Window Tint

[SGV]

A quick note: It may look ridiculously dark and perhaps even dangerous to some, but remember you are looking at it from the out side, through two sets of windows tinted 5% (the pass. side windows and the drivers side windows) so it looks black. When you are inside, however, you are only looking through one tinted window so its much easier to see out than in.

Agreed. I loved my old Cherokee with the windows tinted. It helped keep the insides cool and definitely helped appearance wise.

I don't know what percentage my tint was, but you couldn't see into it from the outside period. From the inside while driving, the decreased light helped my visibility because of the less total light entering my sensitive eyes. The inspector made me remove the tint and for some reason, the truck was never the same. Without the tint, the increased brightness made driving less pleasant. Also, you can't discretely mine for gold while in traffic.

 

[SixLug]

^ha ha...thats exactly right!! Always nice pickin the nose at a redlight and NOBODY can see you...ha. Seriously though, I also agree that the driving atmosphere inside the car is much more comfortable and relaxing with the tint like this. I hate feeling like Im in a fish bowl.

 

[robert]

I've got mine at the legal limit also; it definitely helps with a black truck plus it gives it that Darth Vader look. The other thing is it helps keep shattered glass out of the truck if your window does get smashed. When backing or offroading at night I tend to roll the windows down to see better but an additional set of lights on the rear helps too.

Get it done at a professional place though, it will almost always look better and last longer plus they should give you a card stating that it meets the legal limits and that they are responsible if it doesn't.

 

[02TahoeMD]

We used to tint just our back windows on our K9 vehicles, and found that adding some tint on the front windows ( side only NOT windshield ) helped drop the interior temp another 10 degrees with the A/C on full blast. So, tint on all the windows you can do is indeed a big help in beating the heat.

Most jurisdictions should be ok with a tint level of 35% or higher ( higher the percentage, the more the light transmission, and thus the lighter the tint ) on the front side windows on a truck. It is usually the tinting of car windows that gets a violation notice out my way.

I did 35% up front on my Tahoe and then added 20% to all my back side windows for added privacy, and left the rear liftgate glass alone, and have no trouble seeing out at night.

Agreed with the idea of rolling down your windows if getting stopped by the police. It definitely sends a message that you have nothing to hide.

My only advice is to not tint your windshield....which I have seen done before and, while being illegal in most jurisdictions here in North America, strikes me as being an incredibly dumb thing to do.

 

[SixLug]

Ive seen the front windshield tinted as well. It was on a Florida two door Tahoe. I think someone told me its legal there b/c of how hot it gets there but I dont know for sure. It seemed like an unnecessary risk to me though...who needs the front window tinted?

 

[java]

my car tests at 13.2% just for reference, its not the best pic but you get the idea. honestly this is the same that i would use on my next vehicle, i can still see fine at night with my mirrors which dim at night also.

 

[rewell6]

Here is a a tip I learned years ago.

Do NOT use windex to clean the tint! It will turn it purple.

Use a mixture of water and baby shampoo. Just a little baby shampoo. Actually baby shampoo is part of a secret recipe for cleaning windows. If you can get some actual window cleaning tools that is the easiest way to go. Just use a pump sprayer to mist the tint. Use the cloth tool to clean and use the squeegee to dry.

If you need to remove tint for some reason the baby shampoo mixture will make the glue removal easy.