lhommec13

I'm planning on getting my windows tinted 35% all around next week. My question to you all is what kind of tint should I go for?

I know there's a bunch of different styles, like smoked, reflective, black, etc. What's the difference between the cheap tints and the expensive ones?

Also, what's the deal with tinting over the dot matrix in the back? Is this something I should watch out for?

Any and all advice will be appreciated. BTW, I have a '99 Firepepper Pearl (red).

Thanks in advance!

this is me

i like my platinum tint alot. Although i should've done 35%.
The dot matrix is something that you need to watch out for. Go to a reputed professional and you wont have a problem. otherwise it will start buble.
good luck!

Darkshear

iTrader: (1)

i got 3% black tint. I dont know the brand but its the 6th car ive had done by the guy and none of the 6 have had problems.

That matrix in the back though is a b!tch.... We never could get it to be perfect, but its so dark with the 3% you barley notice it...

lhommec13

I'm in Mass. and the limit is 35%. Can you even see through 3% tint?? What's the difference between black and smoke tint? I would think they're the same thing.

adam2000TL

I'm no tint guru, but my local tint guy just bought a computer guided tint cutter. Essentially he brings up the year make and model on the computer and it cuts the tint perfectly to match the windows. I think this is awesome

hzm82

damn shear........you got 3%???? how do you drive that thing at night......where did you get the 3% anyways.......none of the people would sell me anything beyond 15%.

ShadyVille

dont get 35% its too light, for me at least, i'd go with 20% and that damn dots on the back be carefull if u tint over it, it will bubble up eventually........btw, while we're on this subject, is there anyway to get rid of little bubbles, although not really noticable they are annoying, any ideas?

TL_99

i have madico onyx 15% back quarter windows, looks sweet from far, but i still think its not dark enough when viewed up close. And I would go smoke tint if i were to do it over again. the shop that did my car tinted over the dot matrix, so far no problem, its been a yr already, but the reception suffered a bit

hzm82

ShadyVille, you can take a razor and pop the bubbles and get the air pocket out.....then press firmly, becareful tho.....I don't take responsiblity for your actions.....if the tint is too old it won't help....35% is too light, I have 28% in front and 15% in back, but i don't have trouble parking in my parking garage at night. each states have tinting laws.....I gotten a ticket in IL because I was visiting some1.......25 dollars down the drain....so I won't recommend going with daker tints,

BlackShadow

I have 20% black tint all around, including the dot matrix. No bubbles so far and it's been over a year already.

ncbuckeye

I have 35%. The only reason I didn't go darker is, THE LAW. I am a rebel,, LOL, but they won't pass inspection, so you can't get your liscense plates or sticker for it. I would go with 20% if you only get a ticket. Had 13% in OHIO. Did get a couple tickets, they were expensive. HZM82, you should have told them to screw off because my understanding is you don't reside there you were only visiting.

lovemyTL

From my experience, 20% (which is what I have all around) is a real b!tch to drive at night with, especially when reversing or taking turns. You get used to it after a while, but it scares you to let someone else drive the car at night who has never driven a car tinted at 20%. However, 35% is too light. You might be able to get away with 28% except I dont know if they'll b!tch at inspection.

paul_huryk

I have 20% smoke tint all around - it is no problem driving at night. I had a reputable shop do the tint (Zippos) and that was in June 2001 - over 20 months ago - no problems.

I think 35% is too light, 20% is probably a better choice (in terms of brightness).

JayDawgs2000TL

In Indiana, the tint law is 35% on front driver and passenger sides and 20% on back sides and back window.. so I got that... I learned a big lesson when I lived in wisconsin where the law used to be 50% all around.... and I used to tint all my windows with 2%.... Cops wrote me up a lot of tickets... lol Expensive habit if you ask me... lol

JPTLS03

In my sig is 50% plain ol tint, don't know the brand but I'm happy with it. It gets darker in the clouldy or rainy weather. Lighter during the day. And at night it looks very dark and hard to make out exactly what or who is inside. But when a cop pulls behind me thier lights shining in the car make it hard to tell its tinted. I've been pulled over a few times for my front plate and twice for speeding with no mention of my tint(knock on wood ).

