Additional tint on the sunroof?

[Jsmith]

I bring my car in this afternoon to have my windows tinted, with the plan to have the sunroof tinted darker as well. I hate the fact the I cannot see my nav screen with shade open while its sunny out, there's too much of a glare.

 

Has anyone else done theirs? I heard years ago of the glass up top cracking from the tint....traps too much heat? I'm no expert in this, and will more than likely do it anyway, but any input is appreciated.

[Jsmith]

I bring my car in this afternoon to have my windows tinted, with the plan to have the sunroof tinted darker as well. I hate the fact the I cannot see my nav screen with shade open while its sunny out, there's too much of a glare.

 

Has anyone else done theirs? I heard years ago of the glass up top cracking from the tint....traps too much heat? I'm no expert in this, and will more than likely do it anyway, but any input is appreciated.

[The Grey Goose]

I'm interested to hear the outcome. I like having the sunshade open, but don't like it when I have to sit in direct sunlight. The tint would definitely help.

 

I really can't see how it would negatively affect it though.

 

 

Just read this thread, and it seems like it'd be just fine as long as our sunroofs are tempered glass.

 

https://www.tintdude.com/forum/topic/35004-will-tinting-my-sunroof-cause-the-glass-to-crack/

[The Grey Goose]

I'm interested to hear the outcome. I like having the sunshade open, but don't like it when I have to sit in direct sunlight. The tint would definitely help.

 

I really can't see how it would negatively affect it though.

 

 

Just read this thread, and it seems like it'd be just fine as long as our sunroofs are tempered glass.

 

https://www.tintdude.com/forum/topic/35004-will-tinting-my-sunroof-cause-the-glass-to-crack/

[Jsmith]

I read that same article yesterday and after some research, it looks like the sunroofs are laminate glass...read that in a forester forum.

I'm going to go ahead and get it done. Unless someone chimes in the next 1 hour or so with a horror story...

 

I'm not looking to black it out, only make it dark enough to reduce the glare on the nav screen so its usable on sunny days with the sunshade open. I'll let you know how it turns out.

[Jsmith]

I read that same article yesterday and after some research, it looks like the sunroofs are laminate glass...read that in a forester forum.

I'm going to go ahead and get it done. Unless someone chimes in the next 1 hour or so with a horror story...

 

I'm not looking to black it out, only make it dark enough to reduce the glare on the nav screen so its usable on sunny days with the sunshade open. I'll let you know how it turns out.

[Yoda_One]

In my part of the woods just the heat from the Sun would be unbearable, tinted to jet black would wear out the HVAC quickly.

 

Laughter is good for the Soul.

[Yoda_One]

In my part of the woods just the heat from the Sun would be unbearable, tinted to jet black would wear out the HVAC quickly.

 

Laughter is good for the Soul.

[TTG]

Now that is one problem we don't have in Seattle. I always get cars with sunroofs so that additional light (or whats left of it) gets into the cabin of the car :-)

 

Always, dark and gray in here.

[TTG]

Now that is one problem we don't have in Seattle. I always get cars with sunroofs so that additional light (or whats left of it) gets into the cabin of the car :-)

 

Always, dark and gray in here.

[Yoda_One]

Here is example right now in the shade (air) the thermometer reads 66 degrees direct sunlight​ reads 102 degrees. In the summer you can literally fry an egg on the sidewalks. My Jeep is always park under a tree, the Subaru are in the garage. When we head to stores etc., the first parking spots that are taken are the ones in the shade no matter how far they're from the front.

 

Laughter is good for the Soul.

[Yoda_One]

Here is example right now in the shade (air) the thermometer reads 66 degrees direct sunlight​ reads 102 degrees. In the summer you can literally fry an egg on the sidewalks. My Jeep is always park under a tree, the Subaru are in the garage. When we head to stores etc., the first parking spots that are taken are the ones in the shade no matter how far they're from the front.

 

Laughter is good for the Soul.

[XT-sub]

... but any input is appreciated.

 

This is something I wanted to get done, so a couple of months ago I asked a professional vehicle & home window tinter if it was safe to do. He looked at the sunroof glass on our Liberty & didn’t know for certain if it was laminated or not. Even tapping it with his fingers & comparing it this way to the windscreen he still wasn’t certain (apparently this is one test they do). He said based on the risk of it being laminated he strongly advised to only go with a light tint instead of a dark tint, in fact he wouldn't put a dark tint on unless I could find out for certain if it wasn't laminated. A dark tint could cause the glass to crack on a hot day if it was laminated, whereas if it wasn’t laminated a dark tint would be fine. At this stage I haven't pursued this any further.

 

So you need to find out for certain if the sunroof glass in your Legacy is laminated or not if you want to go with a dark tint. The sunroof in the SJ Foz is a lot larger than the Liberty/Legacy's sunroof so the sunroof glass specification may be different.

 

I know there are quite a few differences between the Australian spec Liberty & the USDM Legacy so I don’t even know if they have the same sunroof glass specification.

[XT-sub]

... but any input is appreciated.

 

This is something I wanted to get done, so a couple of months ago I asked a professional vehicle & home window tinter if it was safe to do. He looked at the sunroof glass on our Liberty & didn’t know for certain if it was laminated or not. Even tapping it with his fingers & comparing it this way to the windscreen he still wasn’t certain (apparently this is one test they do). He said based on the risk of it being laminated he strongly advised to only go with a light tint instead of a dark tint, in fact he wouldn't put a dark tint on unless I could find out for certain if it wasn't laminated. A dark tint could cause the glass to crack on a hot day if it was laminated, whereas if it wasn’t laminated a dark tint would be fine. At this stage I haven't pursued this any further.

