What Tint Level to Get

[rayarnold]

I want to get my copper red mica mz3 tinted, but I'm not sure what level to get. I definitely want 35% or higher, so that the car is legal in MD though. Also, I want something that would not be too bad for night driving. Does anyone else have their car tinted between 35% and 50% and would be willing to post some pics for me to take a look at?

[sl0wthe0ry]

if you search this forums you'll see a few threads based on this subject.

[Wagonbacker9]

i've got 20% in mine, bought it that way. I thought it was gonna be bad for night driving, but its fine. just make sure you've got good back-up lights and you've got nothing to worry about.

[rayarnold]

Yeah, I saw a lot of discussion, but not so many pics. I wanted to get an idea how the different tint levels actually look.

[kickniteasy]

it's hard to capture as a lot of how it "looks" depends on the lighting/angle in the picture. I'd go 35%....dark enough to make a difference in look/inside temp as well as not hindering night driving.

[mordant80]

I've got 22.5% or something silly like that on mine. (It's what the shop I went to had) But honestly I'm surprised how much it didn't affect night time sight on my MS3. 35% is the legal limit here in WV but it just wasn't dark enough for me. Considereing I'm in WV, it's not hard to pass inspection with the darker tint. In your case I'd go 35% to stay legal. I really don't see 35% causing any problems at night.

[sl0wthe0ry]

i've got 5% all around except for the front windshield. it's affects my night driving pretty badly. even through that i still love it. i've seen 25-35% on alot of cars and they make a pretty big difference appearance wise to any car. beauty is pain in my case.

[rayarnold]

Considereing I'm in WV...

Whereabouts in WV? I'm in Morgantown myself.

[mordant80]

Whereabouts in WV? I'm in Morgantown myself.

That's pretty cool. I'm in the Charleston area. You should come play at the autocross at Riverside high school in Belle sometime.

[wolverine_man]

I got 35 front and 15 rear. I honestly wish I would have gotten 15 all around. I will probably replace the front with 15 in a year or so.

[utopia]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/groovieghoul/mazda/DSC00043.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/groovieghoul/mazda/DSC00115.jpg

just to show how hard it is to see in. no tint at all on front. and i was under a giant parking light.

15% all the way around besides windshield.

[justanothermp5]

any problems with inspection or cops? im getting mine done on the 19th
$169 bucks, is this a good deal? my brother got it done at the same place and they do a good job, no gap in the tint when u roll the window down or anything
they even got the rear window with those heater/defrost strips on it, no gaps

im getting 20% sorta inbetween 15 and 35(legal)

[wolverine_man]

Very nice. I have no issues whatsoever seeing out the back of mine with 15. I was worried about that but took the gamble.

[utopia]

if you get pulled over for speeding or reckless driving etc, expect a tinting violation ticket as well (if they have the tint checker, that is). but as far as cops pulling for just tint, hasn't happened. for my inspection i have to leave an extra $40 on the dash to get passed but it's well worth it. $169 is good, I got mine done for $200.

[jw1re]

i say 20% is good. That's what im going with.. I'm getting the car tomorrow.

I have 20% on my 03 mustang gt, and love it... not too dark, not too light.

[rayarnold]

I ended up getting the legal limit in MD, 35%. It looks nice enough, and I think its still light enough it should be fine at night. The installer had a display of tint levels, and I was amazed at PA's limit, 70%. I wouldn't even bother to get a car tinted that level! It didn't look like there was anything on the windows.

[TheDarkness]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/groovieghoul/mazda/DSC00043.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/groovieghoul/mazda/DSC00115.jpg

just to show how hard it is to see in. no tint at all on front. and i was under a giant parking light.

15% all the way around besides windshield.

