For those of you that have had the front two windows tinted, did it match the rest of the tint? I am planning on getting it done this weekend but I am afraid it will not match the factory shade. Sometimes aftermarket tint is either shinier or blacker than factory. Any input?
Matching Factory Tint
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I purposely did not match the factory tint when I had the two front windows tinted. The factory tint is too dark and illegal in my state for the front windows. I had the tint shop tint mine as dark as possible and still be legal. Its not quite as dark, but not bad. My MO is black, so I think the dark vehicle color helps mask the difference in tint between the front and back windows.
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Just be careful also if you like to drive form state to state...
because the rear window's factory tint is illegal for most states that i know...Cops like to stop vehicles and give tickets because of this.
because the rear window's factory tint is illegal for most states that i know...Cops like to stop vehicles and give tickets because of this.
Hey there..... I just had my front windows done, ... told him to match the rear side windows, ... and it's not perfect. I asked him about it and he said that he put on the standard Charcoal, ... but this looks slightly green compared to the rear windows, .. so he's looking for some of the older "smoke" film to put on. Anyway, have the guy "test" a piece first, ... might save you some aggravation.
Allen
Allen
Hey thanks for the response guys. I just traded in an '03 Altima on my Murano. It had double 5% tint all the way around so I have become pretty familiar with more than one police officer. lol. I finally had to peel the front side windows because I could not afford the tickets anymore. In Texas matching the back windows is ok, but that is as dark as I am going to go for now. My Murano is black also so maybe it will help with the masking.
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7,136 Posts
When I lived in Texas, I put on all around tint on my old car and went with the maximum legal tint in the front which I believe was 20%. After I moved to California, I drove that same car for 6 years and never got stopped! It is however illegal to have front window tints here so I thought that 20% tint would have looked too dark on my black Murano and perhaps too eye catching so I used 50% which is very light. It looks ok from outside but when I look out from inside, I think I can see a sort of greenish color. Once the tints get scrached up enough, I will replace them with 35%.
Tint
I got mine tinted with the good quality %20 tint(not sure about the name).
Looks great, just as i wanted it to. Matches factory tint perfectly if you look from outside and has very little difference from inside.
All i can say is that i love it :2:
P.S. About legal tint limits, it's impossible to have a nice looking car and stay with the legal limits. About getting tickets for it, i had tint on my cars for about 8 years now and only got a ticket once and it was on the chekpoint(No biggy, pay $55 and go, no points
)
I got mine tinted with the good quality %20 tint(not sure about the name).
Looks great, just as i wanted it to. Matches factory tint perfectly if you look from outside and has very little difference from inside.
All i can say is that i love it :2:
P.S. About legal tint limits, it's impossible to have a nice looking car and stay with the legal limits. About getting tickets for it, i had tint on my cars for about 8 years now and only got a ticket once and it was on the chekpoint(No biggy, pay $55 and go, no points
)$55!?!?!?! That's it? I got two tickets in the same week for the tint on my altima about 3 months ago. The first ticket was around $150-$160. The second ticket was $360!!! The second cop sat on my route to work everyday and said he would write me a ticket everyday until I peeled the tint. I have moved to a new apartment now so I do not see him anymore. If I only had to pay $55 a pop I would keep it for sure.
About the $55 ticket
I live in NYC...
NY State law says that it's a $55 ticket for EACH window that is illegaly tinted. At the same time tint is legal for ALL rear side windows, but not the front side and a windshield.
So all i can get is 2 tickets $55 each.
Last time it happened i was "assigned" a young chick (just out of academy) cop to write me a ticked on the checkpoint and she only gave me one ticket with the word "Front window tint" on it(She simply didn't know that she had to give 2 tickets or was too lasy to write 2)
:2:
I live in NYC...
NY State law says that it's a $55 ticket for EACH window that is illegaly tinted. At the same time tint is legal for ALL rear side windows, but not the front side and a windshield.
So all i can get is 2 tickets $55 each.
Last time it happened i was "assigned" a young chick (just out of academy) cop to write me a ticked on the checkpoint and she only gave me one ticket with the word "Front window tint" on it(She simply didn't know that she had to give 2 tickets or was too lasy to write 2)
:2:
DAYUM!! One ticket per window! That sucks. Here they just write it for illegal tint period. The eyebrow on the windshield stayed about 6 inches past the legal point the whole time I had the car because I can't cut straight enough to mess with it. In NYC can you have tint at all on the front?
DAYUM!! One ticket per window! That sucks. Here they just write it for illegal tint period. The eyebrow on the windshield stayed about 6 inches past the legal point the whole time I had the car because I can't cut straight enough to mess with it. In NYC can you have tint at all on the front?
not sure why that last post showed up twice. anywho, here the legal limit is either 20% or 35%for the front, it is hard to keep up. the back windows can be as dark as you want. i know a few people that have their windshields tinted but that is asking for trouble if you ask me. it looks great though.
If you go dark on the sides and light (30%-50%) on the front it still looks dark from outside the car, but is relatively easy to see through at night. I would not recommend it to those who do not see well at night to begin with though. It is more for blocking peoples view while going down the road and for a cleaner look than anything else. Notice how in alot of print ads for cars the vehicle has all of the windows blacked out?
:banghead: Ironic that this post came up. I was thinking about posting because of my frustation for what I see as a silly law, especially after getting ticketed. I have gone about 1 1/2 years with 35% tint. You can see it is different compared to factory, which is the look i was going for because you can still see inside during they day, but obviously darker at night. Here is the link on the laws for each state.
http://www.iwfa.com/iwfa/Law_Chart/State Law Chart.htm
What make things even more difficult is the interpretation of the law (at least for me) Here is what CHP says about the law.
