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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > BMW E90/E92/E93 3-series General Forums > Regional Forums > Canada > Huper Optik 50 tint in Vancouver [w/ pics on jet black]



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      08-20-2006, 04:17 PM   #1
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Talking Huper Optik 50 tint in Vancouver [w/ pics on jet black]

Hi guys. I picked up my jet black e90 a few months ago and promptly decided to get my e90 tinted. Black cars look great...but man do they get hot in the sun! Anyway...this post is a little report of my experience of getting my car tinted in Vancouver.

Choosing the Tint
After some research, I finally decided to go with Huper Optik Ceramic tint. Huper Optik Ceramic tint has a high level of heat rejection compared to conventional (cheaper) tint films. It will not fade to dark purple like those cheaper films you see on those old rice rockets. And best of all, it is made with ceramics and will not interfere with the operation of cellphone/radar detectors/radio like how metalized tint films are known to do. I was particularly convinced after I saw how sweet it looked on MCHammered's Audi A4 Avant on AudiWorld Forums.

If you are thinking of getting your car tinted, I would highly recommend Huper Optik Ceramic. However, once you get it don't expect miracles...your car will not suddenly be as cool as a deep freezer after you come back to your car after it has been sitting in the sun for an hour. Remember your car is still a poorly insulated metal can with thin windows...of course it's going to heat up in the sun! However, you will benefit from more subtle (but important to me) differences:
  1. After you start the car up and get the A/C going the car seems to cool down faster
  2. The sunlight coming into the car is considerably cooler. When driving, I used not like to have my left arm rest on the window ledge as the sunlight would be too hot that it would be uncomfortable. Now even in hot direct sunlight when I put my arm on the window ledge, it just feels as if someone with warm breath is blowing air onto my arm.
  3. UV Protection. Sure you can wear sunglasses for your eyes ...but I'm not too diligent about slapping on sunblock everytime I go out to drive. With 99% UV protection I should help delay myself from getting skin cancer.

Choosing the Amount of Tint
I wanted to go with a really light tint as I did not want it to be too noticeable. I wanted something that would help with heat on sunny days but look like nothing was there at night or overcast days. I also wanted to get every window tinted (except the front windshield and sunroof) and I did not want it to be noticeable by the police. (In BC the police frown on people who tint the front two windows no matter what the tint %.)

The high level of heat rejection of Huper Optik Ceramic tint compared to conventional tint also meant that I could get away with a really light tint and still reap the benefits of a cooler tinted car. Ultimately this meant that I wanted to have either Huper Optik Ceramic 50 or Huper Optik Ceramic 60 installed. Here are the technical stats of the two films from the Huper Optik website:

Ceramic 50
49% Solar Energy Rejected
68% Infra-Red Rejection
50% Visible Light Transmission

Ceramic 60
42% Solar Energy Rejected
60% Infra-Red Rejection
58% Visible Light Transmission

As you can see, there isn't much difference between the two. I doubt I would really tell the difference in 7% of solar energy rejection. So I was pretty set on getting the Ceramic 60. However when I went to the tint place to check out the two films, I could barely tell a difference in the films. I figured that if I was going to get caught for having Ceramic 50 on my front two windows, I would likely also get caught for having Ceramic 60.

So...I decided to go with Ceramic 50. On overcasty days, I'll just open my sunroof shade so the interior looks brighter as if I don't have tint.

Choosing the Tint Installer
If you live in the 604 area, there seems to be basically two places that tint with Huper Optik Ceramic. Smart Films in Richmond (formerly known as Avrix) and Tint Centre of Vancouver. After talking to Kris at Tint Centre of Vancouver, I decided to go with him. His shop is conveniently located in North Vancouver (117E 1st Street...near Lonsdale Quay). He offered a good price and flexible shop hours. I dropped off my car in the morning and I was able to pick it up in the evening after work. (Huper Optik is apparently harder to install than cheaper thinner films so expect a longer install time than regular tint).

I am completely satisfied with Kris' work. He completely babied my car and did an excellent job. I would highly recommend any guys looking to have their car tinted to go with him. (If you want a high quality metallized tint he also carries Huper Optik Sech and Acht as well a lot of other types of automotive tints). Give him a call at 778-999-8468. Tell him that spacedogg from e90post.com sent you.

Photos
Now the photos. These aren't artsy photos so they don't look that great. I just wanted to take a few snapshots so you guys know what the tint job looks like in harsh full sunlight.

Side view


Driver's side window


Looking out of driver's side window


Sunroof shade CLOSED


Sunroof shade OPEN

Last edited by spacedogg; 08-20-2006 at 04:44 PM..
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      08-20-2006, 04:26 PM   #2
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Do they remove the windows and bake the tint on
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      08-20-2006, 04:31 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ascension
Do they remove the windows and bake the tint on
No it's a film just like other tint and is applied just like other tints. As I understand it, when they say it is ceramic...it is because the film is made up of ceramic particles. Cheaper tints are just film that have dyes in them. These dyes will fade over time. Metallized tints...have metal particles in them and usually highly reflective and interfere with radio signals. Hope that answers your question.

