So I've decided to get my car tinted and I'm thinking of going 20% all around but I'm not sure what I should do with the windshield. Should I have a very minimal tint put on it or leave it as it is? And if I should tint it how light/dark looks good but is still practical for driving?

 

First , me and many others will probably recommend 15 all around , as for windshield I'm more of a 50-60% buy but some use 20-30.

 

If you're doing 20% on the sides id stay fairly light on the windshield like 70%. I believe in tinkering the windshield to keep out UV rays, but it is illegal. I did 50% on my windshield and you can tell its tinted, so if you want to be more discreet go 70%.

 

I don't have an answer to your question but I can provide some things to keep in mind...

The darker the sides, the lighter you can go on front..at 20% on the sides, even a very light tint on the front can look extremely dark. I know a guy who has 5% on the back and sides and 50% on the front and it looks completely black when looking at the front windshield.

If you're worried about getting ticketed, your 20% tint will also look much darker than a car with 20% (or more) and no tint on the front. No external light coming in makes a huge difference.

In terms of visibility, you should do the least you can get away with. even in car without the fronts tinted, it can often be hard to see out the side windows at 20% on dark roads (not so much for traffic as the other cars would also have their lights on but for other things such as curbs and other parts of the environment).


A lot might say it only feels hard to see until you get used to it but for me, I've been using 20% tint (sides and back, no front) for many years (15+) and it can still be hard to see out of the left and right windows on dark rds with no other traffic around). My eyesight is pretty sharp if that helps.


If you have a darker interior, all of this applies even more so. (visibility of the driver as well as how dark the actual tint looks).

While it does look good, it's not worth crashing your car over. The back and sides tinted to a comfortable level should be good enough.

some films are darker than others even at the same percentage due to the way they handle light reflection. so...one film at 20% could appear to look much lighter in direct sunlight than another film at 20%. This has nothing to do with film quality but more with technology.



Just for reference, on a cloudy or mildly sunny day, my car looks black black black at 20% (again, no front tint). However, due to the combination of my film type and my white interior, if the sun is directly over my windshield, my windows appear very light (maybe around 50%) due to all of the light reflection (from the white interior and the way the film happens to reflect light)


Anyway, like I said, this may not give you an answer but it may give some insight to help you form an opinion of what is good for you. Just some things to think about.

 

im not telling you to go as dark as me, however i have 2% all around and 70% on the windshield and i love it. the tint is dark, yet the windshield isn't mundane at night. because i have black interior and limo all around, my windshield looks darker with the 70% on it than it would if i had different tint or color interior but i wanted some tint on there without it being blacked out. plus, my sunpass still can be read through my windshield, and didn't want my dad knowing i tinted the windshield (hes a cop, extremely against tinting windshields).

 

Throw up a pic?

 

Your Dad is wise and you should listen to him. He’s probably seen the aftermath of enough tinted windshields to make him wish he dies somewhat before you do, not the other way around.

 

Haters gonna hate?

 

I have 15 on the sides and rear, but I could not imagine having any tint on the windshield. Sometimes its difficult enough to see at night with 15 all around.

 

I love my tint too man, I'm not as dark as you, I'm at 5% all around and 50% on the windshield and the windshield looks really dark, but it's not. I've been pulled over once and it was for the windshield that's not even dark, just appears to be. I have zero visibility issues but I'm you. And have 20/20 vision. I'm sure as I get older my tint will have to get lighter. I'm also in a city where everything is pretty well lit. If I was in the boondocks I may have an issue.

 

Probably!

Is the phrase "Haters gonna hate?" played out yet?

Absolutely.

 

We’ve had this discussion many times before. Sorry, you’re not Superman with x-ray vision so by the laws of biology and physics you cannot see that well at night with 5% all around and 50% on the windshield. You’re kidding yourself with such rationalizations. I only hope you live long enough to get older as you say when you will discard these childish notions of illegal tints having no consequences. For me, I say that I’ve lived to reach my old age never having had such foolish notions.

 

We have Chekov

 

Chekov is right when he says none of us are Superman. Having any tint reduces visibility, that is a fact. Many people get used to tinted windows and feel comfortable enough to feel safe driving with them (myself included), but thats not the same as saying you can see perfectly through a tinted window.
The darker you go, the harder it'll be to see at night. I'm pretty sure any windshield tint in any state is illegal, and I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say its for your own safety. With that being said, many people still tint windshields to reduce glare, UV rays, for looks, etc. the list goes on. Take responsibility for whatever you choose and run with it. Many cars on here have something or another illegal about them but the owner feels that the pros of the modification outweigh the cons.
From personal experience I've had 5% on the side quarter windows, 20% on the rear window, and experimented between 35%, 30%, and 20% on the front windows. I've never tinted the front windshield and probably won't. I feel 20% on the fronts is definitely dark enough to give it that stealth look and no one can really see whats going on even without windshield tint. If you want to cut down on glare, you can always opt for a windshield strip that goes along the top of the windshield. That would help reduce glare but still leave the rest of the windshield 'clear' for safety reasons.

 

with the tint on the windshield, its lighter than most people wil get however it does help keep the car cooler, while it is darker than normal and can't see anything past the steering wheel when looking into the car from the front. i love my set-up (although i would like the windshield darker, i continue to talk myself out of it knowing my dad would flip his $hit if i did

chekov, i always see you responding to people about tint and while i obviously have limo all around i can't help but always agree with what you say to people about it. i've always had limo tint on all of my cars, and because of that, i never let 2 of my roommates drive my cars when it was getting dark becuase the simply couldn't get used to how dark the tint was. while i don't have x-ray vision, i do admit it is difficult at times however i do it due to security concerns (have seen people with their faces on my windows looking in for stuff before when i had a system in my old car), as well as the fact its 1000 degrees here in florida. I am by no means going against what you say about people tinting their cars, i support it. funny thing is as much of a hardass as my dad is with the tint, he has limo on his cop car lol.