Learn me window tinting

I'm looking for heat rejection primarily, but also I drive at night quite a bit so how is night visibility affected?

I'm in Illinois and the law is apparently 35% visual light transmission except for the windshield.

I run 35 on the front two doors, and back glass. Does make backing up at night more difficult. Upgraded reverse lights help, so does rolling down the window.

20 on the back doors. And sunroof. And quarter windows.

In trucks, 35 makes the back glass a mirror for the dash lights.

Unless you're damn good at it, pay a professional to do it. Most places are reasonable, and it won't bubble, like the FLAPS sourced stuff does (that's a pain in the ass to apply). The PO of my car did it himself. I can't see out the back window - not because it's too dark, but because it's E36 M3ty quality stuff, that has started coming off the defroster grid, giving an entirely blurry rear view.

Oh, yes, I'm definitely having it done by a pro. I'm just unsure of my options (and I'm at work, so I have free time to do research )

I have 20% on one car and 35 on the other. 35 is definitely easier to see out of at night, but the 20% is not bad. The 20% car also has auto dimming mirrors that compound the issue.

Look at the particular film you want to use, some are better than others. They have different heat transfer/reflection depending on the material used. Both of mine are ceramic IIRC.

We used to do it a lot when I was younger. Side windows are easy, it's the back we couldn't do very well. Try side windows yourself but possibly pay a pro to do the back window. Soapy water, soft squeegee, take the door skin off so you can roll the window down very slightly but still get the bottom part, get the glass and area as clean and dust free as possible, and also realize it will never be perfect.

Joey

In KY the law is 35% on front side windows and 20% elsewhere. I took a Corolla in a few years back and asked for "legal" tint and when I got it back it looked like ass. Now I get 20% all around every time (except windshield obviously). Most of my friends do as well, none of us have ever been questioned by law enforcement for it.

If you ever get pulled over with tinted windows it's a good policy to immediately roll down ALL windows and let the cop know you're not a threat. They don't like not being able to see in, that's the reason for the tint law.

It's one of those jobs that's very much worth paying a pro to do, cheap tint jobs suck.

Ninja edit: the Allroad in my avatar is 20% all around. Suburban and Passat in current fleet are 20% all around as well.

Glad you're letting a pro do it. With today's curved windows, it's much harder to get it to lay flat and not end up bubbling. There's an art to heating it just enough to curve.

There are lots of options for the type of tint. If you've ever seen a car with tint that looks purple-ish, that's tint with coloring which has faded over time. Modern tints are tinted with metal and ceramic which won't fade over time. So, when the guy is upselling you to a more expensive tint, it's worth it.

Regarding the amount, the shop should be familiar with the laws of the state and can lead you in the right direction. In Texas, it's 35% on the front windows and you can go as dark a limo tint on the others. IMHO, it looks to drastic of a difference and doesn't look good.

You will lose some visibility. It's not horrible, but there's no tint out there that won't affect night driving to some degree. You should be able to see the difference with samples at the shop. If it's a big concern, you could just go 35% all the way around. That would provide help with glare and heat without taking too much from the vision.

-Rob

I have had 20% on the front windows and I hated it. Nothing like having to roll down the windows when it is cold and rainy to read addresses or street signs. 35% (legal limit here in OR) was better but I really prefer none at all. It didn't cut head/fog light glare noticeably, Getting into the car after it sat in a sunny parking lot in the summer wasn't perceptibly cooler. It looked cool though. Black Mk4 Jetta wagon, black interior and 20% tint was neat in a "murdered out" kinda way but I was ready to pay to have it removed when I traded it in.

I'm in Texas so I run 35% on the door windows and double layers of 5% on the back windows. It's really a minor issue to back up. Worst case, you roll your window down halfway so you can see the mirrors clearly if you're doing very intricate backing like slipping a trailer into a tight spot. I haven't ever wished I had tint less dark.

edit. The tint shop does make me come in twice for the install. The first time they do the door windows and one layer on the rest of the windows. Then a few days later they add the second layer on the back windows. The first layer needs to cure a while before messing with it.

Lesson: learn your state's laws and don't trust the tint shop.

My buddy went to the shop and asked "can you legally tint my front windows to 20%?"

Tint guy said "sure" and did that.

My buddy got pulled over for illegal tint, went back to the tint shop guy who said, "I can legally tint your windows to 20%. YOU can't legally drive that way."

Thanks guys! This is all good info.

Yeah, we got our white Jag tinted to max state legality here in TN. My wife's family has had almost all of their cars tinted darker, and have had no tickets out of it. Probably because that's all they ever do to the cars... While we were at the tint shop asking their recommendations, they pointed out an obvious undercover police car in the parking lot with 5% all over. "We can do that for you, but cash only and no receipt."

I think 3m has a clear "tint" that supposedly cuts all the UV light, keeping the interior cooler without making it hard to see out of.

I had 5% on the back of my Montero and 30% on the front and I was happy. The AC couldn't keep up with all that glass on the 100+ degrees days here until I did the tint. I keep meaning to do the fronts on my 4Runner...

My last car was professionally done when it was new. It still looked good when I got it 10 years later. It had some medium on the fronts, and DARK on the back doors and rear. The only downside was NY tint laws. "Cars" get 70% on side glass, and unlimited on the back. "Truck/van/suv" have 70% on the front doors and unlimited for the rest of it. I removed the tint from the drivers door, and decided BERK it on the rest. I received one warning for it in 5 years.

I want to do my current car, but I don't want illegal tint and 70% isn't worth it.

I have ~50%ish all the way around. I don't like crazy dark tint, but a little is nice to cut down the heat. I feel like most tint makes it a pain in the ass to see out of the car at night.

Is there anything new in the tint/hide your identity world? About 10 years ago I recall seeing some tint that looked like some sort of reflective material that faded lighter from bottom to top. Haven't seen anything new since then really.

There is probably some tint with glitter of thats your thing, but honestly 20% black tint looks classy on everything from pickups to Bentleys so why change?

My Corvette had 5% all the way around, it was awesome in a "driving home from a wedding in the summer, hung balls and AC on max" sort of way, otherwise it was too dark. My AMG has 35% all the way around, and its a little too light but won't get me pulled over for being a drug dealer the way most modern AMGs with dark tint will. My pickup has 20% all the way around and its perfect. Dark enough to be almost impossible to see into, without being hard to see out of.

Lol no glitter for me thanks. I was just curious if anything new has come.

drainoil wrote: Is there anything new in the tint/hide your identity world? About 10 years ago I recall seeing some tint that looked like some sort of reflective material that faded lighter from bottom to top. Haven't seen anything new since then really.