Do I Need Window Tinting?

In Australia’s harsh climate conditions and with so many melanomas being found daily in our population, the question is raised, do we need window tinting on our cars?

Let’s take a look at that…

There are 3 types of UV light:

UV C – which never makes it to the earth’s surface, so not a major risk!

UV B – which causes sunburn

UV A – which is 30-50 times more prevalent than UV B and penetrates the skin more deeply and harmfully than the other two types.

UV A is what the crazed people who “have to have a tan” receive a barrage of in a solarium.

There is no report anywhere that suggests exposing yourself to these UV rays is a good idea, especially if “yourself” is a Caucasian with a lovely splash of lily white English skin added into the mix. Does the term “recipe for disaster” mean anything to you?

SPF of Glass

There are two types of automotive glass, laminated and tempered.

Laminated is used for windscreens, where the glass is the bread and a layer of polycarbonate is the filling. Laminated glass blocks almost all of UV A and UV B radiation.

Tempered glass on the other hand, like the windows and rear screens on most cars is just normal glass that has been heat treated, which toughens it up and intros high residual internal stresses, so when it breaks it won’t become long shards of daggers to slice and dice you in a crash, because that would be bad.

Sadly tempered glass really only blocks most UV B radiation, and only blocks about 20% of damaging UV A rays, letting in 80% to pretty much cook you, in your own car.

That’s a rough guide, depends on composition of the glass and the thickness, there is no mandatory standard for UV transmission with automotive glass.

In a nutshell, you are better off driving with the air conditioning on and your windows up, but remember, if you are sitting in direct sunlight with no tinting you will be receiving around 80% of UV A rays which is not ideal.

Sunroofs

How crazy is it then that most sunroofs are made from tempered glass and NOT laminated as it blazes down on your scalp.

You would think the manufacturers would use laminated and banish both UV A & UV B rays from what in essence is just a large magnifying glass that some of us choose to sit under!

Tint Film SPF

There are plenty of options out there when it comes to tinting with every Tom, Dick & Harry having their say on how much sunlight they can keep out of your car.

Using the company 3M as a guide, they make claims about UV protection, saying that each of it’s 3 tint films blocks up to 99% of harmful UV rays and the other one they sell apparently blocks up to 99.9% which sounds just plain amazing!

But take a second to wade through the PR bs and think about it, “up to” can mean just that, anything from 1-99% is technically “up to” 99% and who makes the judgement on what is a “harmful” UV ray?

I’m not trying to make light (nice pun eh) of 3M’s products, I actually use them myself and believe they are fantastic but I am also one to not believe everything that I am told, especially by large multinational companies trying to sell me their product over their competitors.

On the up side of the tinting argument, the Cancer Council of Australia have come out and said that “Clear or tinted films can reduce the amount of UV radiation penetrating through the side glass by over 99%”.

3M also say that their films are “Skin Cancer Foundation recommended products”, a fair rap in anyone’s book.

Shades of Grey

You might also be surprised to know that the lighter coloured (almost clear) tint films like 3M’s Crystaline, can allow 90% of transmission of visible light but can still offer “up to” 99.9% UV blocking voodoo!

It is also worth noting that having the darkest possible tint may be of benefit during the daytime, but at night it may actually be a safety compromise at night, which is why there are regulations on how dark your tint can be.

Regulations

The industry only has regulations for visible light, not UV.

The minimum VLT (Visible Light Transmission) in Australia is 35% or in other words, tint films are not allowed to block more than 65% of visible light.

No tinting is allowed on windscreens, not even a clear film except in a strip right up the top.

In the Northern Territory the VLT can be 16% for windows behind the driver, meaning the back seats and in WA & Qld it is 20%.

If you don’t adhere to these guidelines in your state the car is considered un-roadworthy and then you’ll be in a world of pain.

Safety

There is not that much of a safety component to tinting, yes dark films might reduce your vision at night but who is to say it doesn’t reduce fatigue during the day?

In a crash where the side or rear glass gets shattered, there might be less chunks of glass flying around inside the car.

Heat Control

This is a valid discussion as we live here in Australia, with most parts about to get baked again through our summer months.

The big question most people ask is “Will tinting make my car any cooler?”

The clear answer is NO.

Tint manufacturers will almost always say otherwise, with examples such as “rejects up to 97% of the sun’s IR rays and rejects up to 60% of the heat coming through your windows”.

This to me just sounds like PR mumbo jumbo to try and make us think surely it will cool my car!

There are two main heats that will come from your car, radiation and convection.

Radiation is from the sun and belts into your car creating your own personal oven.

Convection is for heat loss or cooling from the hot cat, bleeding heat off into the surrounding air.

Radiant heat load is impacted mainly by the blazing sun on the roof of your car, not your windows, therefore the windows are not a major contributing factor to radiant heat load, so tinting won’t help all that much and will actually reduce the amount of heat escaping from the car.

If you want to keep your car cool during summer park under a tree!

Let’s do this

Make sure you get someone credible to apply the film and you get a warranty. And make sure they don’t exceed the VLT limits in your state and use a reputable brand of film, not some cheap knock off that looks dark but may not block any UV radiation.

Dealership

If you only take one message out of all of this today, let it be this…

DO NOT let the dealership tint the windows for you, they’ll get the same guy you use but they will screw him down on the price and mark it up for you hugely, don’t fall for this trap!

Conclusion

Automotive glass does a reasonable job on it’s own but the concern is the amount of UV A light getting into your car, whereas tinting can offer some relief from these damaging UV rays.

Yes there are other minor factors, it can stop prying eyes looking into your car, it can reduce the amount of shards flying around in your car if you crash but the main reason I would get tinting for my car, is definitely to protect myself and my passengers from the UV A rays.

So, it’s a YES from me.

For more information and a great job in explaining this better than I can, check out John Cadogan’s You tube channel.

His insightful, and at times “colourful” way of explaining things is not for everyone, but here at Brisbane Car Shed we love his views on all things cars!

BEWARE: John tells it exactly as it is, so if you are easily offended you may not enjoy his hard truths as John calls a spade a f%$#@ing shovel!

Remember if you’re looking for a new car or need to sell your current car, talk to me! Call Paul on 0411 362 229.