If not you can read up more about it on the Huper Optik website.
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      08-21-2006, 01:26 AM   #4
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Can you tell me how much you pay for it, looking to do the same thing on my ride.
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      08-21-2006, 07:27 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kes
Can you tell me how much you pay for it, looking to do the same thing on my ride.
A couple of my friends did it together and got a special price from Kris. I'm not allowed to tell you the price, but if you give him a call I'm sure he'd give you a rocking deal.
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      08-24-2006, 11:30 AM   #6
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great write-up spacedogg!

i was toying with the idea of getting my windows tinted, and this made my decision easy,.. thanks!
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      08-24-2006, 12:04 PM   #7
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nice write up doood...

I have HO 40%. I like it because it looks classy and the HO is good quality (installers 'complained' how THICK HO is).

I think in Vancouver 50% is probably just fine. For me, in retrospect, I would have gotten the darkest HO i could have. Houston is just way too hot. like i said, I think the not so dark 40's and 50's look CLASSY... just not the best at blocking heat out.
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      09-09-2006, 11:04 PM   #8
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Anyone have any experience with Smart Films in Richmond??
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      09-10-2006, 02:34 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by E90Lurker
Anyone have any experience with Smart Films in Richmond??
I've heard good things about them too...they used to be called Avrix. You see them being mentioned on the Audi and E46 forums. Before Kris opened up his shop, Smart Films/Avrix was the only place you could get HO done in Vancouver.
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      05-18-2008, 01:12 PM   #10
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Update: Thought I would update this old thread since the weather is getting hot and people may be thinking about tinting. Last I heard Smart Films (previously Avrix) now only does commercial/residential glass. They do not do automobiles.

Kris at the Vancouver Tint Centre is still doing Huper Optik on vehicles. As far as I know is the only place in Vancouver to get Huper Optik done.

There is a place in Coquitlam that does Formula One Pinnacle (another ceramic tint)...but I believe Huper Optik has slightly better heat rejection. The only problem is that Huper Optik was designed to be installed on flat glass (and is relatively thick)...so inexperienced installers have a hard time installing on curved automotive glass...so most installers will recommend Formula One Pinnacle over Huper Optik.

But personally...Huper Optik FTW!
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      05-18-2008, 07:35 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by spacedogg View Post
Update: Thought I would update this old thread since the weather is getting hot and people may be thinking about tinting. Last I heard Smart Films (previously Avrix) now only does commercial/residential glass. They do not do automobiles.

Kris at the Vancouver Tint Centre is still doing Huper Optik on vehicles. As far as I know is the only place in Vancouver to get Huper Optik done.

There is a place in Coquitlam that does Formula One Pinnacle (another ceramic tint)...but I believe Huper Optik has slightly better heat rejection. The only problem is that Huper Optik was designed to be installed on flat glass (and is relatively thick)...so inexperienced installers have a hard time installing on curved automotive glass...so most installers will recommend Formula One Pinnacle over Huper Optik.

But personally...Huper Optik FTW!

My X5 and my friend's hummer H2 just had Huper optik done at kris's place~
great work~~huge differance much much better than SXn-guard
i think it really worth the price!

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      05-19-2008, 10:02 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by spacedogg View Post
There is a place in Coquitlam that does Formula One Pinnacle (another ceramic tint)...but I believe Huper Optik has slightly better heat rejection. The only problem is that Huper Optik was designed to be installed on flat glass (and is relatively thick)...so inexperienced installers have a hard time installing on curved automotive glass...so most installers will recommend Formula One Pinnacle over Huper Optik.

But personally...Huper Optik FTW!
Any idea if their price is comparable? Huper vs. Formula 1, that is.

EDIT: And do you know if he's done the HO tint on an E93? Since it's thicker, might it interfere with the rear windows going up and down for the roof operation?

Last edited by Lotus99; 05-19-2008 at 11:02 PM.. Reason: Added question about tinting E93
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      05-20-2008, 12:01 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lotus99 View Post
Any idea if their price is comparable? Huper vs. Formula 1, that is.

EDIT: And do you know if he's done the HO tint on an E93? Since it's thicker, might it interfere with the rear windows going up and down for the roof operation?
Price, if anything, should be less labour to do Formula One Pinnacle. Tint film is thinner (from what I understand) so is easier to install. However there is only one place to have that installed in the Vancouver area...so I would imagine the rates will be fairly similar. Give them a call and update us...

Don't know if Kris has installed E93. But I'm not sure how thicker film will likely interfere with your rear windows going up and down. I have Huper Optik on all my windows (except the sunroof and windshield) and the windows operate normally.
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      06-20-2010, 11:22 PM   #14
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which place does pinnacle tint?
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      06-22-2010, 12:44 PM   #15
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I had it done and lasted 4 months before getting caught and had to remove it.

I had conventional 35% on rear 5 and 50% ceramic on front. got caught on an overcast showery day. expensive waste of expensive tint
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