same temperature under the sun when you get in it after work... HOWEVER, tint slows down the rate at which the truck heats up so the air conditioner will work less to cool it down. ALSO, because the human body can shed some heat easily enough, you'll feel cooler inside if it's tinted (especially true ceramic tint) because the rate will be lower than the rate your body can release heat. Driving, therefore is much more comfortable with, let's say 'treated' windows because long gone are the days where you had to get dark tint to abate UV. Now, you can get almost clear ceramic that blocks most of the UV rays that heat the interior up quickly.

I'm pro-tint. But, not the windshield... tHaNkS mArYlAnD... had to rip it out of two vehicles...

For those saying "Window tint absolutely makes it cooler after a day in the sun"... Even if you tinted the windows with sheets of aluminum (100% UV blocking!!!), it would still get hot as crap in there.

Tint slows the rate at which the car heats up. It's possible, given the right circumstances, that tint can slow it down enough that the truck won't have time to heat up before you get back in.

Your logic is flawed. The truck will heat up until the rate it loses heat equals the rate it gains heat. If you restrict the gain rate using tint or shade or whatever, the peak temperature inside the truck will be less.

 

[shopaholic]

Many are referring to “tint with heat reduction” - it’s not tint that blocks heat but IR blocking (not UV). You can have 75 or 80 film that is almost clear but can have 95+ heat rejection rating.

 

[TyPope]

Your logic is flawed. The truck will heat up until the rate it loses heat equals the rate it gains heat. If you restrict the gain rate using tint or shade or whatever, the peak temperature inside the truck will be less.

Usually, a body won't lose heat if it's in an environment hotter than it. My truck is ceramic tinted and I use the roof sunscreen most days. I still get a daily "Cabin overheat protection activated" text... I know it would happen earlier if I didn't have the tint but it would still hit that threshold.

And, I didn't want to get into the physics too much.

 

[cyberic999]

I live in Southern California. I got 5% on all side windows (yes even on top of factory tinted windows), 70% on windshield, and sunshade on the back ceiling glass. My commute currently includes temperature ranges from 72F to 105F. When it gets to the higher temps I am so damn happy that I have tint because I can't even feel the heat radiating though the glass. Also, I know I won't be getting any UV rays during that 2 hour commute. I do shit it when I pull up next to cops though! So far I haven't gotten pulled over (knock on wood).

 

[hemiarch]

Your logic is flawed. The truck will heat up until the rate it loses heat equals the rate it gains heat. If you restrict the gain rate using tint or shade or whatever, the peak temperature inside the truck will be less.

Exactly. Greenhouse effect is on one side of that equation but not the other and significantly exceeds heat loss to the environment .

 

[Ken in Miami]

I live in Southern California. I got 5% on all side windows (yes even on top of factory tinted windows), 70% on windshield, and sunshade on the back ceiling glass. My commute currently includes temperature ranges from 72F to 105F. When it gets to the higher temps I am so damn happy that I have tint because I can't even feel the heat radiating though the glass. Also, I know I won't be getting any UV rays during that 2 hour commute. I do shit it when I pull up next to cops though! So far I haven't gotten pulled over (knock on wood).

Same here for South Florida. I just parked next to four police cars. They don’t even look at it and you cannot see in any of my windows, including the front but I do like that idea of the medical excuse and I think that would get you out of all of it. I’m gonna find out if I can get an optometrist to write it but here without the tent and the shade for the sunroof it would be impossible to sit in the truck you would barbecue.

 

[Hazard One]

Exactly. Greenhouse effect is on one side of that equation but not the other and significantly exceeds heat loss to the environment .

Not sure I follow what you meant?

 

[hemiarch]

Not sure I follow what you meant?

Nothing super deep. The contributing factors to cabin heating include greenhouse effect which has the sun on its side. The contributing factors to cooling, which are mostly convection and conduction don’t have that ancillary driving force.
This is why heating exceeds cooling (in the absence of climate control and the temp rises quickly.
If you decrease that differential by decreasing the amount of greenhouse effect, you should get slower (and therefore easier to counteract with AC) temperature rise.

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