I have Llumar CTX on the "stinkin" and love the heat rejection and clarity. Not a fan of the color though. It's not a true gray/black. After I had it installed, I researched and found others complaining about it not being black also. Not sure, but I think they have since redesigned that line.

Wasn't thrilled with the quality of the install though which is a shame because they're the only Llumar dealer in my area.

Fit has Solar Guard metallic and it's held up quite well for being 9 year old tint. Starting to get light and more blue. Shop did a good job on install. Sadly, they went out of business a couple years ago. If tint goes well on the VW, may have the Fit redone to freshen it up a bit.

Ordered new foam pads for my rotary buffer also. Planning on a serious detail for the 'ole GD next week. Now that I'm driving it, my standards for it's condition have gone up drastically. LOL

 

Man...I'd jump at the chance for clear bra for $170. Shop near me wanted $550 to do the Golf and it's not exactly large or complicated.

 

the llumar on my GTI is a black hue, the one on my STI is a brownish/green hue but honestly it still looks good.

yah if you're willing to spend a couple of hours installing clearbra, $170 is hard to beat.

 

huh, store gave me a refund on the universal diffuser

lots of win today as always! lol

 

Oh, it was a DIY?

I know a co-owner of Lamin-X, but even he warned me that I may want it done professionally. I have patience and do everything else myself. How hard was it?

My fear is that I will end up with a ball of film on my garage floor.

 

yah i do clearbra installs. i didn't do the GTI and STI was because my tint guy gave me a great deal on it and he does a good job.

i was going have my guy do the R too but he was booked for a few weeks and i didn't want to risk chips on my brand new car. so i just did the install in my garage.

 

woot, ended up installing the R's diffusers today as it was easy to install.. fitment was spot on! looks fantastic and i am super happy how it turned out.

i am done modding my R for the time being. last thing on my mind is whether to do tint or not but since my ride is parked indoors most of the time it will only be for cosmetics.. and if i tint the windows people can't see inside while im driving whether my Golf is a MT or a boring DSG.. and that kinda sucks because a proper hot hatch must have MT and i want people to get excited seeing a MT hatch.. and maybe even consider getting one themselves.

 

in addition to the winning streak, i didnt know about this promo, but tirerack sent me docs for a prepaid $70 Visa card for the DWS06 i bought. woot! i registered today..

hummmm..wat to do with the $70 that fell into my lap from nowhere..LOL
think im going to grab some sushi with the wife for lunch.

 

happy friday to all..!

while i had 2 days off this short work week, felt SO LONG.. ive been ready for the weekend since tuesday night. lol so wats on the menu today. actually nothing much, which is good cause im tired. after the grind im going to just take it easy and watch TV or stream a movie.

tomorrow pulling out the R for a drive and to take some 'finished' pictures of my ride. will also retorque my lugs after 10miles or so of driving to double check since i removed the factory wheels this week for the OZ test fit. i feel like a big weight was taken off my shoulders.. been working on my R since like late May and unlike the past where i kept modding mediocre cars to bring it to levels of good performance and enjoyment, lately i prefer to just buy a finished car and lightly put some of my touches to it and call it complete.

 

I pulled out the Pioneer AVH-p8400bt I had in the Fit along with my Kenwood KAC-M3001 mono amp. Kicker door speakers and 8" compact sub.

Will retain rear view camera, but only 1 or the 3 views will work. Fish eye, normal and top down are the 3 views but only fish eye will work with any aftermarket stereo.

Considered getting a SOny XAV-AX100 for the OEMish look and android auto...but the pioneer is "free" vs $400+ haha.

My thought on clear bras was I always worried they would fade/yellow. I wouldnt mind a clear bra for the civic to protect the front end. COnsidering just a nose bra again but not on the bumper just the hood.

Leather schedule, dealer said they'd do 75% ($225 out of $300) for the door panels. All I thought was "really....$75...cmon guys" but at this point I just want it done and no longer deal with the dealer. got my leather scheduled for tuesday. Trying to schedule tint.

Also didnt mention Im removing those fake MGP caliper covers. That was the plan all along but when I went to go remove them I noticed the rears were rubbing against the wheel. Rubbed the paint off on both rears. Gettingg wheels repaired and full refund on the fake ass covers.

 

nice on the stereo setup. i was always a pioneer guy so had lots of AVH models. i hear the NEX (carplay/android auto) units are very nice. GL with the install!

as for clearbra, it wont yellow if you get a quality bra like 3M or Xpel. but even if it did, clearbra's are wear items so i'd replace mine every 3yrs or so. the clearbra on my GTI has taken quite a beating already and im happy i have clearbra, cause no silly tiny specks of paint missing or chips.

yah, id pay the dealer to just get the rest of the leather done and get it over with! sorry to hear about the caliper covers. pretty silly those things are, they shouldn't even make it to the car dealer but they almost always have the stupidist 'options' on cars to put some short of margin on the sale.

my STI, GTI, R none came with BS dealer options nor front plates, nor dealer stickers. i guess im lucky to have these dealers.

