To tint or not to tint...

"BadMotorScooter" (badmotorscooter)
02/26/2016 at 23:16 • Filed to: None

Tinted windows look cool, sometimes, but it seems to depend on the car and the tint. To me, classic cars look silly with tint. I prefer the original clear glass on most classic stuff. For practical driving, I don’t like a dark tint since it is too hard to see out of night. A mild tint like 35% is a compromise but then is it worth the expense? What say you Opponauts - tint or no tint?

DISCUSSION (43)

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > BadMotorScooter
02/26/2016 at 23:20

We have a 20% tint on our Sonata. It’s not too dark, and helps immensely with headlight glare, as well as with sun glare.

wafflesnfalafel > BadMotorScooter
02/26/2016 at 23:22

I like a pretty light tint - enough to cut glare, add a styling feature and just a bit of privacy but doesn’t affect the view, (or freak out the police.)

Needmoargarage > BadMotorScooter
02/26/2016 at 23:29

The only thing tint has ever done for me was get me pulled over more frequently. I say no tint, unless glare is really a problem.

Chariotoflove > BadMotorScooter
02/26/2016 at 23:30

I had tint on my first car. It's pretty useful in hot climates, but keep it light. Whatever you do, pay to have it done right. Nothing looks more pathetic than bubbled window tint.

Wurrwulf > BadMotorScooter
02/26/2016 at 23:30

My wife’s Escape has factory tint on the rear doors and hatch, and I can’t see dick out of that thing at night. All of my previous cars had tint, but ever since I got my ‘02 Outback, I’ve been fish-bowling it. I’ve been spoiled by having a car that seems to be 60% glass.

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > BadMotorScooter
02/26/2016 at 23:36

Light tint is good, but I’d like to get a tint that activates when there’s an overexposure of light on it. That way at night it’s not dark to see out of. But I am not sure such a thing exists.

Funktheduck > Wurrwulf
02/26/2016 at 23:39

I would find that to be an upgrade not seeing dicks everywhere

citizennick > BadMotorScooter
02/26/2016 at 23:42

Same boat, tint on classics does not look good. Tint on new cars, yes. And I just go the legal limit, I like seeing at night.

thedevilinside > BadMotorScooter
02/26/2016 at 23:47

I will probably tint every car I ever own. But always within the legal limits, tint looks better in most cases and keeps the car cooler.

Shmevans > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
02/26/2016 at 23:48

Yes, I have been wondering about this for years. There are “Transitions” eyeglasses, why not tint? Seems like it should be doable. And if not in the tint, then surely right in the glass.

Big Bubba Ray > BadMotorScooter
02/26/2016 at 23:49

35 is great. I have no tint on my car but when I do spring for it, I’ll be going 35. My brother got 20 on his car. It’s a white car so the tint looks hella good, but it’s impossible to see out of at night time.

The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock > BadMotorScooter
02/27/2016 at 00:01

I have 25% tint on my car, it has no AC (Base Model yo) so it helps keep it cool in the summer. I could have gone to 35% (the legal limit where I live), but it looked too dark. I did not plan on tinting it, but I figure the tint be a cheap way keeping it cool inside.

Kinja'd!!!

djgreenlava > wafflesnfalafel
02/27/2016 at 00:11

Is 70 enough to cut glare? I've always wanted the same light tint on all windows.

Stevo777 > BadMotorScooter
02/27/2016 at 00:20

I personally love my tint, i never really liked the fishbowl effect. My current car has 35% but my last was 20%, I preferred the 20%. Unless you plan on backing out of places a lot at night, it’s not really a issue

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > BadMotorScooter
02/27/2016 at 00:28

slight tint @70%. I borrowed my sisters once and was completely baffled how the hell she was able to drive at night.

Maidee > BadMotorScooter
02/27/2016 at 00:30

I agree classic cars should be left alone with. But in a practical sense, really tinted windows is tough. I’ve never had tinted windows before until my current car. The rear 3 windows are at 5% and I’m very thankful for my back up camera because otherwise it would be so sketchy, especially in parking garages. I like the look of the tints but because of California law I don’t really get to enjoy mine but my passengers do. But i still vote tints!

Rico > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
02/27/2016 at 02:03

25% is darker than 35%.

PorkchoPlissken > BadMotorScooter
02/27/2016 at 03:50

Go louvers to keep the sun out.

PorkchoPlissken > BadMotorScooter
02/27/2016 at 03:53

Kinja'd!!!

Louvers keep the sun out and provide more surfaces for lines of boogy sugar.

Echo51 > Maidee
02/27/2016 at 04:25

No tint allowed on front+front side windows either? It’s the same in denmark, and having half your car tinted limo black just seems cheap to me, so i’ve skipped on it. Even then a good 50-70% that would help with keeping the heat out on summers would probably be my pick eitherway..

pip bip - choose Corrour > BadMotorScooter
02/27/2016 at 07:19

no tint.

