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      12-04-2020, 08:52 PM   #1
Secret Chimp
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Tinting Rear Window

Have any of you guys had the windows tinted on your GTS? If yes, how did the tint shop do the rear window? I think I want some light tint on my windows. Because of the rear cage, I don't see how tint can be applied to the rear window without removing the cage or employing a contortionist.

...pfa
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Last edited by Secret Chimp; 12-05-2020 at 11:10 AM..
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      12-05-2020, 06:07 AM   #2
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I had a well trained 9 month old baby do mine��! That’s a good question, even cleaning the rear window is nearly impossible using conventional methods.
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      12-05-2020, 08:28 AM   #3
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I'd imagine you'd have to remove the roll cage.

As a side note, for washing your rear window I highly recommend invisible glasses reach and clean tool.
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      12-05-2020, 09:29 AM   #4
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I was recently at the Xpel shop in Dallas getting some warranty work done. While there, I enquired if they could tint the rear window. I don’t want to do the sides only.

They suggested removing the cage for access but I was 100% against that as there could be collateral damage - there some pricy parts in the cabin.

Their solution would be to take out the rear panel and go in through the trunk. They checked that this was possible while the PPF was binging fixed. Still not easy, but much easier than going through the jungle gym cage.

I plan to get this done next spring during the next ceramic coating top up.
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      12-05-2020, 10:29 AM   #5
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I had XPEL window tint applied to my side and rear windows. I'm not sure how many child labor laws were broken, but they managed to apply the rear window tint in a pretty clean manner. Don't have photos and car's in storage, but it is definitely possible. I do recall the installer talking about having to contort himself and perform the install while in the cage.

The XPEL tint has been great. I didn't want to darken the car, I just wanted to protect the interior + help reject some heat. Works a treat.
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      12-05-2020, 09:15 PM   #6
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i personally prefer no tint, how are you liking the car so far OP?
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      12-07-2020, 01:29 PM   #7
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Thanks for your responses everyone. It seems my local tint shop doesn't have any contortionists on staff at the moment.

I barely trust those shops to remove trim panels without breaking things so I would certainly not trust them to remove my seats and cage. So, no tint for me for now. If I ever have a good reason to remove the cage in the future, I might look into having the work done while it is out.
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      12-07-2020, 01:48 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 786 View Post
i personally prefer no tint, how are you liking the car so far OP?
I'm really enjoying the car so far. I've driven it 1k miles over the past 1.5 months I've owned it, with almost every mile up in the LA canyons. This past weekend, after having the water injection fixed, I experienced all 500hp reliably for the first time. It was epic!

I am scraping the front splitter a more than I would like though. Since I'm not a fan of how the car looks at full ride height, my plan is to raise the thing about 5mm front and rear. It will sit somewhere between street and track height and maintain the track/downforce oriented raked stance. That should really reduce the scraping and maintain the look I prefer.

Last edited by Secret Chimp; 12-07-2020 at 05:06 PM..
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      12-08-2020, 02:40 AM   #9
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Out of interest, you can put tint on the outside of windows, which would be the obvious way to do it for this car. I have seen it done on several rally and race cars with complex cages, mainly for show cars or promo shots etc. The problem is the film deteriorates much more quickly. However, that is not such a big deal if the car is garaged and out of the sun and elements most of the time. Wouldn't really work so well on a daily driver. Worst case scenario you just take it off and redo it. Better than pulling a cage out

I think they use a different product though.
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      12-08-2020, 10:30 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Secret Chimp View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by 786 View Post
i personally prefer no tint, how are you liking the car so far OP?
I'm really enjoying the car so far. I've driven it 1k miles over the past 1.5 months I've owned it, with almost every mile up in the LA canyons. This past weekend, after having the water injection fixed, I experienced all 500hp reliably for the first time. It was epic!

