Tinting Windows

[amo292]

I am in New England and have the factory dark tint on my rear windows and 35% on top of the factory tint on the front. I think the 35% is great because its the best of both worlds: Dark enough to look good, cool the interior, provide privacy and not draw any unwanted attention. Any darker than 30% on the front and I would not be able to see. Where I am we have almost no street lights and the woods are dark, no light pollution.

Another thing to think about is the reflections of sun off of snow. That light is bright and comes from random directions! The tint really cuts down on that and saves you from the glare.

I think it really depends on the officer and not the state, but can attest to NY being on anyone with dark tint. Multiple members of my family (we have 35% on all our cars) have been pulled over for dark Tint when passing through New York. I never understood how they can do that because the car is registered and inspected out of state.... I go to school in New Hampshire where you are not allowed any tint on the front windows and have not been questioned about it once.

 

[snowblind]

Tint is awesome!

Hey Townsend.

You will want the tint. It's not as hot as Florida but the air is a lot thinner and the solar radiation is cooking up here.

I live in Utah where they have (and enforce) tint laws. It is VERY difficult to get a shop to install darker than legal tint. Not impossible but definitely difficult.

Here is how my last three new cars were tinted in Utah:

• The Utah law says AT LEAST 43% of light must be able to pass through the front windows.
• Most new cars come with a 5-10% "tint" built into the front glass. Darker on the rear glass.
• Tint shops spec a 30-35% 3M Grey tint on all windows.
• Front windows are now at >43% light transmission
• Rear windows are now at <43% light transmission
• Contrast between front/rear is reduced considerably. The fronts are still the same percentage darker but they look closer in tint than before. IE: It's easier to tell the difference @ 10/30 than at 45/65.

With my 2001 Suburban I actually used two different types of tint for three different goals.

• My front windows have light factory tint. I went with 3M 35% for legal requirements.
• My rear door windows have dark factory tint and I went with the same 3M 35% here. The rear windows are now very dark. Hard to see in but fine looking out. Guessing about 15% light transmission.
• My rear side and hatch windows also have dark factory tint. Here I went with a thicker ceramic tint. The tint is the same 35% but with better heat rejection. Ceramic tints are generally thicker and can get caught on sliding windows mechanisms. The ceramic tint is also slightly different in color than the non-ceramic. Not noticeable at all from the outside but you can see a little from the inside if you really concentrate.

The above tint job made a HUGE difference. The rear windows are barely even a heat source.

Here is a photo. The difference in tint from from to back is more noticeable in this photo than in person. In this photos the windows are backlit. Normally the light reflects off the windows and they look darker.




Matt

 

[Cole]

I posted this in my Eurovan build thread a few days back. Saw this thread pop up agian and figured it would be of interest to people here.

Just happened to be sitting in the Eurovan on a hot sunny day and was curious how well the ceramic window tint was working.

Took a temp reading of the grey plastic at the dash under the windshield, at the door that has the window rolled down, and at the back where the ceramic tint is blocking the sun.

Here are the results.

Dash with sun shining through the windscreen (fwiw, van has been parked an hour with both front windows down and slider open on the shady side)

Driver's door with the window down

Just behind the driver's seat where the sun is shining through the ceramic tint!

 

[Allof75]

For what it's worth, I had my tint-er (TintPros in Huntington Beach, CA) combine my factory rear "smoked" tint with some 15% which basically yielded a ~10% or less. I couldn't ask for better, as it allows me to change, or use my sleeping platform without being seen. At the time I wish I knew the rearmost window wasn't as dark as the sides, as you can still somewhat see through it in broad daylight, but that helps with night visibility.

I had my fronts done in their lightest tint, which I believe is a 75% transparency, or something like that. Anyway, it definitely blocks the heat, yet still has enough visibility that I've never had an issue with an officer. Even when they got me for speeding. :smiley_drive: Supposedly it blocks 99% of UV radiation (the skin damage kind) and I definitely know it cuts down on infrared (heat) because in my 25k miles of driving with it on, sometimes in temps above 120*, it absolutely keeps the car cooler. I have a black interior, and if I put the windows down slightly, but still protected from break ins by my window fairings, it drastically cuts heat on hot days. Very happy with my setup, and if you can find FormulaOne tint near you, I highly suggest it. Lifetime warranty too, and I've now had it on 5 cars without issue. It protects my plastics, keeps my food or ice chest from getting warm as fast, and generally increases security, and I think helps aesthetics.