tint brand

Are there suppose to be certain tint brands that are better than others? If so, what do you guys recommend ? I'm in So Cal.

Yes.

I dont know which, but I am sure there are many opinions as to which is best and why. In fact, I recall a few thousand threads on the topic over the years...

Ceramic tints are the best. At the moment, I would say that Huper Optik, FormulaOne Pinnacle and Llumar Axcess are the top 3. I don't think you could go wrong with any of them. The key is the installer.

Originally Posted by Brian425

Ceramic tints are the best. At the moment, I would say that Huper Optik, FormulaOne Pinnacle and Llumar Axcess are the top 3. I don't think you could go wrong with any of them. The key is the installer.

I have used both Llumar and 3M, both have been fine. I agree that it comes down to the installer.

Originally Posted by GoHawks63

I have used both Llumar and 3M, both have been fine. I agree that it comes down to the installer.

What about Madico. Most of the installers here carry these. Or Sunguard, which is by Madico.

I had a ceramic tint (Huper Optik) on my E46 and I just installed a 3M tint on the wife's X5 this week. The price difference (almost 2x) wasn't worth it to justify the added expense of the ceramic.

The 3M tint I have is a little more on the neutral color/shading side vs. the Suntek tint that seems to be a little more green colored than grey colored.

As Brian425 said, the installer's quality and attention to detail in installation of the tint will be the main factor here. Most installers will know about the BMW's "dots" on the edges of the glass and also how to deal with them effectively.

Originally Posted by twizzleraddict

I had a ceramic tint (Huper Optik) on my E46 and I just installed a 3M tint on the wife's X5 this week. The price difference (almost 2x) wasn't worth it to justify the added expense of the ceramic.

The 3M tint I have is a little more on the neutral color/shading side vs. the Suntek tint that seems to be a little more green colored than grey colored.

As Brian425 said, the installer's quality and attention to detail in installation of the tint will be the main factor here. Most installers will know about the BMW's "dots" on the edges of the glass and also how to deal with them effectively.

What do you mean by "dots" Any recommendations on installers in Orange County (So Cal)?

Is metallic tint bad?

Any idea what the factory rear windows are tinted - ceramic or metallic?

Originally Posted by jyeh74

Any idea what the factory rear windows are tinted - ceramic or metallic?

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=bmw+tint+dots

There's been a ton of stuff discussed on this so I won't rehash here.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=metallic%20vs%20ceramic%20tint

Same on metallic (the majority of the standard tints) vs ceramic (like Huper Optik).