With the rims and the reflection of the white line along the bottom, the first shot almost has a Mustang GT appearance to it.(freak)

[Kitrik]

I got 50% on my fronts and 35% on the rear. MN legal limit is 50% for sedans all the way around, but "wagons" fall into the same category as Trucks / Vans / SUVs so the rear can go as dark as you want. The hatch is technically a sedan still but most cops I think consider it a wagon still. It's in the same category as the Vibe, Matrix, Versa, Fit, etc. and I see plenty of those cars with darker tints in the rear, so I'm risking the technicality of the law... I'll post pics later today - going to wash her first...

50% isn't that dark, but it's enough to make it worth doing IMO. I had Formula One Pinnacle (ceramic tint - doesn't interfere with GPS / AM / FM) put on for $329. It was a bit more expensive than other places, but the warranty, reputation / longetivity of the tinter, and the highest-quality-tint you can get justified the cost in my mind. The Mazda dealership wanted $500 to tint the car, though they just outsourced it to another place. The markup for going through them was at *least* $200. I said no thanks.

If you're curious what brand of tint to get - stay away from 3M. Solar Guard is the best you can get if you can't get the Formula One line. Formula One limits the number of installers in each state and they have to get certified and jump through a lot of hoops to be able to install the product. This is why you probably won't hear many tint shops talk about it nor even be able to compare it to the "best" Solar Guard tint. Find the installer nearest you that does install the Formula One and go check them out.

[Kuro3]

I got 25% on my rear windshield and rear side windows here in NJ, and I thought it was going to be dark at first, but turns out, I can still see super well at night and I prolly would have gone 15% or so if I had to do it again

[Kitrik]

Some pics... the sunlight reflection definitely makes it difficult to see the tint very well... but you get the idea.

[gazix]

These are 50% and 35% tint samples.

Here are the pics (from crap cell phone). C = Charcoal (Lumix) vs Smoke (Solargard). Thought the brown chair in the background might be helpful :)


Going to tape them onto my windows some time in the next few days. If anyone wants me to post the pics, just let me know.

Still not sure if I want to get it done or not. Guess I'll see what the samples look like on my car. I did see my colour/model of car at 20% all around, and damn does that look good. Although really don't want to take the chance of tickets and not being able to see properly at night :)

[Raychel611]

I got mine done the 2nd day i owned the car, and i love it! will never not have tint. I'm in michigan and havn't had any issues with it, maybe it helps that i'm in the law enforcement field!

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d48/Raychel611/DSC02892.jpg

[brian2029]

i have a hatchback and i put 5% all the way around
;)

[ehidle]

I ended up getting the legal limit in MD, 35%. It looks nice enough, and I think its still light enough it should be fine at night. The installer had a display of tint levels, and I was amazed at PA's limit, 70%. I wouldn't even bother to get a car tinted that level! It didn't look like there was anything on the windows.

PA doesn't have a 70% limit, or any other limit for that matter. The Law is that a person has to be able to see inside the vehicle through the windshield, side wing, or side windows. The 70% thing comes from various safety bulletins published by the Police, which are not Laws.

http://www.berksweb.com/users/dmv/tint/

[ehidle]

I got mine done the 2nd day i owned the car, and i love it! will never not have tint. I'm in michigan and havn't had any issues with it, maybe it helps that i'm in the law enforcement field!


Does being in law enforcement somehow make the law not apply to you? Just curious...

[Akaveli]

I have 30% all around but since my interior is black it makes the the tint look darker. This is the closest pic I could find which shows my windows.

http://www.msprotege.com/members/Akaveli/IMG_1313.jpg

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn129/akaveli2g/100_0653.jpg

[racerboy777]

I got 5% here in FL, i drive around cops all day, in your states if they pull you over for that, then they are BORED!

Heres a pic i took today

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm9/racerboy777/06%20Mazda%203i/Photo0141.jpg

[xpretttyinpiink]

i live in MA and i have 17% on mine. the only downfall is backing up at night... I have to roll down both my windows to back up at night to see my mirrors. it looks sick and if you know someone who does inspection stickers, theyll prob over look it =]