I finally went and did it... got the tinting put on my HCHII. I saw a truck in my neighborhood from "Elite Tinting" and saw the guy doing an installation. Turns out he lives there... only a short walk from my home! We talked, and I inspected his work. He knew his stuff, and even knew about the extra windows on the HCHII.

For $190 (total with tax and lifetime warranty) he did the installation at my home. Excellent job. Went with 15% in the rear and "nearly legal" medium tint on the front door windows. No tint on the windshield. Used LLumar non-metallic (metallic would cause problems with the NAVI and my XM radio).

I'm not allowed to open my windows for 3 days while the stuff is "curing". Guess I'll have to use the A/C! Hopefully, it'll do its job and cut down on the heat.

If any of you So. Cal folks (orange county) want a great tinting job done at your home, try Elite tinting at (714) 998-7797

 

I don't understand why the metallic would affect the Navi and XM radio. The Navi antenna has a line of sight through the front windshield which you did not get tinted and the XM radio should have an external antenna mounted on the outside of the vehicle.

 

When you get a chance, I'd love to see a pic of the new tints. Also, let us know if you see a noticable difference in interior temp. Thanks!

 

Cool!!! Good for you and your window tinting!!!

I have only had my HCHII for about a week and a half, and I already got mine tintied as well. Had it done in San Diego by a guy that owns Top Dog Tinting. He is mobile as well. Got mine done for $275, but that includes a windshield visor and 3M tinting. I really love it!!! It looks sweet, and is a lot cooler when driving in the hot sun. I got pretty much the same percentage of tin, although I got the front "wing" windows tinted darker like the rear windows. Looks pretty nice, and it isn't like you use those windows a lot--so I am not worried about anything legal about it.

Now if I could just get this beast broken in...

 

I'll take some photos this weekend and post them.

I wish I was home to see the installation done. I was at work at the time... my wife was home but didn't observe the installation. I've seen photos posted here where the rear seats were actually removed to install tint. I don't know if that was done on mine. All I can say is that it looks good! She said the guy took about 2 1/2 hours to do the installation.

 

The NAVI antenna is in the dash. I'm sure 90% - 95% of the satellite transmission is through the windshield, but the possibility of degrading satellite signals closer to the horizon on the sides (through the front door glass) does exist.

My XM radio antenna is installed inside... at the back glass. It made for a cleaner installation... no wires crossing to the outside, no ugly black blob on the roof, no worries with car washes, etc.

 

got pix?

 

Ohhh.... sorry! I meant to do that a while ago! I'll try to grab some shots and post them this weekend.

 

i got an estimate for 9 windows at a tint shop in national city...$220, but i don't know what brand they use. called top dog tinting, which uses 3m metallic and wants $275. is 3m that much better?

 

I have no way to compare 3M to my Llumar. Unless I got an identical HCHII and tinted it with the 3M... put them both in the sun... and took temp readings, Of course, the energy it reflects is only part of it... how long will the tint last... how clear and undistorted is it?

As for my likes / dislikes on this tinting (now that I've had it for a while):

1) I like the exterior look of my tint
2) I'm slightly disappointed in the heat resistance... thought it was going to be a little better than it is (but it is still much better than with no tint!).
3) I can see okay at night. It's actually helpful because I don't need to use the day/night switch on the mirror as much.
4) There is one annoying thing which I'm still getting used to... the grid lines on my rear defroster now reflect some light from the headlights of cars behind me. This appears as lines of light around the headlight. Has anyone else experienced this type of thing?