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I thought perhaps some of you may be interested in some technical trivial data on the factory glass with regards to light transmittance of visible, infrared, and ultraviolet light.
I took these measurements of the front driver and passenger windows of a 2006 Honda Pilot. The glass was untinted, nor did it have any aftermarket window film applied. The glass on the vehicle is all OEM original with Honda's own logo screen printed onto it still, indicating that the glass was either 100% original as it came from the factor production line, or was replaced with an authentic OEM replacement provided by Honda.
I used a Linshang LS162 transmission meter to measure the visible light, ultraviolet light, and infrared light that is transmitted through the glass. Linshang states that the LS162 is accurate to within 2% tolerance at most. I did find that by moving the device around while positioned atop the edge of the glass, I was able to influence the readings slightly. By finding the flattest portion of the glass available, typically located at around the 1/2 way point from front to back of the glass, I observed readings to be more consistent and repeatable. I removed the tool from the glass and reset it to recalibrate it a few times, before placing it on the glass once more. I repeated this three or four times to confirm the results were consistent.
The 2003 to 2008 Honda Pilot Front Driver & Passenger Glass Light Transmittance Results:
The transmitted (light passing through) was rounded up to the nearest percent.
For those of you interested in understanding how the LS162 measurements are taken, the LS162 tool uses 3 diodes and 3 receivers which are aligned to each other respectively. These transmitter and receiver pairs are held in place by the chassis of the tool which is designed in a "U" shape. When the device is first powered up, the path between the transmitter and receiver diodes should be unobstructed. Calibration will result in it determining the unobstructed path to be considered 100% transmission across all wavelengths. Once calibration is completed, you can then begin testing your given material. The material being tested is then placed in between the transmitters and receivers, putting the material into the center of the "U" shape. In my case, this meant having my car windows rolled down part way, leaving ~8 inches up above the door line, then placing the device over the top of the glass with the transmitters and receivers on opposite sides of the glass. The device sends pulses of light across the sensors, and then reports the output.
The Linshang LS162 utilizes the following center wavelengths for the respective measurements:
I had always heard that factory glass blocks Ultraviolet light. I was surprised to find that even though more ultraviolet light was blocked than was visible light and infrared light, the factory glass still was passing a very high amount of ultraviolet light through. I would recommend getting an aftermarket window film. If you don't want to visually darken the film but would like to get the thermal benefits of blocking infrared and ultraviolet light, as well as have the medical safety benefit of reducing the risk of getting skin cancer, there are options available.
Non-tinted Aftermarket Films:
for those who may not want to visibly darken their windows, but still get the benefit of rejecting heat and skin damaging ultraviolet light
for those who don't mind visibly tinting or would like to have visibly tinted glass
Since doing this test, I have gotten my windows treated with window film (a.k.a. tinted). I am currently using a combination of products on my vehicles. I have 3M Crystalline 80% VLT for my sunroof. I have Llumar Formula One Pinnacle at 35% VLT for my front side windows. For my rear sides and rear windshield, I have Llumar Formula One Pinnacle @ 5% VLT. While the Stratos is a higher performing product than the Pinnacle, the cost increase for the material is about 2.5x more. The performance gains are minimal (~2 to 5%), so the Pinnacle tends to be the best value in the high end window film category, in my opinion.
All of the above named products are premier offerings, and only select dealers for the respective brands will be authorized to carry and install the materials. Both 3M and Llumar tightly control which tint shops are allowed to sell and install it, in order to maintain a high standard of installation and warranty standards. You'll want to use their websites to locate an authorized shop that can install these high end window films on your vehicle.
I took these measurements of the front driver and passenger windows of a 2006 Honda Pilot. The glass was untinted, nor did it have any aftermarket window film applied. The glass on the vehicle is all OEM original with Honda's own logo screen printed onto it still, indicating that the glass was either 100% original as it came from the factor production line, or was replaced with an authentic OEM replacement provided by Honda.
I used a Linshang LS162 transmission meter to measure the visible light, ultraviolet light, and infrared light that is transmitted through the glass. Linshang states that the LS162 is accurate to within 2% tolerance at most. I did find that by moving the device around while positioned atop the edge of the glass, I was able to influence the readings slightly. By finding the flattest portion of the glass available, typically located at around the 1/2 way point from front to back of the glass, I observed readings to be more consistent and repeatable. I removed the tool from the glass and reset it to recalibrate it a few times, before placing it on the glass once more. I repeated this three or four times to confirm the results were consistent.
The 2003 to 2008 Honda Pilot Front Driver & Passenger Glass Light Transmittance Results:
The transmitted (light passing through) was rounded up to the nearest percent.
- Visible Light Transmission (VLT): 80% (20% rejected)
- Ultraviolet Light Transmission: 60% (40% rejected)
- Infrared Light Transmission: 80% (20% rejected)
For those of you interested in understanding how the LS162 measurements are taken, the LS162 tool uses 3 diodes and 3 receivers which are aligned to each other respectively. These transmitter and receiver pairs are held in place by the chassis of the tool which is designed in a "U" shape. When the device is first powered up, the path between the transmitter and receiver diodes should be unobstructed. Calibration will result in it determining the unobstructed path to be considered 100% transmission across all wavelengths. Once calibration is completed, you can then begin testing your given material. The material being tested is then placed in between the transmitters and receivers, putting the material into the center of the "U" shape. In my case, this meant having my car windows rolled down part way, leaving ~8 inches up above the door line, then placing the device over the top of the glass with the transmitters and receivers on opposite sides of the glass. The device sends pulses of light across the sensors, and then reports the output.
The Linshang LS162 utilizes the following center wavelengths for the respective measurements:
- Visible Light Peak wavelength: 550nm
- Ultraviolet Peak wavelength: 365nm
- Infrared Peak wavelength: 950nm
I had always heard that factory glass blocks Ultraviolet light. I was surprised to find that even though more ultraviolet light was blocked than was visible light and infrared light, the factory glass still was passing a very high amount of ultraviolet light through. I would recommend getting an aftermarket window film. If you don't want to visually darken the film but would like to get the thermal benefits of blocking infrared and ultraviolet light, as well as have the medical safety benefit of reducing the risk of getting skin cancer, there are options available.
Non-tinted Aftermarket Films:
for those who may not want to visibly darken their windows, but still get the benefit of rejecting heat and skin damaging ultraviolet light
- Llumar Air @ 90% or 80% VLT
- 3M Crystalline @ 90% VLT
for those who don't mind visibly tinting or would like to have visibly tinted glass
- Llumar Formula One Pinnacle: 50, 40, 35, 30, 25, 15, & 5% VLT
- Llumar Formula One Stratos: 70, 50, 40, 35, 30, & 15% VLT
- 3M Crystalline: 70, 60, 50, 40, & 20% VLT
Since doing this test, I have gotten my windows treated with window film (a.k.a. tinted). I am currently using a combination of products on my vehicles. I have 3M Crystalline 80% VLT for my sunroof. I have Llumar Formula One Pinnacle at 35% VLT for my front side windows. For my rear sides and rear windshield, I have Llumar Formula One Pinnacle @ 5% VLT. While the Stratos is a higher performing product than the Pinnacle, the cost increase for the material is about 2.5x more. The performance gains are minimal (~2 to 5%), so the Pinnacle tends to be the best value in the high end window film category, in my opinion.
All of the above named products are premier offerings, and only select dealers for the respective brands will be authorized to carry and install the materials. Both 3M and Llumar tightly control which tint shops are allowed to sell and install it, in order to maintain a high standard of installation and warranty standards. You'll want to use their websites to locate an authorized shop that can install these high end window films on your vehicle.