JPTLS03

Oh by the way, a darker car and/or interior will change the appearence of the tint.

tl-kode16

I have 20% black tints all the way around. They still seem a little too light. You can see through them during the daytime. My opinion is getting 20% on the fronts and 10% on back.

lhommec13

Can I ask how cops are able to tell if it's too dark? Is there a bulletproof method in which they are able to tell that a tint is actually 28%, even if I tell them it's 35%, for example?
In other words, what are my chances!!

Since I live in MA and the car safety inspections are pretty strict, I don't want to take a dumb chance, but I might take a little chance

Darkshear

iTrader: (1)

lol sometimes its tough driving but its worth it!!! and you get used to it...

I got the 3% for a few reasons:

1: I have MADDD social anxiety disorder, i always think people are looking at me on the road. Now they cant

2: I also have a pupil dialation disorder, bright light HURTS... and im in FL, it dont get much brighter....

3: I like my privacy

4: You ever get in your BLACK LEATHER car after its been in the sun for a few hours? O-U-C-H

5: And not to mention, it looks sweet as hell.

lol i got it from a guy ive been using locally... He will do it but he wont give you a reciept... just says "if it bubbles, come back" lol...

My buddie has 1% on his '03 Anthracite TL... now THATS FRICKEN DARK.

SilverUA5

I got a quote at a local detail shop. The guy wants $300 to tint all the windows except the windshield. The said he will put one large piece 5%, no cuts on the rear including the dot martix area, rear windows will be 20% and probably 35% or 50% on the front side windows. The reason why he said he charges a little more than other's is because he will take all the door panels off, take the windows out and tint them. I asked what type of tint he uses, he said something like aluminum or whatever. I didn't go through with it because I'm sort of busy and he said I have to leave the car for at least 5 hours. What do you guys think? Comments?

lhommec13

I'm getting the same done for only $150. I mean he probably won't take the doors off and the windows out, but I'm sure it's a good quality tint job nevertheless.

I think the tint he was talking about is "luminar" or something like that. Even though I don't know what it is, I have heard of it. Anybody know exactly what it is?

And thanks for all the responses so far. Keep 'em coming

hzm82

The cops usually (sometimes) have light meters to measure the amount of light passing thru. If the tint is like 3% and the law is 35% they can just tell. If you have car safety inspections required in your states and it include the tint on windows(some states are strict about this and will use a light meter) and they won't give you a new license plate/regst until its fixed.

Darkshear

iTrader: (1)

I paid $110, only cause ive brough him 6 cars so far... Try to haggle a little... the place i go to is owned by a chineese guy and his wife, so its easy to talk him down since hes the boss....

hzm82

you mean llumar tint? I think its a waste of money for him to take the door panels off and then take the window out. I mean you want some1 to start ripping off your door panels??? I don't....The local dealer I used has a laser cutting machine and cost like 125 to get my windows done with 28% front and 15% rear and was only like 2 hrs or less.

SilverUA5

That's one of the reason why I had second thoughts about it, I mean, the car rattles from time to time already, I was affraid that if the guy starts to take out the door panels and stuff it will make it worst later on. Everything is so freakin' expensive here, maybe I'll drive down to L.A. and have it done since most things are cheaper down there or just get an Inspire rear shade.

ncbuckeye

They don't need to take door panels off. I am speaking from experience, if you have inspections stay within what they say. You could always take of the tint for the 2 front windows, inspect and re-tint. Pain in the butt. Charlotte, NC is a pain in the butt with inspections. They cracked down on the inspection stations. No buddy-buddy passing anymore.

rich9

Hello,
Does anyone with metallic tint affect the radio transmission.

