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Reasons for tinting

J

JonathanYoung

Senior member
Please skip to the last line of this post if you don't want to read through it.

I bought a new car last year and as a result have spent some time reading up on it in various online forums, and one of the things I've gathered is it seems most people like to tint the windows on their (new) cars.

Personally, I am not a fan of tinting and would not do so with my car, but I am curious as to why people like to tint. In the posts that I read, I only see "35% would be perfect" or "20% would look tight" but nobody ever says why it would be so perfect or so tight.

My own reason for not liking tinting: when I was a kid I loved looking out the window in a car, and I hated it when I went in a limo or some other car with tint because it darkened my view of the world passing by. Now that I'm a driver, I still like to be able to see the world around me as it is, and not darkened.

So, if you prefer tinted windows, why do you prefer it?
 
i do 35% on my car. looks classy and doesn't attract cops. you can look out perfectly as well.

i do it for alot of reasons, 1 to keep heat/sun out as much as possible and 2 to deter people from looking into my car (from far away at least, up close you can look in pretty easily) and 3 because it looks good, but of course its subjective and if done wrong can look real bad.

also to keep heat out get clear tint on your windshield. blocks uv rays too. i dont have it but i've heard that it's the new cool thing to get
 
Originally posted by: evident
i do 35% on my car. looks classy and doesn't attract cops. you can look out perfectly as well.

i do it for alot of reasons, 1 to keep heat/sun out as much as possible and 2 to deter people from looking into my car (from far away at least, up close you can look in pretty easily) and 3 because it looks good, but of course its subjective and if done wrong can look real bad.

also to keep heat out get clear tint on your windshield. blocks uv rays too. i dont have it but i've heard that it's the new cool thing to get
Click to expand...

All very good reasons, especially the one about keeping out the heat. The clear tint thing sounds promising. A quick googling does indeed confirm that it's the new cool thing to get. Thanks for your input!
 
color contrast for me. I have no interest in tinting my gray truck but on a white, the 35% was the perfect look in my opinion --> pic.
 
For a couple hundred bucks it's easily one of the more functional, and best looking "mods" you can do on any car.

Points have been pretty well covered - looks, privacy, and heat reduction.

I like the more modest levels of tint though, none of that limo blackout stuff.
 
I've never really cared for tinting my cars, and given that most auto glass rejects UV I haven't bothered... I like it when all the windows are done evenly, but in California, the front side windows must pass at least 70% of the light. I hate the way cars look when people in CA put really dark tint on the rear windows that doesn't match the tint of the front.
 
Originally posted by: helpme
I've never really cared for tinting my cars, and given that most auto glass rejects UV I haven't bothered... I like it when all the windows are done evenly, but in California, the front side windows must pass at least 70% of the light. I hate the way cars look when people in CA put really dark tint on the rear windows that doesn't match the tint of the front.
Click to expand...

I have 30% all the way around but drive with my front windows down 99% of the time so it's ok for me.
 
how about ceramic vs metallic vs whatever tint? i read ceramic is best but most expensive. i think to tint my mini cooper, which really doesn't have that much window surface area, is like $4-500!!
 
Originally posted by: Maximus96
how about ceramic vs metallic vs whatever tint? i read ceramic is best but most expensive. i think to tint my mini cooper, which really doesn't have that much window surface area, is like $4-500!!
Click to expand...

You're bending over and letting them insert it there. No way that car should be that expensive to tint.
 
20% on the rears

35% on the front - light enough to keep the cops from writing me a ticket but dark enough to reflect the majority of sun and keep me cool & comfortable while driving without much glare.


Tinted windoes is great - especially if you have children!


 
I prefer tinting from both an aesthetic and practical perspective (largely because it helps keep the car cool in sunny weather). That said, my state, MN, allows so little tint (50%) that it hardly seems worthwhile. No idea why the law here is so restrictive on tinting, but it is . . .
 
3M makes a totally clear tint that blocks 99% of the UV for race cars (harnesses get damaged by UV).

It's expensive as fuck though. I want it for my car.
 
Originally posted by: alkemyst
3M makes a totally clear tint that blocks 99% of the UV for race cars (harnesses get damaged by UV).

It's expensive as fuck though. I want it for my car.
Click to expand...

Isn't that because the race cars are using Lexan windows?
 
Originally posted by: Maximus96
how about ceramic vs metallic vs whatever tint? i read ceramic is best but most expensive. i think to tint my mini cooper, which really doesn't have that much window surface area, is like $4-500!!
Click to expand...

ceramic tint is best but depending on your antenna it may screw with your signal
 
Ah, I thought that since most auto glass already filters UV that the film might be for replacement windows.

I wonder why it is so expensive.
 
Originally posted by: evident
Originally posted by: Maximus96
how about ceramic vs metallic vs whatever tint? i read ceramic is best but most expensive. i think to tint my mini cooper, which really doesn't have that much window surface area, is like $4-500!!
Click to expand...

ceramic tint is best but depending on your antenna it may screw with your signal
Click to expand...

Huper Optik is one of the best ceramic tints... I looked into it because I didn't want interference with my radio or nav... turns out even the nav antenna is on the shark fin outside anyway - even common Toyotas & Hondas are doing the fin now. I actually settled for carbon tint, which is still better than metallic tint. Carbon doesn't interfere with signals either. Suntek Carbon cost $250-ish instead of the nearly $500 he wanted for Huper Optik... which btw, is best because it blocks out a tremendous amount of heat as well... necessary in places like AZ... not NY.
 
Originally posted by: zerocool84
Originally posted by: helpme
I've never really cared for tinting my cars, and given that most auto glass rejects UV I haven't bothered... I like it when all the windows are done evenly, but in California, the front side windows must pass at least 70% of the light. I hate the way cars look when people in CA put really dark tint on the rear windows that doesn't match the tint of the front.
Click to expand...

I have 30% all the way around but drive with my front windows down 99% of the time so it's ok for me.
Click to expand...

35% here all around on the GTI. Everyone in Irvine pretty much has their fronts tinted. As long as you don't have a rice rocket, no one cares.
 
I tinted my windows because I believe that it looks better, and it keeps my car a lot cooler during the day. I have 35% up front and 20% out back. It's not impossibly hard to look out of either.

Pic 1
Pic 2
 
Originally posted by: rh71
Originally posted by: evident
Originally posted by: Maximus96
how about ceramic vs metallic vs whatever tint? i read ceramic is best but most expensive. i think to tint my mini cooper, which really doesn't have that much window surface area, is like $4-500!!
Click to expand...

ceramic tint is best but depending on your antenna it may screw with your signal
Click to expand...

Huper Optik is one of the best ceramic tints... I looked into it because I didn't want interference with my radio or nav... turns out even the nav antenna is on the shark fin outside anyway - even common Toyotas & Hondas are doing the fin now. I actually settled for carbon tint, which is still better than metallic tint. Carbon doesn't interfere with signals either. Suntek Carbon cost $250-ish instead of the nearly $500 he wanted for Huper Optik... which btw, is best because it blocks out a tremendous amount of heat as well... necessary in places like AZ... not NY.
Click to expand...

I've got Huper Optik on my car - I love it. My car is parked in the sun all day while I'm at work and it does a nice job at keeping it cool.

And yes - it IS expensive. I was quoted $400 to do my car. Got it for $350 only because they took off $50 due to a scheduling mistake on their end.
 
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