What’s the price? I know of only one shop in KV that carries that brand, AutoDetailer Studio PJ, and everything they offer is super expensive (although quality/workmanship is supposedly very good), so I’m terrified to ask them for a quote.

This post has been edited by dev/numb: Jan 3 2024, 09:35 PM

Alva film performs well enough. Their top spec tint package is around RM600-700 if not mistaken. If ot degrades over time, even if you remove and reinstall every 2-3 years and keep your car for 6-7 years, total cost will still be cheaper than many premium brands.

My issue with Alva is their workmanship. They’re always busy and tend to rush. For ceramic coating it’s even worse. They don’t do proper paint decontamination/correction before applying the coat, and sometimes don’t let the coating cure sufficiently before handing car back to customers.

This post has been edited by dev/numb: Jan 3 2024, 10:05 PM

This is why IRR readings should be taken with a pinch of salt. Many companies, even respected brands, market their film IRR based on readings on a single specific wavelength, usually the wavelength where their film has the highest IRR reading. This why 3M Crystalline measures well in the 900nm-1000nm range. Usually shop that sells 3M will demo using those white Linshang handheld meters that measure the 940nm wavelength only. Same for IrisPro that measures at 1400nm (blue Lingshang meters). V-Kool in the old days based on what I recall from their old printed brochures, actually uses the average or median IRR reading taken at 100nm intervals across the 900nm-1700nm range. Some companies like Prestige (Spectra Photosync IRD) claim to give you the median reading from 900nm-2200nm. Obviously these are just claims, and we have no way to ascertain this unless we have the resources and equipment to test the films ourselves.

Spectra Photosync IRD maybe?
Expensive though. Only one place in M’sia carries that brand afaik, AutoDetailer Studio PJ. Looking at the types of cars they work on, I’d suggest having a defibrillator nearby when you call them to ask for a quote, in case the price gives you a heart attack.

Edit:
As far as real world experience goes, I can only offer V-Kool Elite 70 vs IrisPro Diamond 60, but this isn’t exactly an apples to apples comparison since they’re installed on different cars, where other factors like dashboard length, windscreen slope angle and efficiency of climate control system come into play. Both do a decent job of keeping the cars’ interior cool, but both also still let some heat in on very hot sunny days. Hard to say which is better. Touching the dashboard on the car with Diamond 60 feels slightly less warm most of the time, but on the other hand I often feel overall cooler in the car with Elite 70, but then again that might just be down to the Elite 70 car having ventilated seats blowing cold air up my bum and back.

This post has been edited by dev/numb: Jan 25 2024, 10:53 PM

This probably varies with car. I posted some time ago my readings for front side window with D60 and rear with D30. If windscreen difference is probably -2% only at most compared to front side window. My reading at the time was 59.x% (with D60) for windscreen but forgot to take picture of that one.
https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopi...#entry107872183

When I installed there was no DX series yet, so cannot comment on that.

Edit:
Honestly, with our weather today (rainy season notwithstanding), I really wished I could install D30 for all windows on the Cross and VK30 for all windows on the Harrier, because no matter how good the tint still cannot compensate for the solar heat that’s transmitted through the visible light spectrum without dropping the VLT. But in the end I takut JPJ.

This post has been edited by dev/numb: Jan 26 2024, 02:08 PM

There’s a saying in Malaysia. If you’re locked in a room with a king cobra and a car salesman and have a gun with only one bullet, you shoot the car salesman.

Unless this particular salesman has a longstanding relationship with you, I suggest you don’t put complete trust in him. If he claims to have contact, tell him you will go to the shop yourself and mention his name. If genuine, then he will have no problems with that arrangement.

This post has been edited by dev/numb: Jan 26 2024, 06:25 PM

Effective VLT is increased obviously, but in terms of the potential damage the cheap tint will do to your expensive tint, I don’t think it’s prudent. Remember that practically no installer in this country (including majority of the higher end ones) follows best practices for film installation (eg: using distilled or deionized water), so you’re multiplying the chances of adding an additional layer of contamination.

This post has been edited by dev/numb: Jan 28 2024, 03:28 PM

UV block 100% means very little (almost nothing actually) when it comes to the heat coming into the car, because the ultraviolet spectrum is a very small part of the full spectrum of light. 100% UV blocking will only be 1% more resistant at delaying the yellowing of your interior plastics over the years compared to 99% UV blocking brands, nothing more. Only the k-pop skin whitening crowd will fall for that marketing.

What you need to look at is IRR. Our weather, bare minimum should be 95%@1400nm (for sputter types). The “TSER up to 78%” claim is also a gimmick. The words “up to” are the clue here. It means you will only get 78% TSER if you choose the darkest VLT 10% film.

If you want go dark (means JPJ non-compliant) to make your car cool, you can get film for under RM1k easily with higher IRR rating than IrisPro’s entry level UV Pro series.

This post has been edited by dev/numb: Jan 29 2024, 06:55 PM

Regarding the discussion you chaps are currently having about how Brand X film in your old car compares to Brand Y in your new car, do take note that the windscreen slope angle plays a big part.

Newer cars have more sloped windscreens, and combined with their long dashboards you will have a larger “pocket” of heat sitting behind the front a/c vents. I feel most films aren’t really at the optimal angle they were initially designed to reflect the cancer rays with when installed on these modern day windscreens.

This is one new design trend I absolutely despise, but I suppose I won’t be around for much longer to complain because the next trend will be full glass roofs which will kill me.

