Ceramic vs. standard tint?

[OM617YOTA]

Going to be getting my KZJ95 tinted, main goals are heat rejection and UV protection. Ceramic is supposed to have 10-13% better heat rejection, UV is the same either way. I'll likely be going with the lightest tint possible all the way around. Normal tint ~$400, ceramic ~$650.

Is ceramic worth the extra $250?

 

[javelinadave]

I did ceramic and I’m happy with it. I’m not sure you gain much more but I went with it anyways.

 

[OM617YOTA]

Thank you!

 

[OM617YOTA]

Alrighty, tint done. Went with ceramic for the higher heat rejection even at the lighter tint levels I wanted - 70% front driver/passenger windows and 35% on the rest. Definitely cooler, main objective achieved.

Appearance was zero consideration, but it does look decent.

Hopefully it's tolerable come winter.

 

[trainbufftony]

Ceramic is the new digital.
In the 1880s nobody knew what digital meant but consumers had to have it.
Ceramic is the new digital.
A great way to bilk the customer for an additional $150 in unnecessary crap which they dont understand...
The mark can then remark at the water cooler about his new Ceramic blah-d-blah with a sense of real superiority after have gotten what ammounts to a digital prostate exam...

 

[OM617YOTA]

Ceramic is the new digital.
In the 1880s nobody knew what digital meant but consumers had to have it.
Ceramic is the new digital.
A great way to bilk the customer for an additional $150 in unnecessary crap which they dont understand...
The mark can then remark at the water cooler about his new Ceramic blah-d-blah with a sense of real superiority after have gotten what ammounts to a digital prostate exam...

That did concern me. Wish I had experience with standard carbon tint to compare to, but that's unlikely to happen. Since you have strong opinions on this, feel free to share any data you have on carbon vs. ceramic tint and why ceramic isn't any better.

 

[trainbufftony]

I dont have any hard data, and my detail guy (who uses the "ceramic" to sell upgrades) can recite the advertising copy verbatim but thats not facts or data is it?
If one was truly interested its my understanding that the best/only way to determine differences in the 2 products you intend to compare is to find the material safety data sheet for both products.
The companies can hide alot behind "proprietary formulas" and our best peek inside their secrets is the MSDS which they are required to have available for safety purposes.

 

[OM617YOTA]

No data, got it.

 

[trainbufftony]

No data, got it.

Yeah i mean i asked my professional detail guy and he could tell me what the bottle says. That tells me that the differences are probably made up.
He couldnt explain what part of the stuff was Ceramic or how that changed anything at all. Which caused me to conclude its all marketing drivel to separate fools from their money.

Expensiver is better. Never let anyone tell you otherwise.

 

[OM617YOTA]

Alrighty, a month in and I'm very pleased. Heat rejection is great, can feel a huge difference in heat between the untinted windshield and the 70% VLT side windows. AC keeps up much more easily, can turn down the fan speed even when 100F outside.

Also very pleased I went with lighter tint. It's only summer for a couple months here, I drive to work on two lane back country roads with no street lights, in the dark for ~9 months of the year. Important to get the right balance and not get something that's great for the two months of summer while being so dark I can't see through it the rest of the year. This morning was the darkest drive so far, still not full on dark during my commute but already glad I didn't go darker. If anything I might get the rear windows in 35% redone in 70% like the front two windows. Will see as the year progresses.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

@OM617YOTA … “Also very pleased I went with lighter tint. It's only summer for a couple months here,”
—————————————————————————————————
I’m in Southern Georgia where the summers are LONG and good prep if you end up in Hell in the afterlife.
My installer didn’t mention “ceramic” which tells me that he thought I was either too poor to afford it or it wasn’t an option. (I was more interested in the lifetime warranty). I went with 15% on the back and 35% (Georgia legal) on the front.