 

Yeah I liked the pioneer while it was in the Fit. No Android auto but can't beat "Free".

As for removing a clear bra, is there any residue to worry about before installing a new one? First brand new car in over 10 years and plan to keep it 10 years...so I'd like to keep it looking new so maybe its a worthy investment. Plastidip isnt thick enough to protect I dont think...and wrapping is crazy expensive. PLus I love the white metallic.

At least the caliper covers the company is taking responsibility and fixing it and buying the covers back. So thats nice.

That was one reason I was hoping to "order" a new one. To avoid the front license plate in the front bumper =/ Just didnt work out that way, I'd still be waiting for one and the one i picked up was too good to pass up considering what they gave me for my trade. =)

Looking at Tint. Wanting a ceramic based to reduce heat and IR....especially with the leather. Llumar, Ceraluxe, Madico, 3m, Suntek seem to be the contenders. Ranging from $350-800 installed.

 

clearbra comes off clean but i do use some rc car motor spray if there is any residue left at the seams. it is not like the adhesive separates from the film and becomes a huge mess so no need to worry about that. 3M sells adhesive and wax removers too if you want to try that. just apply a little heat on the clear bra and just pull a section at a time.

tint sounds good for protecting leather! probably the best way to protect seats. i use llumar on my cars and my seats look brand new still. not that they wouldn't with only a year wear. haha

 

alright on the menu today.. pulling out my R in a little bit for some motoring fun and taking snaps. need to do some more painting on my RC car bodies this am too.. then rest of pm relax. might work on my wife's furniture a little bit as well.

might take wife out to lunch if she's back from her errand early.

evening just relax watching tv or stream a movie.

 

had a great drive this am in my R, took some snaps along the way. very happy how my car turned out. going to pull her out again tomorrow.

my wife got back earlier than expected so took her out for some Japanese, then stopped by homedepot for some shopping in the GK before running a few more errands. worked on assembling her furniture with my kid. overall another great day.

 

I've only had Llumar, Solar Guard, and 3M. IMO, the level you choose matters more than the brand between these three. Since you're talking Ceramic, it will be the good stuff from any of them.

I would get a small piece of each and bring them home to look at in different lighting so you can pick the one that looks the best. Also, if they aren't visible in the bays, ask the installer the name that's on the box of tint. I had two different shops tell me it was ceramic tint. Came home and looked up the name that they gave and neither were ceramics. They were either lying or don't know their own product.

For example, one quoted me for 3M ceramic. I asked what the name was and he said "Color Stable." Looked it up and it's not a ceramic. Sadly, that's the one the wife picked as her favorite for color and I agree with her. Maybe no ceramic this time.

Quotes I've gotten for 3M have always been the highest, but I don't think they are any better and maybe not even as good as Llumar.

Also recommend doing some research here: https://www.tintdude.com/forum/

You will find that a lot of the brands do not actually make tint, but are re-sellers. Problem with those is that their quality will vary depending on the current supplier.

 

hope u find a good tint shop you can trust GAFIT. as for color, tint is partly for cosmetics so a color you and your wife can enjoy will go a long way vs buying a functionally sound tint which you might not like the color.. cause at the end of the day, having some tint is waaay better than not having any tint if your car is parked 24/7.

 

alright easy going menu for today.. feelin relaxed now that i dont have to work on my car. lol its a good feeling.

while at homedepot yesterday my wife bought me a couple of goodies including adapters for my power drivers (which is always fun and welcome. ) since im helping her put together her furniture using these tools. very cool.

going to pull out my R for a relaxing drive this am followed by QD'ing the car and wiping down the GTI's interior and quick vac. no wash for today as im expecting rain the next few days..

then quick laundry and helping the wife with her furniture this pm.. that's about all.
should be a nice relaxing sunday.

 

motored the R, had a great time.

cleaned up the car real nice then checked my GTI and GK.. only to find a hugegangeous cicada smashed into the GK's headlight with its butt still sticking out and rest stuck between the lens and the bumper. yuk showed my wife and kid.. haha

 

back go the grind again today.. hope everyone has a good monday. solar eclipse shall be fun to watch.

on the menu tonight... will be doing some very minor mod on my gas pedal on the R. now that i know i am happy with the pedal setup (running an adapter i made and sparco gas pedal), im going to cut the screws to their proper lengths and loctite it all down.

then proceed to anchoring a few more of my wife's furniture, stream a movie and relax.