Window Tint: Have no idea what to choose, tint newbie here.

[edyvw]

OK, so I had unexpectedly a problem with tint on used vehicle.
In 2018 I bought Toyota Sienna that is black and due to large window surfaces of course, heats up super fast. So whoever owned vehicle before me tinted first row windows (second and third row are OE, since it is Limited they are darker) to 15%. Looks great, until night comes and I need to make a turn in neighborhood and I literally cannot see whether I have someone on crosswalk.
So be careful not to go too dark.
When I got BMW in December, it pretty much did not have tint. SO I go to this really good shop here that does it for local BMW dealership, but also law enforcement agencies etc. They used LLumar ceramic tint and I went 30%.
First of all, 30% is as dark as some states will allow, so you are good to go if you need to travel. Some states like CO where there is huge deficit of law enforcement officers, are not bothering with that, but TX and FL, they will go after those with too dark windows.
Get ceramic due to the fact that it does great job with preventing UV penetration regardless of %.
But in the end, make sure that whatever % you choose, is not going to create problems for you during night.

 

[Skippy722]

Here's an idea of what my 20% metallic film tint looks like in day time from the inside. I'd say it's right at the borderline of being too dark at night, but perfect in daylight.

 

[UG_Passat]

Originally Posted by DweezilAZ
Always concerned about the amount of tint on one of my cars here in AZ and taking it to LA. While it seems to be okay here, like many others it's a pretty dark tint. JUst another revenue op for the CHIPs should I make the trip in this particular car ?

Is there a tint level that's legal in all 50 states that does an adequate job ?


Legal in all 50 states? It's pretty much the tint that came factory on the car.

Or, you can get a barely darker tint, like a 90% ceramic tint.

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by Skippy722
Here's an idea of what my 20% metallic film tint looks like in day time from the inside. I'd say it's right at the borderline of being too dark at night, but perfect in daylight.

Close that window and take a similar picture from the rear seat of the rear door's tinted window. It will probably look darker even though it's the same tint level.

 

[UG_Passat]

Originally Posted by edyvw
OK, so I had unexpectedly a problem with tint on used vehicle.
In 2018 I bought Toyota Sienna that is black and due to large window surfaces of course, heats up super fast. So whoever owned vehicle before me tinted first row windows (second and third row are OE, since it is Limited they are darker) to 15%. Looks great, until night comes and I need to make a turn in neighborhood and I literally cannot see whether I have someone on crosswalk.
So be careful not to go too dark.
When I got BMW in December, it pretty much did not have tint. SO I go to this really good shop here that does it for local BMW dealership, but also law enforcement agencies etc. They used LLumar ceramic tint and I went 30%.
First of all, 30% is as dark as some states will allow, so you are good to go if you need to travel. Some states like CO where there is huge deficit of law enforcement officers, are not bothering with that, but TX and FL, they will go after those with too dark windows.
Get ceramic due to the fact that it does great job with preventing UV penetration regardless of %.
But in the end, make sure that whatever % you choose, is not going to create problems for you during night.


All types of tint are about comparably equal when it comes to UV-filtering.

The main reason why you spend the money on ceramic tint is for higher heat rejection, usually the TSER % (Total Solar Energy Rejected) rating, higher means more heat rejection.

For example, comparing 3M products:
Crystalline 90% has a TSER of 34%
Color-Stable (dyed) 50% has a TSER of 35%
Crystalline 40% has a TSER of 60%

For Illumar, comparing CTX to ATC (Dyed):
CTX 50: 43%
ATC 50: 28%
For the ATC to have similar TSER as CTX 50%, you need to go with ATC 5%

I had ATR (Metallic) on the Passat wagon, and it did affect my radio reception, since the antennas were on the rear side windows (I had no roof antenna)

Currently use have a nano-carbon-ceramic tint from Rayno.

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by DweezilAZ
Always concerned about the amount of tint on one of my cars here in AZ and taking it to LA. While it seems to be okay here, like many others it's a pretty dark tint. JUst another revenue op for the CHIPs should I make the trip in this particular car ?

Is there a tint level that's legal in all 50 states that does an adequate job ?

Check CA's tint law. In Ohio, the law reads something along the lines of "vehicles registered in the state of OH cannot exceed....". In Ohio, generally speaking, up to 35% is allowed on rear and side windows. I think there's conditions for the front door windows, SUVs, etc but no need to complicate things. So anyway, if someone with a car registered in state "X" has 15% tint, 0% tint, or whatever, they won't be cited if they're traveling in Ohio.

 

[UG_Passat]

Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by Skippy722
Here's an idea of what my 20% metallic film tint looks like in day time from the inside. I'd say it's right at the borderline of being too dark at night, but perfect in daylight.

Close that window and take a similar picture from the rear seat of the rear door's tinted window. It will probably look darker even though it's the same tint level.


Here's 40% front and 20% rear, using Llumar metallic fim
4664DD07-3E05-4AAE-A22F-170B6F47EC66_zpsbogbjrnx by thisistan, on Flickr

Never had issues backing up and seeing things in the rear window.