Can I put after-market tinting on the windows of my vehicle?
The main requirements for legal window tinting in California are:
The windshield and front driver's side and passenger's side windows cannot receive any aftermarket tinting.
If the rear window of a vehicle is tinted, the vehicle must have outside rearview mirrors on both sides.
The law prohibits any person from driving any motor vehicle with any object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied upon the windshield or side or rear windows, with certain limited exceptions.
However, legislation signed into law effective January 1, 1999, exempts from the above prohibition specified clear, colorless, and transparent material that is installed, affixed, or applied to the front driver and passenger side windows for the specific purpose of reducing ultraviolet rays. If, as, or when this material becomes torn, bubbled or otherwise worn, it must be removed or replaced.
But this exerpt from Motor Vehicle code says this.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), clear, colorless, and transparent material may be installed, affixed, or applied to the front side windows, located to the immediate left and right of the front seat if the following conditions are met:
(1) The material has a minimum visible light transmittance of 88 percent.
(2) The window glazing with the material applied meets all requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 205 (49 C.F.R. 571.205), including the specified minimum light transmittance of 70 percent and the abrasion resistance of AS-14 glazing, as specified in that federal standard.
(3) The material is designed and manufactured to enhance the ability of the existing window glass to block the sun's harmful ultraviolet A rays.
(4) The driver has in his or her possession, or within the vehicle, a certificate signed by the installing company certifying that the windows with the material installed meet the requirements of this subdivision and identifies the installing company and the material's manufacturer by full name and street address, or, if the material was installed by the vehicle owner, a certificate signed by the material's manufacturer certifying that the windows with the material installed according to manufacturer's instructions meets the requirements of this subdivision and identifies the material's manufacturer by full name and street address.
(5) If the material described in this subdivision tears or bubbles, or is otherwise worn to prohibit clear vision, it shall be removed or replaced.
:soapbox:
So does this mean if I have Tint film that meets the Federal standards it is legal? If so how come police are under the impression it is just plan NO! Does this also mean that if you install side windows that are pre-tinted according to Federal Standards that it is legal? If your lucky your state isn't as complicated...or country for that matter. I figured at one time this law was created to help police officers deal with criminals who are armed behind these tinted windows, but now that I look at the law it just seems like they want to regulate our life. If we can see out, and you can see in with a Bright light shined inside why can't it be legal? If this is needed to protect police couldnt this apply to other things? Like houses? (Blinds must stay open just incase you are armed so the police can see you??) If it is for our safety then so many other things like wearing shades, place aftermarket shades on the windows, or even removable film, cellular phones should all be regulated too. :3:
This is just how I feel
http://www.iwfa.com/iwfa/Law_Chart/State Law Chart.htm
What make things even more difficult is the interpretation of the law (at least for me) Here is what CHP says about the law.
Can I put after-market tinting on the windows of my vehicle?
The main requirements for legal window tinting in California are:
The windshield and front driver's side and passenger's side windows cannot receive any aftermarket tinting.
If the rear window of a vehicle is tinted, the vehicle must have outside rearview mirrors on both sides.
The law prohibits any person from driving any motor vehicle with any object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied upon the windshield or side or rear windows, with certain limited exceptions.
However, legislation signed into law effective January 1, 1999, exempts from the above prohibition specified clear, colorless, and transparent material that is installed, affixed, or applied to the front driver and passenger side windows for the specific purpose of reducing ultraviolet rays. If, as, or when this material becomes torn, bubbled or otherwise worn, it must be removed or replaced.
But this exerpt from Motor Vehicle code says this.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), clear, colorless, and transparent material may be installed, affixed, or applied to the front side windows, located to the immediate left and right of the front seat if the following conditions are met:
(1) The material has a minimum visible light transmittance of 88 percent.
(2) The window glazing with the material applied meets all requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 205 (49 C.F.R. 571.205), including the specified minimum light transmittance of 70 percent and the abrasion resistance of AS-14 glazing, as specified in that federal standard.
(3) The material is designed and manufactured to enhance the ability of the existing window glass to block the sun's harmful ultraviolet A rays.
(4) The driver has in his or her possession, or within the vehicle, a certificate signed by the installing company certifying that the windows with the material installed meet the requirements of this subdivision and identifies the installing company and the material's manufacturer by full name and street address, or, if the material was installed by the vehicle owner, a certificate signed by the material's manufacturer certifying that the windows with the material installed according to manufacturer's instructions meets the requirements of this subdivision and identifies the material's manufacturer by full name and street address.
(5) If the material described in this subdivision tears or bubbles, or is otherwise worn to prohibit clear vision, it shall be removed or replaced.
:soapbox:
So does this mean if I have Tint film that meets the Federal standards it is legal? If so how come police are under the impression it is just plan NO! Does this also mean that if you install side windows that are pre-tinted according to Federal Standards that it is legal? If your lucky your state isn't as complicated...or country for that matter. I figured at one time this law was created to help police officers deal with criminals who are armed behind these tinted windows, but now that I look at the law it just seems like they want to regulate our life. If we can see out, and you can see in with a Bright light shined inside why can't it be legal? If this is needed to protect police couldnt this apply to other things? Like houses? (Blinds must stay open just incase you are armed so the police can see you??) If it is for our safety then so many other things like wearing shades, place aftermarket shades on the windows, or even removable film, cellular phones should all be regulated too. :3:
This is just how I feel
Steven as you know I am thinking about tinting mine but I keep going back and forth as to do it or not. I just dont want to get pulled over and hasseled, I already dont have front license plate on which is illegal here in Ca. So how much was the ticket?
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