JPTLS03

Are you being serious?

pianoman41

Yes, they use a tint meter that slips over the edge of the window and reads the amount of light that can pass through the tint. Inspection stations in MA also have them and they can fail your car for having below 35% tint. Don't forget, the OEM glass on our Acuras (at least on the '02s and newer) registers at 75% because of the green UV tint already in the glass. A layer of 50% tint gets the actual tint reading down to about 38%. If you put 35% on the car it will read lower than that because of the factory green tint, and is technically illegal. Whether or not you'll get hassled for it is a different story.

Also, don't forget in MA illegal tint is a $250 fine for first offense.

Darkshear

iTrader: (1)

DAMN thats a big fine...

its $40 here, and thats if the cop cares...

hzm82

Wow.....MA laws sucks. I hope they don't pull me over when I'm passing thru MA and fine me $250 like they did in IL but was only 25 bucks (YES I HAD A FLORIDA PLATE!!!!!!!!!)

tl-kode16

Couldn't agree with you more :p

p.s. people look at me when i drive is because i'm probably smoking a bowl.

tints = privacy

paul_huryk

Unless they put their hand out and a gun to my head, they would not get a dime out of me (different story for a moving violation).

rich9

Hello,

Has anyone used formulaone window tint. Do a search from google or other search engines. They are suppose to have lifetime warrantee window tint. I used Llumar before. It is great for the first six years. Then it begins to fade to purple/blue.

Has anyone used the new metallic grades of window tints.
The dyed types are good. If you do not plan on keeping your car for more than five years. What do you think.



The info below is from one of the dealer web sites. For info. only.

Poor radio reception on vehicles equipped with a window antenna (antenna on the window glass) can be caused by a cellular phone antenna near the radio antenna grid lines, damaged antenna grid lines, or even after-market window tinting. Check these items:


Inspect the antenna grid lines. If any are broken, bring your vehicle into Acura of XXX xxxxfor repair. We will need to remove the window tint (if installed), and repair the grid lines. (However, if the line break is longer than one inch, the repair won't be effective.)
If the car has after-market rear window tinting, compare radio reception to a similar vehicle without tint. (Some tints are made with metallic particles in them. This can be a source of poor radio reception.) If the radio in the non-tinted vehicle has better reception, you the customer needs to decide if you want to keep the tint and have less than perfect radio reception, replace the tint with a non-metallic type, or remove the tint entirely.

hzm82

llumar has life time warrenty. been nearly 4 yrs and no bubbles or turning to different color. My friend has a 2000 Civic with window antenna and metallic tint, no reception problem there.

rich9

Thanks.

I still own a 1992 Accord. It started to bubble and fade after six years. The warranty from the shop I bought it from mentioned only a five year warranty.

ncbuckeye

On my old 2003 TLS I had Johnson platnium tint and it looked great on the silver that I had. No reception promblems, just car problems, so they bought it back.

MQMH_03

Hey heres my .02 cents... I just got my tints put in today- 38 % all around. I went to a real professional who does all the cars at my local Acura dealership. I haggled him to $230 for the top of the line optima series- from Formula One tints. It has a lifetime warranty and is a metallic film. THe guy assured me that the metallic particles in the tint won't affect the radio reception. He's done a ton of acura's with the matrix dots too. I have an 03' ABP and it looks sweet. i think that since i have the ebony interior- it looked even darker. I don't intend to get a ticket. legal limit in MN is 50% anyways. My friend has a white legend with 21% dyed film and I can honestyly say my looks much better. Go for the metallic film- it will pay off in the end. I will try to post pics later... cruddy weather right now!

hzm82

metallic films = mirror like right? Check with your local law, some states don't allow that.

MQMH_03

No hzm82- its just a dark film with metallic particles in it= higher quality. It still looks dark though. I heard that the dyed films turn purple after a couple of years! Go with the metallic film! It will be worth the money!