This post has been edited by dev/numb: Jan 30 2024, 09:48 PM

It’s not a plan but more of a trend, with more and more cars and “concepts showcasing future solutions” now wanting to look like an aquarium. I’m being ultra pessimistic of course. Hope it doesn’t happen.

That’s an Almera, right? Nice colour. Hope the tint works out for you.

Installed IrisPro Diamond on my mum’s car (Corolla Cross Hybrid) middle of last year.
RM2,600 if I remember correctly. Price included removal of factory tint. One benefit of this brand is that the warranty is company based, not shop based. Meaning you can claim at any authorized branch across the country. With majority of other “branded/international” films, you can only claim at the shop you installed it.

3M Crystalline quote was around RM3,500 for the same car. But I had bad experience with 3M on a previous car so skipped. 3M a lot of fakes around (especially in JB where I’m based, in order to scam Singaporeans) so very hard to verify.

V-kool Elite/Serendipity combo was quoted RM4,500 for the Cross. I trust this brand and have it on my own car, but it’s pricey (Harrier XU80 RM5k whole car including pano roof) and warranty claims only applicable to the shop you installed it.

My advice to you;
For an everyday commodity car (ie; not luxury level) if you intend to comply with JPJ (or maybe just front windscreen slightly darker than 70% vlt rule), then go with one of the reputable brands and make sure the installer has a good history of honouring warranty. If you don’t care for JPJ rules, then just go with a local brand 30% vlt for whole car for around RM700. Change every 1.5 - 2 years when you notice performance degrading. Even across 5 or 6 yrs of car ownership, the total cost will still be lower than a single installation of a reputable brand.

This post has been edited by dev/numb: Apr 22 2024, 08:30 PM

Majority of these companies don’t actually manufacturer the films themselves. They usually go to OEMs and have their film customized based on some formulas.

From my understanding, these OEMs can customize the sputter type in such a way to let certain frequencies pass. Some of these local companies like IrisPro or Raytech have likely identified the IR frequencies for SmartTag and customized their sputter to allow them to pass.

A better test for IRR (to see if the company is cheating you in their IRR marketing) is, believe it or not, entry keycards. If your film claims IRR 96% but you can enter your condo without lowering your window while stopped parallel to the scanner, you’ve likely been scammed. Note that this doesn’t apply to autogate remotes, because those signals can pass through the parts of the car that are not covered by the tint sputter, like the A or B pillars.

Still, there’s no set standard so it’s very hard to verify a manufacturer’s arbitrary IRR claims unless you have expensive equipment that can measure over a very wide spectrum. Most of the handheld meters used by installers measure only a specific set of peak (λp) wavelengths.

The most common brand of meters used by installers in MY are the Lingshang meters.
Check out their specs;
https://www.linshangtech.com/portable-windo...mission-meters/

Notice they all measure only peak wavelengths at either 940nm or 1400nm on the infrared spectrum. Basically they’re measuring IRR only at those specific wavelengths. Anything below, above or in between is not measured. These two wavelength sit on ranges that typically have the biggest effect on the initial burn we feel at the moment of exposure (940nm), or the resonating infrared radiation after the first 45seconds of exposure (1400nm), but they never tell the whole story, which requires measurements between 780-2200nm at 100nm intervals.

This is why it’s impossible to know how well a film performs across a wide range. There’s no ISO or DiN standard mandated for automotive films like there is for aerospace. As a result, we’re playing a lottery. So next time you install a window tint, make sure to buy toto on the same day. Maybe you will kena.

This post has been edited by dev/numb: Apr 23 2024, 06:19 PM

Dunno why your car glass is so different to mine. My Harrier V-kool Elite on front windscreen measured VLT 69.7, and the installers used the exact same 2-piece meter the cops use at roadblocks. They claimed that small difference no issue for roadblocks. Puspakom might be different story though, because their meters calibrated differently. My mum’s Cross with IrisPro Diamond 60 on the front windscreen and windows measured VLT 60.1 once applied (factory tint removed first, obviously), although this was only measured with handheld Lingshang meters. Iirc, posted photos of those reading somewhere in this thread.

With regards to hue, my mum’s Cross install combination of Diamond 60 and 30, and all the hues look the same emeral-blue shade. The back is just deeper than the front. DX I have no idea because it wasn’t released yet back when I installed. For 3M I saw dog999 previously mention that once you go down to 30 or 20 VLT the film exhibits a yellow/brown hue. I tagged him in the previous sentence so hopefully he will read it and clarify.

This post has been edited by dev/numb: Apr 24 2024, 04:49 PM

This is just the nature of businesses here. Many problems we Malaysians face with all sorts of products are usually not the fault of the products themselves but the quality of the installation (I just got back from an office block that had a nightmare VRF air-con installation).

With Alva, at least you pay for what you get — semi-decent product, questionable workmanship, low price — but in Malaysia you will also find man companies with high-end pricing that practice dogwater standards. I won’t name names, but there is a very famous “premium” ceramic coating company with branches all over the country, and in every branch, the work area is a joke. The customer cars are so close to each other in the same room, staff working on cars at the same time. You will see one car with workers applying the coat, while the next car barely 6ft away has someone polishing it. They don’t know small bits are flying off the polishing pads and floating in the air, falling onto the car that has the coat in the middle of curing?

Let’s not even start discussing shops using J&J baby soap for tint application instead of dedicated applicator liquids. Heck, they can’t even get the grammar right in this country. “Tinted” is past tense/participle la, tauke.

This post has been edited by dev/numb: Jul 11 2025, 06:11 PM