Here's 35% front and 35% film on factory 35% privacy glass.
tinted 35% Rayno S9 film by thisistan, on Flickr

No issues with night visibility.

 

[GoldDot40]

FWIW, the factory privacy glass you see on most minivans, SUV's and pickup trucks is ~16% for MOST manufacturers.

I've never owned a vehicle that I didn't have the windows tinted on. Never had tint lighter than 20%. Never had an issue with law enforcement either.

My '02 Silverado...I had 20% installed OVER the back window and 16% on the front doors to match the rear doors. The back glass makes the other windows appear darker from the outside, but you can still see out just fine at night. In GA, there are no laws for tint for the back rearward facing window of a pickup truck. You could spray paint it if you wanted.

My '79 Camaro has 5%(limo) on the back glass and 20% on the doors...again, the dark rear makes the sides appear darker from the outside.

Mine are done with Johnson's Titanium tint with a lifetime warranty never to fade, peel or discolor. The installer/product stands behind the warranty too. My Camaro was done in 1995...it eventually got some purple streaks in it. The same installer who did it back then retinted them for free about 4 years ago. So yeah...20ish years for a claim that was handled with zero hassle is pretty good, IMO.

 

[JustinH]

Originally Posted by DweezilAZ
Always concerned about the amount of tint on one of my cars here in AZ and taking it to LA. While it seems to be okay here, like many others it's a pretty dark tint. JUst another revenue op for the CHIPs should I make the trip in this particular car ?

Is there a tint level that's legal in all 50 states that does an adequate job ?



AZ registered car by an AZ resident driving around California?

Their tint laws do not apply to you.

 

[UG_Passat]

Originally Posted by JustinH
Originally Posted by DweezilAZ
Always concerned about the amount of tint on one of my cars here in AZ and taking it to LA. While it seems to be okay here, like many others it's a pretty dark tint. JUst another revenue op for the CHIPs should I make the trip in this particular car ?

Is there a tint level that's legal in all 50 states that does an adequate job ?



AZ registered car by an AZ resident driving around California?

Their tint laws do not apply to you.


Unless he's getting the car registered in California. But they don't do safety inspection that may check VLT on windows like other states, all they care is smog and the big check you write to get the car registered.

Basically, the real restriction is CA is the front window tint, it's 70% VLT minimum, but most people are breaking the law anyway, including myself. The rears can be as dark as you want. And the windshield is a band no taller than 4".

PA is more stringent, basically minimum 70% VLT all around for aftermarket tint that is applied for the windows. And 70% VLT for the top 3" of the windshield

 

[Skippy722]

Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by Skippy722
Here's an idea of what my 20% metallic film tint looks like in day time from the inside. I'd say it's right at the borderline of being too dark at night, but perfect in daylight.

Close that window and take a similar picture from the rear seat of the rear door's tinted window. It will probably look darker even though it's the same tint level.


They look the same, though if I close all the windows and close the panoramic moonroof shade it gets dramatically darker in the vehicle. Outside in with the shade closed looks crazy dark though.

 

[edyvw]

Originally Posted by UG_Passat
Originally Posted by edyvw
OK, so I had unexpectedly a problem with tint on used vehicle.
In 2018 I bought Toyota Sienna that is black and due to large window surfaces of course, heats up super fast. So whoever owned vehicle before me tinted first row windows (second and third row are OE, since it is Limited they are darker) to 15%. Looks great, until night comes and I need to make a turn in neighborhood and I literally cannot see whether I have someone on crosswalk.
So be careful not to go too dark.
When I got BMW in December, it pretty much did not have tint. SO I go to this really good shop here that does it for local BMW dealership, but also law enforcement agencies etc. They used LLumar ceramic tint and I went 30%.
First of all, 30% is as dark as some states will allow, so you are good to go if you need to travel. Some states like CO where there is huge deficit of law enforcement officers, are not bothering with that, but TX and FL, they will go after those with too dark windows.
Get ceramic due to the fact that it does great job with preventing UV penetration regardless of %.
But in the end, make sure that whatever % you choose, is not going to create problems for you during night.


All types of tint are about comparably equal when it comes to UV-filtering.

The main reason why you spend the money on ceramic tint is for higher heat rejection, usually the TSER % (Total Solar Energy Rejected) rating, higher means more heat rejection.

For example, comparing 3M products:
Crystalline 90% has a TSER of 34%
Color-Stable (dyed) 50% has a TSER of 35%
Crystalline 40% has a TSER of 60%

For Illumar, comparing CTX to ATC (Dyed):
CTX 50: 43%
ATC 50: 28%
For the ATC to have similar TSER as CTX 50%, you need to go with ATC 5%

I had ATR (Metallic) on the Passat wagon, and it did affect my radio reception, since the antennas were on the rear side windows (I had no roof antenna)

Currently use have a nano-carbon-ceramic tint from Rayno.

