Window Tinting

Thats real dark. Out where I live there are no stoplights, I would be screwed. 15%-20% I think it would be nice but I decided it wouldnt be worth the ticket + having to pay to redo the windows. Good looking car though.

 

It is kina goofy but unfortunately thats how it is.

 

The issue of nearly running someone over was it was at night, they were wearing black clothing and ran right in front of the street. It was an isolated issue and I have not had any other issues since then. If it is extremely dark (i.e. no lights) I will roll down the windows partially. Backing up is the same deal if there is no lights.

Even if there is some lights outside (parking lot, street lamps) then it is not an issue. IMO, I've had 5%, 15%, 35%.

This is just me, but 15-20% and 5% are pretty close at night. 15% lets in more light when it is completely bright outside. If I had to do it all over again, I would probably just not get anything.

The Prius in particular leaks in light. I think 15-20% may be ok on a car without so many windows, but with a Prius it spills in a lot of light. Also anything less than 35% (I live in Indiana, but am from Ohio) is illegal. Ohio's law is also different, but that's another story. Anyways, illegal is illegal and I'd rather get what I prefer.

 

I live in Indiana nad have the legal limit on the front... I think it's 35% ... but on the back and hatch, I went one or two steps darker. Hopefully, no statie pulls me over with his light meter!

I still need to switch my rear view at night but I think I am a bit light sensitive anyway. I don't need much light to see in the dark. Bright lights hurt my eyes... I live in sunglasses.

 

It all depends on the cops preference. Most likely they are going to crack down on it harder b/c of their budget windfalls, although I heard somewhere they may reduce the police's fiscal budget in which case there'd be less police out. They'd make great garbage men as an alternative, but I digress..............


I'd probably not get any tint at all if I were to do it all over again. The Prius has 'drop window syndrome'. If you take your front or back windows, roll them down halfway then stop.


Now take your hands flat and put one on each side of the glass (as if you were clapping). Then pressing your hands firmly try shifting the window front and back. Compress your hands together on the glass and try moving it around.

It will give slightly. It does in my car and someone else's prius I know. I call the dealer and they said they give wiggle room to change the windows or something to that extent. The window does jiggle more than my corolla.

Try it and you'll see what I'm talking about. At any rate due to this slight fitment imperfection, if you are OCD (like me) and look extremely closely in the light, I'd be very, very surprised if there were not micro millimeter gaps on the edges. The place I went to cleaned out the window tracts very extensively and tucked in excess tint into the tracts to not create that disruption. The guy said it is common in Honda/Toyotas so there needs to be an adjustment made to correct that.

If it doesn't bother you with gaps then no biggie. I had to have one window redone b/c the window moved so much there was a noticible gap in the rear.

 

It is not as noticible if you have 35% or lighter tint, but anything darker, light gaps do show up. They certainly did in my 5%.

 

btw, Indiana is 35% all the way around. I think the brow is any darkness 6" down max.

Indianapolis, IN they don't really care. Every other car I see has limo all the way around and the windshield blacked out. Seeing so many cars is what pretty much compelled me. In Ohio when I go back home to visit I don't see any cars like that.

 

The people who installed it gave me a life time warranty so if that happens, I guess they will be replacing the tint if it slips.

They did a fantastic job though... for less than $200! I have had it for a few years and love it. (ugh... I just don't like brows... never have)

I knew I was breaking the law with the back ones but I figure if the police are that desperate or that a**hole... then I will deal with it. But hopefully, my dark back window tints is not very high on their list of things to pull me over for.

I wouldn't be surprised if the budgets were cut more... not at all.

 

Most places give lifetime warrenties. If they didn't there are a lot of places that do and I'd go there instead.

The tint itself does not slip per se. It is just at the time when they cut it to fit the window, that is basically how it is cut. But since the window shifts, the fitment from before is now slightly off. The only way to offset this is to remove each glass window and tint it, or add in excess to compensate for the imperfect fitment. I just noticed it b/c the darkness contrast is easy to see.

$200 is about right. For mine I think it was a tad over like $215. I wouldn't pay more than that unless you are getting premium ceramic or something like that.

Mine is metallized. Make sure you don't get 'dyed film'. It is the cheap off the counter brand that fades and/or turns purple after awhile. So always ask beforehand. Metallized/ceramic are good, but dyed is not.

 

I wanted the metallic ones but the local place here in town refused to do it because they said they weren't good quality and they had to replace them too much.

I am glad I didn't get it. The black on the black car looks sharp. I just ordered my rain guards today. The next thing is seat covers and then the side door moldings and someday, the shark fin antenna...

 

I had a sharkfin antenna for my Corolla. I was surprised how well it stood up. I went to carwashes several times and never have had an issue with it. My old Corolla is now my brother's car, but the fin is still in very good shape.

The metallic tints look tacky. What I was talking about the tint being metallized was that the way it is manfactured, there is microscopic metal in the film to reinforce it and give it durability.


I am probably going to put HIDs in my car at some point. I've been too lazy to mod the car other than the tint. Rain guards are good too. There's a lot of crap that gets caught on the fenders from the wheel. I'm afraid at some point it'll start scratching that area or something.

 

OH! I didn't realize you were talking about the manufacture with the metal. Now it makes more sense...

I don't like using my AC even though on this car it doesn't really cost much in the gas, I just don't like being cold! It ruins my ability to work out in the heat. Rain gaurds are essential for my need for fresh air with out the AC. That and I can leave the windows cracked a bit more when it's parked and locked.

What are HIDs?

 

HIDs are high intensity discharge lights. They are supposed to be like what is on BMWs, Audis, etc. I put them on my Camry awhile back (green car), but it was back in 2006. I don't remember where I bought them, and I have not modded in awhile since I graduated from my bachelors.

The green car is a 1999 camry lowered 5.5" or so. I had HIDs in it. I remember I had to keep the high beams on to make them work. Something probably about a single bulb filament. Made a buzzing noise too.

The shark fin is the only picture I have at the moment of my old corolla. I'll have to take more pictures when I visit my brother again. That car had 35% tint.

 

Here is a pic of my tint job.

 

Is there a difference with going to the dealer as opposed to more specialty places for window tinting? I guess price is the major difference but what about quality? I just remember the tinting that you couldn't use cleaning stuff with...hopefully things have changed? Is darker window tint ever a factory option or is it always done by the dealer?

I am seriously considering getting the windows on my car tinted because I think it looks great and makes the car look a bit cooler - in a Prius way.

 

My dealer is going to tint my new Plug-In when it gets here. What I like about the dealer's tint, he said that the dealer tint is done by computer from a template using a laser. I have tint now that is on my used Sienna from before I bought it. The tint on one window lacks a quarter inch from covering one side of one window. Computer laser cutting should make the tint fit each window exactly.

 

I have 5% (limo) on my rear windows and 50% on my front and quarter panels. I'm in CA so front windows must let in at least 75% to be legal (some people say you can't have any, but I read that it's around 75%).. but I haven't had issues with the 50%.

 

The legal number in CA is 70%, not 75%. However, given that the Prius front windows are already factory-tinted 75% in the glass any film you put on it would put it below 70% so technically illegal. But considering that 70% is so light and there are too many illegal dark tint violators around here you can probably get away with 50%.

 

I was close! hah. With the limo tint in the back, it's harder to tell if my fronts are tinted since the interior is darkened. I've never had an issue with that tint choice (50%front/5%back). I have them on all my cars. I'm sure Cops are more looking out for people who have limo or 15% all around... I really wonder how they're not pulled over sooner.