Both are good ceramic films. The right one depends on where your car sits and who rides in it.
Short answer: For most daily drivers, HITEK Ceramic IR ($249 and up for a car) is enough. Pick Ceramic Plus ($349 and up) if your car sits in the sun all day, has a black interior, carries kids in the back in summer, or is a work vehicle. HITEK rates Ceramic Plus at 90% infrared and 69% total solar energy rejection, and Ceramic IR at 75% and 65%.
Both films are ceramic, neither interferes with your phone, and both carry HITEK’s lifetime guarantee. The difference is how much heat they stop: HITEK rates Ceramic IR at 75% infrared rejection and Ceramic Plus at 90%. That matters because Kentucky caps the front doors at 35%, so the film has to do the work, not the darkness.
HITEK: “Entry-level ceramic film with carbon-based technology.”
HITEK: “True nano ceramic and IR coating technology.”
Car sleeps inside, drives 20 minutes each way. Ceramic IR. You’ll feel the difference on the drive home and the extra heat rejection of Plus would mostly go unused.
Car sits in a UPS, Ford or warehouse lot for ten hours. Ceramic Plus. The longer a car bakes, the more the extra infrared rejection matters.
Kids in the back, summer camp pickups, a big back glass on an SUV. Ceramic Plus behind the driver at least. If the SUV is labeled MPV, Kentucky allows down to 8% back there, and every shade blocks 99% of UV.
Parked at job sites all day, windows down a lot. Ceramic Plus on the front doors, where the 35% limit means heat rejection has to come from the film, and Ceramic IR in back is a smart split.
Turning it in within three years. Ceramic IR. Good comfort, good price, and it looks clean when it goes back.
Black leather and a dark dash soak up heat. Ceramic Plus. This is the car where the difference is easiest to feel with your hand.
Ceramic Plus starts $100 more than Ceramic IR on a car. Keep the car five years and that’s about $20 a year, or roughly $1.67 a month. For a car that lives outside, that’s an easy call. For a garage-kept commuter, the money might be better spent on a detail.
Some customers put Ceramic Plus on the front doors and Ceramic IR on the rest. The fronts are where the driver sits and where Kentucky limits the shade, so that’s where the stronger film earns the most. Ask and we’ll price it.
Full specs for both films · Tint pricesIt blocks more heat: HITEK rates Ceramic Plus at 90% infrared and 69% total solar energy rejection, and Ceramic IR at 75% and 65%. Both are ceramic with a lifetime guarantee.
For cars that sit in the sun all day, dark interiors and work vehicles, usually yes. For garage-kept commuters, Ceramic IR is often enough.
Yes. Ceramic Plus on the front doors and Ceramic IR in back is a common split.
Most tint jobs are done the same day, and detailing is by appointment. Call, text or send a quote request, and Shane will get back to you during shop hours.