I am scraping the front splitter a more than I would like though. Since I'm not a fan of how the car looks at full ride height, my plan is to raise the thing about 5mm front and rear. It will sit somewhere between street and track height and maintain the track/downforce oriented raked stance. That should really reduce the scraping and maintain the look I prefer.
I know I'm starting to obsess again. I had my water injection system replaced when I first got the car a few months ago, and I try not to spend too much time looking at the horse power meter especially when I'm ripping around, but I don't see 500 very often.

Are you seeing 500 every time you tromp the pedal?

I was wondering if there was still something wrong with my system but I took it back in and they ran a full diagnostic and function check and the computer said everything is A-OK.

I definitely almost put the car in the ditch last Sunday with cold tires in second gear, thankfully I live out in the country On a nice stretch of highway so there was room to recover.
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      12-08-2020, 12:43 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by h_bakken View Post
I know I'm starting to obsess again. I had my water injection system replaced when I first got the car a few months ago, and I try not to spend too much time looking at the horse power meter especially when I'm ripping around, but I don't see 500 very often.

Are you seeing 500 every time you tromp the pedal?

I was wondering if there was still something wrong with my system but I took it back in and they ran a full diagnostic and function check and the computer said everything is A-OK.

I definitely almost put the car in the ditch last Sunday with cold tires in second gear, thankfully I live out in the country On a nice stretch of highway so there was room to recover.
I bet that woke you up real quick!

For me, the water injection system was worth worrying about. I paid for 500hp. I will be using this car on track and I don't want to get trounced by stock M4's.

With the tires well warmed up, driving in MDM mode, and with the pedal fully floored, I see the full 500hp reliably between 5k rpms and redline. It takes commitment to running it to redline at full tilt, otherwise (in my observation), the gauge doesn't read above 475hp or so. So, if I just stab the pedal for a sec when the revs are above 5k, it won't read 500hp. If I have it floored during a shift from 2nd to 3rd and keep it floored through 3rd, I will see the 500hp high in the revs in 3rd gear.
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      12-08-2020, 01:12 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Secret Chimp View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by h_bakken View Post
I know I'm starting to obsess again. I had my water injection system replaced when I first got the car a few months ago, and I try not to spend too much time looking at the horse power meter especially when I'm ripping around, but I don't see 500 very often.

Are you seeing 500 every time you tromp the pedal?

I was wondering if there was still something wrong with my system but I took it back in and they ran a full diagnostic and function check and the computer said everything is A-OK.

I definitely almost put the car in the ditch last Sunday with cold tires in second gear, thankfully I live out in the country On a nice stretch of highway so there was room to recover.
I bet that woke you up real quick!

For me, the water injection system was worth worrying about. I paid for 500hp. I will be using this car on track and I don't want to get trounced by stock M4's.

With the tires well warmed up, driving in MDM mode, and with the pedal fully floored, I see the full 500hp reliably between 5k rpms and redline. It takes commitment to running it to redline at full tilt, otherwise (in my observation), the gauge doesn't read above 475hp or so. So, if I just stab the pedal for a sec when the revs are above 5k, it won't read 500hp. If I have it floored during a shift from 2nd to 3rd and keep it floored through 3rd, I will see the 500hp high in the revs in 3rd gear.
Totally agree, I paid for the full tilt GTS, and that's why I was insistent on them replacing the valve block at Cetera. I even went so far as to extend the BMW extended warranty which now goes another three years. Not cheap but good peace of mind and I can always cancel and recoup the residual.

Thanks for this, very helpful. I've been trying to do it with traction control completely off and I think that's the problem. At least in a lower gears. From my memory the times when I saw it hit 500 and even above was with MDM engaged.

I've always been a little bit suspicious of the horsepower and torque display because it's not a dynamometer. I'm guessing it just displays what Output should be at the given fuel delivery rate etc.

And yes, I woke up very quickly that day with some countersteer and quick reduction of throttle.