 

So you need to find out for certain if the sunroof glass in your Legacy is laminated or not if you want to go with a dark tint. The sunroof in the SJ Foz is a lot larger than the Liberty/Legacy's sunroof so the sunroof glass specification may be different.

 

I know there are quite a few differences between the Australian spec Liberty & the USDM Legacy so I don’t even know if they have the same sunroof glass specification.

[XT-sub]

Based on the etching on the windows of our Liberty my guess is the sunroof on the Australian spec Liberty isn’t laminated. Except for some markings, letters & numbers that don’t mean much to me, the following is what is etched:

 

Windscreen: ‘Subaru’ ‘Lamilex’ with a small separate ‘L’ letter.

Sunroof: ‘Subaru’ ‘Nippon Safety’ with a small separate ‘T’ letter.

Front door windows & 1/4 windows: ‘Subaru’ ‘Nippon Safety’ with a small separate ‘T’ letter.

Rear door windows & 1/4 windows: ‘Subaru’ ‘Tempalex’ with a small separate ‘T’ letter.

Rear glass: ‘Subaru’ ‘Temperlite’ with a small separate ‘T’ letter.

 

My guess is; the letter ‘T’ is for tempered & the letter ‘L’ is for laminated.

[XT-sub]

Based on the etching on the windows of our Liberty my guess is the sunroof on the Australian spec Liberty isn’t laminated. Except for some markings, letters & numbers that don’t mean much to me, the following is what is etched:

 

Windscreen: ‘Subaru’ ‘Lamilex’ with a small separate ‘L’ letter.

Sunroof: ‘Subaru’ ‘Nippon Safety’ with a small separate ‘T’ letter.

Front door windows & 1/4 windows: ‘Subaru’ ‘Nippon Safety’ with a small separate ‘T’ letter.

Rear door windows & 1/4 windows: ‘Subaru’ ‘Tempalex’ with a small separate ‘T’ letter.

Rear glass: ‘Subaru’ ‘Temperlite’ with a small separate ‘T’ letter.

 

My guess is; the letter ‘T’ is for tempered & the letter ‘L’ is for laminated.

[YeuEmMaiMai]

sunroof is tempered glass but it is not laminated. You can tint it no problem.

[cdc782]

Mine was tinted in 2015. No issues to note 2yrs and counting.

 

I park outside all year round.

[Jsmith]

So they called me yesterday afternoon and had to reschedule. I'm getting it done tomorrow.

 

What percentage did you go with? Can you take a picture of the nav screen with the shade open while its sunny out today?

[cdc782]

So they called me yesterday afternoon and had to reschedule. I'm getting it done tomorrow.

 

What percentage did you go with? Can you take a picture of the nav screen with the shade open while its sunny out today?

 

sunroof i went with 5%. i should have asked about darker.. its very dark now, but there is still a reflection. i still find myself closing the sunroof to view the screen again. i've even contemplated getting non-glare matte screen protector for my screen to avoid this.

[Paradox]

I had mine with 35% ceramic tint, no problems in the nearly 2yrs with it installed, park outside in the height of summer heat in the sun, baking away.

 

I still get glare on the HU, especially at just the right angle. I installed a tablet matte screen protector (cut to size myself) and I still get some glare at times, at certain extreme angles with all of the above. But mostly it's glare from the chrome trims around the HVAC vents that does it as well, when it happens.

[Jsmith]

So I finally got around to taking a picture. I went with 25% ceramic (Suntek CIR) all around, including over the factory tint on the sunroof. The glare on the head unit is almost zero now, I don't think I have shut my shade in the two weeks since getting it done. I'll put up a picture in the sunlight as soon as I get the opportunity to do so.

[The Grey Goose]

So I finally got around to taking a picture. I went with 25% all around, including over the factory tint on the sunroof. The glare on the head unit is almost zero now, I don't think I have shut my shade in the two weeks since getting it done. I'll put up a picture in the sunlight as soon as I get the opportunity to do so.

ooo, that's nice. I like being able to keep my sunroof open because it makes the interior seem roomier.

[leolfds]

So I finally got around to taking a picture. I went with 25% all around, including over the factory tint on the sunroof. The glare on the head unit is almost zero now, I don't think I have shut my shade in the two weeks since getting it done. I'll put up a picture in the sunlight as soon as I get the opportunity to do so.

 

That looks very nice. I am getting my tints done tomorrow, not the sunroof. I am ok with it the factory tint. It doesn't bother me, and I drive with the shade closed anyway. Originally I was going with 20% all around, but ended up choose 35% on the sides to comply with local law.

[Jsmith]

ooo, that's nice. I like being able to keep my sunroof open because it makes the interior seem roomier.

 

Thanks Goose! I love the look, and having the sunroof glass tinted has allowed me to have the sunshade open in all conditions. With ceramic tint installed, it greatly reduces the glare and heat (UV & IR light) which is exactly what I wanted. So far its perfect.

 

 

That looks very nice. I am getting my tints done tomorrow, not the sunroof. I am ok with it the factory tint. It doesn't bother me, and I drive with the shade closed anyway. Originally I was going with 20% all around, but ended up choose 35% on the sides to comply with local law.

 

I have 20% on my 2010 Legacy, and I love how dark it is, but the LEOs in my area do not. 25% is not technically much different, but the visible light allowed in is very noticeable, while the upgraded tint itself, blocks out the unwanted heat. Time will tell..