Tinted windows?

I'm planning on having my girlfriend's car tinted for $175 from a mobile installer. This guy's prices hasn't changed in years so definitely a great deal. That includes all windows except the windshield.

Us living in Cali you gotta go light in front if you wanna play it safe. Planning on either: 50% all around, or F-R fade 50/35/20. It's all in your personal taste what look you like. I personally don't like the blacked out look. I like being able to see through a bit. GL!

 

The first thing I do with a new car is tint the windows. I have 28% all around on my 10 Prius. It looks good, protects the interior from the sun & helps keep the car cooler & having to use the AC less which also improves mpg.

 

I luv my tint & think it's one of the better upgrades I have on the car. To me, it's a must on a white(or BP) colored cars as it gives that look that I want plus keeps me cool under the Calif. sun. I have a shop that I always go to as I'm happy w/their quality & service. Cost was just under $200 for Lumar 20% driv/pass 15% rear 3. Not sure about other folks, but they tinted the rear strip window as well, the part that had factory tint already on. Wasn't sure at 1st but glad they did it as it gives the extra privacy in the trunk area.

 

I tinted to the legal limit here in Mississippi, it takes about 15 minutes less for the A/C to catch up.

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I got mine fully tinted, albeit not fully legal (the only legal on the fronts is no tint). I did it mostly to help keep the interior of the car cooler and help the A/C run with less load. I park in the open sun all day at work, and I noticed an immediate difference after getting it done.

Just be warned, if you go too dark up front it makes it a lot harder to see, esp at night. I wish I'd gone a shade lighter up front because of that.

 

For those that have had aftermarket tint, does your tint go all the way up to the rim of the window or does it have 1/4 inch gap to prevent the tint from coming undone?

I bought a Prius with dealer installed tint and it has a gap that i do not like.

Also, the rear window is blurry at night, is that common for aftermarket tint?

 

I went with 5% on the rear window and all 4 triangle windows and 35% on the other 4. The limo'd rear helps make the others "look" darker while being able to see out at night.

 

I may have to check to make sure but if I can recall it is almost to the edge(or rim) w/ very little gap. As far as night vision, it is not blurry at all, of course it is darker bcause of the tint but still clear enough to see through. I've had limo tint in the past that hindered night vision, I would say that is pretty dangerous & will never do again. Perhaps, it might be a quality issue as there are some cheap films out there.

 

Thanks SoCal. Please let me know if it does.

 

For anyone in the PNW, can you recommend a good tint shop in the Portland Or area.

 

Call me crazy.....was the last customer off the lot around 1230 am and was sitting in front of the tint shop at 7a waiting for the owner to show up.

He has been tinting my cars since the late 80's

Put 3M "dark" (don't know what that works out to % wise) all the way around.

The little window on the hatch is a different shade of factory tint compared to the rest of the car.

I have pics from my original post.

 

I'm a little confused by the terminology. Apparently, in California the front window tint must allow at least 70% of the light to come in. Is that what you mean by 30% tint? The CA legal maximum?

 

California does not allow tint on the front drivers or passeneger front windows. A max of a 6 inch strip on the top fron windshield.

What people are implying is that if you put on a lighter shade on the front windows that you may have less of a chance of being pulled over or given a ticket.

 

YES, YES, YES!!! Get tinted windows and will be the best money you ever spent.

 

Technically, you're allowed to tint the front side windows as long as you stay above 70% aggregate. The problem is most factory glass is already tinted ~75% in the glass so any film (even 80% Lumar AirBlue) would put it under 70% aggregate, unless you happen to have an older car with completely untinted factory glass.

I agree if you stick with 50% or greater film (resulting in an aggregate of ~37.5% or higher), you're extremely unlikely to be pulled over in California as it's still very light.

 

I don't have any extra tint on my front windshield and that's the way I like it. However, I know that every town probably has a well known eye doctor that will write a script for heavy window tint if you complain that your eyes are super light sensitive.

 

I went with 30% on the front windows and 5% the rest of the way around the car. Makes a very big difference in the heating and cooling.

 

Ours was tinted last month $230: 35 front passenger, 35 rear passenger, 35 rear window, 5" 35 across front windshield strip. We're moving to MD in a couple months where this config is l100% egal.

I love it - it's perfect because its not too dark, not too light.