Recently, I have been asked by Ideal L9 car owners whether they should install window film. For some reason, installing window film has almost become a necessary step for new car owners. Today, I will discuss with you the quality of the Ideal L9 car windows and verify whether window film is necessary for Ideal L9.
The Unreliable Testing Tool
Do you recognize this gray test instrument? It is often used by shop owners to demonstrate the heat-insulating effect of their own sun film.
The instrument has three values above: ultraviolet ray blocking rate, infrared ray blocking rate, and visible light transmittance. Let’s talk about their meanings.
In sunlight, infrared rays are the main source of heat, so infrared ray blocking rate can be loosely understood as heat-insulating effect; ultraviolet ray blocking rate can be loosely understood as preventing sunburn, such as sunscreen also preventing ultraviolet rays; visible light transmittance refers to the degree of light transmission of glass, the higher the value, the less the visual impact, but if it is privacy glass, the lower the better.
I need to clarify beforehand that the testing equipment costs more than 500 yuan that I bought online, and cannot represent authoritative data from a laboratory. Although film shops often use this kind of simple equipment to demonstrate, understanding it is not harmful, but only the trend of good or bad can be observed.
With a basic understanding of these parameters and backgrounds, let’s take a look at the not authoritative test results. We used the same testing device to measure the first and second row windows of Ideal L9, Mercedes-Benz GLS, and BMW X7 (since I also had an Ideal ONE at hand, I tested it as well). What were the results?
A Brief Review of Ideal L9, Mercedes-Benz GLS, and BMW X7 Car Windows
Which Row of Car Windows Has the Best Heat-Insulating Effect?
The heat-insulating effect of one row windows is very important and directly affects the driver’s experience. According to the data, Ideal L9 has the best heat-insulating effect, followed by Ideal ONE, Mercedes-Benz GLS in third place, and BMW X7 in last place.
Which Row of Car Windows Has the Best Sun Protection?
When it comes to UV blocking, Ideal L9, Ideal ONE, and BMW X7 are tied for first place, while the Mercedes-Benz GLS only has half the effect of the first few rankings, which is truly surprising. Moreover, Mercedes-Benz GLS is the only one among these four models that does not use laminated glass for both the front and rear windows. It is difficult to evaluate it for a while. Here, it is emphasized that the so-called 100% UV blocking does not exist, and everyone only looks at the trend of good or bad, which does not mean that it can really block 100% of UV radiation.
Which Second-Row Car Window Has the Best Heat Insulation?
In the second row, thanks to the privacy glass configuration, the heat insulation of Ideal L9 and Ideal ONE is improved by 6% to 7% compared to the first row, while Mercedes-Benz GLS and BMW X7 have the same performance as their first-row windows.
Which Second-Row Car Window Has the Best Sun Protection?
In terms of sun protection, the second rows of the four models have the same performance as their first rows, while Mercedes-Benz GLS has the worst performance.
Finally, all the test results are presented for everyone. You can judge the general trend based on this table, and the data only represents the performance of this type of instrument.
Suggestions for Car Window Films
Based on the above tests and my own user experience, I have some suggestions regarding whether to apply window films or not.
The main purpose of applying films is to block the sun and heat, and the perception of heat varies from person to person. Some people are particularly sensitive to heat, some are sensitive to cold, and some, like me, are sensitive to both.
Therefore, I have divided the application of window films into three levels based on people’s sensitivity to heat: not very sensitive, sensitive, and very sensitive, and provide corresponding suggestions for car window films.
The sun film on the front windshield accounts for almost half of the total car film price, but since the front windshield of Ideal L9 is silver-coated insulating glass, there is no need to apply a sun film. I have used Ideal ONE without applying front windshield film for almost three years, and everything is fine. So please feel free to save some money for electric costs when driving tens of thousands of kilometers, right?
The second row windows do not need to be filmed, as they are insulated privacy glass with excellent insulation effect, so this part of the money can be saved for charging.
If you are afraid of the heat, you can film the first row of windows. I tried it at noon on a sunny day with an outdoor temperature of 36 degrees Celsius, and I stayed outside in the Ideal L9 for 30 minutes with the air conditioning on. The feeling was basically okay and my arms only felt a little bit hot. If the summer in your area is not as hot, you can skip the filming.
Regarding the sunroof, the Ideal L9 is equipped with a thick sunshade, which has a certain effect on insulation. At noon, as someone who is afraid of the heat, I did not feel hot on my head, so it is a decision whether to film it or not.
In summary, you can decide which windows to film based on the region you are in and your personal tolerance for heat. As for the price, you can refer to my Ideal ONE, which cost 300 yuan to film the first row of windows and 500 yuan to film the sunroof, totaling 800 yuan (don’t worry too much about the brand, most shops can handle it). Special reminder: be sure to film the windows with high light transmittance or dig out the triangular window area to avoid affecting the driver’s view of the rearview mirror.
The above is the suggestion for filming the glass of the Ideal L9. I hope it will be helpful to you. If you have any questions about “decoration” when picking up the car, feel free to communicate in the comment section.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.