Thanx for clarification. I was not paying that much attention to details.
I knew I had to do something in BMW as a. I have skin issues and had to do already some removals, and in CO it is NOT to joke with sun. Also, two small kids in the back and as I said, sun is not to joke here. So for me most important was UV reduction.

 

[UG_Passat]

Originally Posted by edyvw
Originally Posted by UG_Passat
Originally Posted by edyvw
OK, so I had unexpectedly a problem with tint on used vehicle.
In 2018 I bought Toyota Sienna that is black and due to large window surfaces of course, heats up super fast. So whoever owned vehicle before me tinted first row windows (second and third row are OE, since it is Limited they are darker) to 15%. Looks great, until night comes and I need to make a turn in neighborhood and I literally cannot see whether I have someone on crosswalk.
So be careful not to go too dark.
When I got BMW in December, it pretty much did not have tint. SO I go to this really good shop here that does it for local BMW dealership, but also law enforcement agencies etc. They used LLumar ceramic tint and I went 30%.
First of all, 30% is as dark as some states will allow, so you are good to go if you need to travel. Some states like CO where there is huge deficit of law enforcement officers, are not bothering with that, but TX and FL, they will go after those with too dark windows.
Get ceramic due to the fact that it does great job with preventing UV penetration regardless of %.
But in the end, make sure that whatever % you choose, is not going to create problems for you during night.


All types of tint are about comparably equal when it comes to UV-filtering.

The main reason why you spend the money on ceramic tint is for higher heat rejection, usually the TSER % (Total Solar Energy Rejected) rating, higher means more heat rejection.

For example, comparing 3M products:
Crystalline 90% has a TSER of 34%
Color-Stable (dyed) 50% has a TSER of 35%
Crystalline 40% has a TSER of 60%

For Illumar, comparing CTX to ATC (Dyed):
CTX 50: 43%
ATC 50: 28%
For the ATC to have similar TSER as CTX 50%, you need to go with ATC 5%

I had ATR (Metallic) on the Passat wagon, and it did affect my radio reception, since the antennas were on the rear side windows (I had no roof antenna)

Currently use have a nano-carbon-ceramic tint from Rayno.

Thanx for clarification. I was not paying that much attention to details.
I knew I had to do something in BMW as a. I have skin issues and had to do already some removals, and in CO it is NOT to joke with sun. Also, two small kids in the back and as I said, sun is not to joke here. So for me most important was UV reduction.


Window glass tinted or not, already filters out UV-B radiation.

Tint films are treated to filter out UV-A radiation.

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by Skippy722
Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by Skippy722
Here's an idea of what my 20% metallic film tint looks like in day time from the inside. I'd say it's right at the borderline of being too dark at night, but perfect in daylight.

Close that window and take a similar picture from the rear seat of the rear door's tinted window. It will probably look darker even though it's the same tint level.


They look the same, though if I close all the windows and close the panoramic moonroof shade it gets dramatically darker in the vehicle. Outside in with the shade closed looks crazy dark though.

Is your windshield tinted ? If so, what I was wanting to see won't be applicable. From this picture, it definitely looks like the windshield is tinted.

 

[Skippy722]

Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by Skippy722
Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by Skippy722
Here's an idea of what my 20% metallic film tint looks like in day time from the inside. I'd say it's right at the borderline of being too dark at night, but perfect in daylight.

Close that window and take a similar picture from the rear seat of the rear door's tinted window. It will probably look darker even though it's the same tint level.


They look the same, though if I close all the windows and close the panoramic moonroof shade it gets dramatically darker in the vehicle. Outside in with the shade closed looks crazy dark though.

Is your windshield tinted ? If so, what I was wanting to see won't be applicable. From this picture, it definitely looks like the windshield is tinted.


No tint on the windshield, the most I would ever do is a brow across the top.

 

[DweezilAZ]

Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by DweezilAZ
Always concerned about the amount of tint on one of my cars here in AZ and taking it to LA. While it seems to be okay here, like many others it's a pretty dark tint. JUst another revenue op for the CHIPs should I make the trip in this particular car ?

Is there a tint level that's legal in all 50 states that does an adequate job ?

Check CA's tint law. In Ohio, the law reads something along the lines of "vehicles registered in the state of OH cannot exceed....". In Ohio, generally speaking, up to 35% is allowed on rear and side windows. I think there's conditions for the front door windows, SUVs, etc but no need to complicate things. So anyway, if someone with a car registered in state "X" has 15% tint, 0% tint, or whatever, they won't be cited if they're traveling in Ohio.


Good to know. Thanks. From the inside it looks like the pictures in this thread of the 20% tint Skippy posted during the day time.

 

[DweezilAZ]

Originally Posted by JustinH
Originally Posted by DweezilAZ
Always concerned about the amount of tint on one of my cars here in AZ and taking it to LA. While it seems to be okay here, like many others it's a pretty dark tint. JUst another revenue op for the CHIPs should I make the trip in this particular car ?

Is there a tint level that's legal in all 50 states that does an adequate job ?



AZ registered car by an AZ resident driving around California?

Their tint laws do not apply to you.

Thanks.