😬
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      12-16-2020, 12:08 PM   #13
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That's a risky thing to do... On my old car they had to remove the cage and they even damaged it... When I asked them to fix the damage they did they replied "We didn't do that, we are not repairing it, at least not for free." Awesome. Creating a problem and then asking for money to solve it.
So I'd recommend you to at least take pictures and videos of everything before getting tinted windows, so that you can make sure they don't try to make you pay for their mistakes.
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      11-06-2023, 09:55 PM   #14
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Reviving thread .. have any additional people found success in getting the rear window tinted without removing the cage? Also, any concern about someone putting their weight on the rear bench which feels like reinforced plastic to me? Is it worth the trouble?
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      11-07-2023, 10:24 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eric325ci View Post
Reviving thread .. have any additional people found success in getting the rear window tinted without removing the cage? Also, any concern about someone putting their weight on the rear bench which feels like reinforced plastic to me? Is it worth the trouble?
Third owner on my GTS here - car came fully wrapped and fully tinted - no evidence cage was ever removed. I had the car professionally re - wrapped with PPF by the best shop in my town and I had ALL tint removed. They were able to squeeze in around the cage to remove tint and clean window. I would not tint a GTS for darkness/privacy, maybe a light film just for UV protection if car will be outside a lot. Imo you want the fishbowl to show off the cage and the interior bits like rear seat delete, alcantara trim and seats.
Also recommend to spend about $400 to put windshield specifc clear bra on the outside of the windshield.
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      11-07-2023, 12:58 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IB M View Post
Third owner on my GTS here - car came fully wrapped and fully tinted - no evidence cage was ever removed. I had the car professionally re - wrapped with PPF by the best shop in my town and I had ALL tint removed. They were able to squeeze in around the cage to remove tint and clean window. I would not tint a GTS for darkness/privacy, maybe a light film just for UV protection if car will be outside a lot. Imo you want the fishbowl to show off the cage and the interior bits like rear seat delete, alcantara trim and seats.
Also recommend to spend about $400 to put windshield specifc clear bra on the outside of the windshield.
Thanks for the reply! I'm a new (to me) GTS owner as well! I'm actually doing the exact same thing! Since I also want to show off the cage, I was planning on going with a very light ceramic 55% tint just for heat reduction and very minor aesthetic change, but ultimately decided against it because of the trouble I anticipate the installer will have in getting access to the rear windshield. I am also getting Exo Shield.
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      11-07-2023, 02:13 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IB M View Post
Third owner on my GTS here - car came fully wrapped and fully tinted - no evidence cage was ever removed. I had the car professionally re - wrapped with PPF by the best shop in my town and I had ALL tint removed. They were able to squeeze in around the cage to remove tint and clean window. I would not tint a GTS for darkness/privacy, maybe a light film just for UV protection if car will be outside a lot. Imo you want the fishbowl to show off the cage and the interior bits like rear seat delete, alcantara trim and seats.
Also recommend to spend about $400 to put windshield specifc clear bra on the outside of the windshield.
And yes, that was me who bought the EAG M4 GTS about two months ago. Thanks for the shoutout in your other post
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      11-07-2023, 06:30 PM   #18
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I personally would skip tinting the car. I live in S. Calif. It's not so bad in the day to day with the heat and I assume you're not daily driving the car. I personally don't like the way tint looks though, so I may be biased.

Loving my GTS!
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      11-07-2023, 08:56 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HELROTM3 View Post
I personally would skip tinting the car. I live in S. Calif. It's not so bad in the day to day with the heat and I assume you're not daily driving the car. I personally don't like the way tint looks though, so I may be biased.

Loving my GTS!
Nice! I'm a big fan of 15-20% tints in general for the aesthetic as well as the privacy and heat reduction. In this particular case, I think a very light tint at most would suit the GTS so the cage is not completely concealed from outside the car. But judging by what others have said in this thread, I'd have more regret getting the car tinted if interior parts were damaged during the install process.

Last edited by eric325ci; 11-08-2023 at 03:00 PM..
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      11-08-2023, 06:11 AM   #20
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And yes, that was me who bought the EAG M4 GTS about two months ago. Thanks for the shoutout in your other post
Congrats!
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