BadMotorScooter > Maidee
02/27/2016 at 07:48

I’m not a big fan of different tints on front and back, but I see why you would have to do that. 5% is very dark, how do you see out at night?

BadMotorScooter > Chariotoflove
02/27/2016 at 07:49

Agree on the bubbly tint. That looks awful. I have yet to see an old tint job that still looks good.

BadMotorScooter > Needmoargarage
02/27/2016 at 07:51

Legal tint seems to be the way to go. Police absolutely will pull you over if you have super dark tint. To me, that’s a huge headache that just isn’t worth it.

BadMotorScooter > citizennick
02/27/2016 at 07:53

At what point does a car age enough where tint looks bad? Take a new Mustang, tint the windows, and in 10 years when that’s an old body style and the tint maybe starts to bubble or not look as good, to me the tint becomes a negative and something I’d want to remove. Like you are trying to hard to look cool, when the original clear glass actually looks better.

BadMotorScooter > pip bip - choose Corrour
02/27/2016 at 07:54

what kind of car?

pip bip - choose Corrour > BadMotorScooter
02/27/2016 at 08:05

i’ve got a ‘04 Mitsubishi Lancer.

Master Cylinder > BadMotorScooter
02/27/2016 at 08:12

I’m basically just a shade away from being an albino, so I like tinted windows. I could probably even qualify for a medical exception to allow me to tint the front windows legally. That said, 35% is plenty dark. Anything darker is (IMO) just for looks and compromises your ability to see your surroundings at night.

valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
02/27/2016 at 09:14

http://chameleonfilm2u.com/products/overv…

valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option > Shmevans
02/27/2016 at 09:15

(because you won’t get an alert unless you get a direct reply which is another Kinja pitfall)

http://chameleonfilm2u.com/products/overv…

valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option > BadMotorScooter
02/27/2016 at 09:19

I have ~25% tints all around on my ride and even though it is sometimes a hassle at night I will never not have them on a car I own. I have gotten used to that feeling of privacy - whenever I sit in a car without tints I actually feel... exposed, or something. It’s weird.

AM3R shamefully returns > BadMotorScooter
02/27/2016 at 09:29

I have 35% tint on all of my cars. I have no trouble seeing out at night and the tint looks/functions great. What color is your interior?

Needmoargarage > BadMotorScooter
02/27/2016 at 10:03

It also depends on the color of your car and car’s interior. Black car, black interior? You might get pulled over for even a light tint on the front windows.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > BadMotorScooter
02/27/2016 at 10:40

A good pro tint job with quality film from the last 16-ish years will still look good today. I know this because I paid quite a bit for a good tint job in 1999 that looked good as of 2014 when the car it was on was totaled. That film never bubbled and never faded, but it did take the installer something like 8 hours to get it in right.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
02/27/2016 at 10:42

Tint is marked in light transmission percentage. 25% is darker (less light transmission) than 35%.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > BadMotorScooter
02/27/2016 at 10:50

I still haven’t tinted my newest cars. There’s a business that does it at a discount for the ST community in my area, but they do mostly 20% and below because the community is mostly a bunch of bros. I want 35% because I’d rather not deal with cops and that is more than dark enough to have the intended cooling effect (legal limit here is 24%). Since I don't live in a place with any kind of inspection or smog check, I could get away with more indefinitely, but I really don't want to.

BadMotorScooter > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
02/27/2016 at 12:06

This is where I am coming from too. I am OK with no tint (or the factory 85% or whatever minimum tint they apply to clear glass). So many car guys I know think that dark tint is absolutely a must, but I’m not so sure. If I do tint, I think 35% is enough.

Chariotoflove > BadMotorScooter
02/27/2016 at 12:42

Yeah, you know though, I had my tint done by the dealer, and it looked good all the way until the car’s death. So, I think it can be done to last if done properly. It's just that so many people don't get it done properly. Maybe they're trying to save a few bucks, but it's a false economy.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > BadMotorScooter
02/27/2016 at 16:32

The only reason I’d even go to 35% is thst many don’t even notice 50%...

Maidee > Echo51
02/27/2016 at 16:43

Well I think one day I might go somewhere else to get the fronts a bit tinted. It's not legal but every other car here has tinted fronts too but the shop I went to won't do it.

Maidee > BadMotorScooter
02/27/2016 at 16:51

Well the car is technically my brothers but I’m “borrowing” it for a few years and he wanted 5%. Well honestly you don’t see much, cars are now just pairs of headlights I can’t really distinguish one from another which is hard to look for cops now. I guess that's what radar dectectors are for.

Nauraushaun > BadMotorScooter
02/29/2016 at 06:01

My experience with aftermarket tint is that they turn to shit in a few years and you have to pay to get them professionally removed, lest they make the car look worse than it did pre-tint.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > BadMotorScooter
02/29/2016 at 11:14

I do 20% tint on the rear windows and leave the driver and passenger windows untouched. I do this on ALL my cars. I can’t stand a car with no tint. It feels like I’m driving in a fish tank. I enjoy the little privacy that the tint gives me.