Thread: Window Tinting - Good Idea or Not?

Tinting a front screen is a no-no in Oz..

The solution to heat transfer that the American manufacturers, (GM, Ford and Chrysler), use is what they call Low E glass, Low Emissivity, which means resistant to IR rays. In practice this means the steering wheel and dash top only get warm, they do not heat up when the summer sun is shining directly inside say when parked.

The primary reason for the Low E glass is not comfort, but is so smaller air conditioners can be installed which leads to better fuel economy.

In the EU/UK, the sun rarely shines, (cloudy all the time), hence solar heat is not deemed a concern - a pity for us.

I know my side glass is, but I believe the front screen on the D4 is Opticool.

I know it's never very hot through the front... And it's not here to check.

Yes, we now have what Pilkington calls Optikool which replaces what they called Siglasol, their true infrared heat reflecting glass.

The old design of the Siglasol had a metallic internal IR reflecting film that also reflected cell phone signals. They do have a new non metallic coating available in Siglasol, but LR chooses not to make it available to us.

Note that the Optikool trademark name is referenced in the Pilkington link below.

Thermal Comfort

Originally Posted by DiscoDavey

Stumbled on this old thread and it has brought up an interesting topic - that being Luxury Car Tax.
If I buy $2,000 of extras, and assuming I've already reached/exceeded the LCT threshold, then I am paying LCT on that $2,000. Is this correct?
So best to do all options possible after purchase eg tow hitches, window tinting, floor mats, seat covers, roof racks etc. Could be quite a saving..

And as said somewhere above, if you are close to the LCT threshold then you would be even crazier to add the options. LCT threshold is $59,133 currently btw. Good luck keeping your D4 under this!

The benefit of purchasing everything when vehicle is new & having it fitted before delivery is that the extra's are "now" included in the factory warranty. So for Eg: if you order side steps, they are now covered for 3yrs/100k km, not the std 12mnths.

Cheers

Sent from my iPad using Forum Runner

Originally Posted by Tombie

Tinting a front screen is a no-no in Oz..

Not strictly true - ADRs allow you to have a tinted front windscreen (not just a tint at the top) to a quite high level (I think up to 10% but am not sure of the actual number) BUT it has to be in the glass as made and cannot be an aftermarket tint - most original front windscreens have a very low level tint to take the edge off the glare.

Garry

the first "modification" i do to any vehicle i buy is the window tint, i always go the darkest "legal" tint or sometimes a couple shades past it lol, you can feel the difference on your arm from window up compared to down, in a car park situation over a period of a couple hours i dont think it would make much if any difference to the inside temp, but i do like the "privacy" it gives you inside a vehicle, not to mention it looks great!

Originally Posted by sniegy

The benefit of purchasing everything when vehicle is new & having it fitted before delivery is that the extra's are "now" included in the factory warranty. So for Eg: if you order side steps, they are now covered for 3yrs/100k km, not the std 12mnths.

Cheers

Sent from my iPad using Forum Runner

The disadvantage is cost - in the example of $2000 worth of extras, will actually cost $2667 after the 33% LCT is applied. I guess you have to weigh up how much the warranty is worth on the item, and how likely it is that the item could fail in the warranty period.

Guide to luxury car tax