3M Window Film - Pyrometer Temperature Reading

Project EVO IX's starting temperatures were 105.3-degrees inside of the windshield, 100.7-degrees cabin air, and 92.3 degrees outside. The test EVO's starting temperatures were 107.4-degrees inside of the windshield, 99.8-degrees cabin air, and 100.9-degrees outside. After an hour of baking in the sun, both cars were re-checked.

Project EVO was now reading 156-degrees inside of the windshield (which was outside of thermometer's accurate range), 126.8-degrees cabin air, and the outside probe was pegged beyond its range. The test EVO finished with 130.1-degrees cabin air, and both the outside and windshield probe had pegged beyond their range. Perhaps most significant was the ending dashboard temperature, which we measured with a laser pyrometer. With both dashboards starting from the 108-degree range, Project EVO IX ended up with a dash temperature of 167-degrees, a full 25-degrees cooler than the test EVO's 192-degrees F. Now we're kicking ourselves for not equipping one of the project cars with 40-grade film and seeing the difference the darker film could make.

The 3M Crystalline window film can help make any car cooler and easier to live with, all while protecting the interior panels and fabric. This is something that is important for any project car, especially one that you plan on keeping for a long time. The fact that the film is clear is an added bonus, especially if you ever take your project car to a track day, or are fearful of police attention. With the 3M Crystalline film's metal-free construction, it also won't interfere with radio reception or cell phone communication. If you look closely, you can see a slight colored tint and visual distortion on the windows of our project cars, but you'll have to stare carefully. At a casual glance, most won't notice the film at all. Our front windshields are even covered in 3M Crystalline film and we haven't noticed any downsides at all. Now that's refreshing.