show me your tints
 

After reading about privacy glass and seeing some tint jobs I've decided to go for it. But in NY there are laws of 70% for the fronts so I'd have to do rears only and my initial thought is that it looks awkward half-done. Show me some of what you guys got whether it's fully or half tinted please and what %. Also, does anyone know what % it comes from factory with? Is it already 70%? People say 35% is a good spot but I don't want to go too dark - keep it a good shade to compliment the white.

see the door tints on this guy: http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/g...Picture516.jpg - is this 35% or is it lighter?

I'm thinking of Suntek Carbon (non-metallic) after getting quoted double the price for Huper Optik... $500-600 for tints is ouch plus it doesn't get terribly hot here like in Arizona.

UPDATE >> had it done a month ago and finally had a chance to snap pics... this is the Suntek Carbon 35 (non-metallic)... perfect darkness with the white imo. Sides and rear done, front windshield not touched as it is highly illegal in NY. Front sides are too but the guy said nobody should bother me about that.

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/9...2412dj2.th.jpg http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/9...2408px0.th.jpg

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/1...2414ck5.th.jpg http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/9759/img2418ry8.th.jpg

The last pic shows from the inside the difference between the tinted side window and the factory front windshield - not much difference from the inside.

those look like 20s. pitch black in the back. I live in NY as well. Actually, you are not allowed to have any tinting on the front if driving into NYC, but it is rarely enforced. the rear privacy I am told is around 50 by the dealer

darn, at first i misread the "n" in tints with "t", i was so excited to get in this thread.

Novax: trust me... you'd rather see my tints.

50% Charcoal tint all around.
It looks way better than no tint at all and definetely helps to block glare and heat.

I got new tints about 7 weeks ago for my E53. I believe the NJ laws are the same as NY, in other words NO tint allowed on the fronts. Nevertheless, I wound up getting 20% for the rears and 35% for the fronts. I love how it looks. It's a very gentle "blending" transition when you look at the front and then the rears. Not the painful-looking contrast of no tint on the front and the dark 20% on the rears. I have not gotten stopped yet, even though I'm driving 80+ miles each day. The only thing that would have looked even better is 20% tints all-around, but then I would just be begging to get stopped. This was a more conservative option. It still looks pretty dark on the fronts, but not so dark that I would get pulled over. I can post some pics later. If you don't mind crossing over to NJ, I can tell you where I had mine done. The guy used 3M tint with a life-time warranty. Top-notch job.

you will have to remove them otherwise you will fail inspection.

do they use a meter on the windows during inspection? Is that one of the to-dos on the list? I really want *something* on the fronts, to block heat for one, and so it's not a clear-to-tint transition. I like the way that 50% looks for the fronts.

rh71: you can always get the inspection done at your BMW service center. I doubt they would fail you for tinted windows especially if they did the job :)

Good point. Well...I'm not due for inspection until May 2010, so I'll just keep on "keeping on" until then. Plus, the fronts totally look like factory glass...let's see what happens.

The 50% will be insufficient to make any difference with heat/sun. Even the 35% is marginal. Keep in mind that however dark these tints may look from outside, they look much clearer from the inside. If I didn't get the 20% in the back, my kid would still be complaining about the sun rays.
Now there's still sun coming through but it's bearable.

I guess that's where Huper Optik shines then? Heat rejection should be great regardless of the % used for that film, correct? I was hoping it was somewhat true with others but I guess not.

I was pulled over in times square not to long ago on my way to the office. As i was turning onto the street where my garage is, there were several cops in the area walking down the middle of the street pulling people over to check their tints with some electronic device. He put the device on my drivers side window and it read 28%. He said i was close enough to the 35% NY legal limit and let me go. My rears are around 20% but they're only concerned with the fronts.

^ interesting, i thought the front sides had to be 70% as well?

http://www.tintdude.com/laws.html

http://nysdmv.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/n...i=&p_topview=1 (DMV site)

Im thinking about getting 20% ceramic all around.

TINT!

here is a pic of my benz with 50% all over...
:D

mine is double 20% and it looks great

3m 35% all around
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...k/DSC00506.jpg
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...k/DSC00493.jpg

Take a look into this link, lots of pics.

Shades of grey in Philly rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thumbs up for ryan

http://shadesofgray1.proboards83.com...play&thread=23

^ thanks for the link - good stuff. I'm leaning 30-35% rears and fronts 50% if they can do it. Windshield I guess I'll have to leave factory...

Windshield tint in NY will definitely land you a hefty fine...Unless you have a NY PBA card, smart decision to leave as-is.

If it would stop raining I would try to get some pics of mine.... We just had them match the factory stuff on the rears, and it came out nearly perfect... I wouldn't mind a tad bit darker, but the GF complains about night time driving...

For those whose state bans tint on the front... I found out something interesting, the last time I went to bring my truck in for an inspection... My front windows are 1 point over our limit here in Louisiana and the first place I brought it to, denied me, and gave me a temp inspection sticker... But the guy that was going to do the inspection hinted me off on a little trick, that I didn't even know existed... But he said to go to my optomistrist(preferably one I know good) and check into getting a specific prescription that bypasses that law. Of course it probably wouldn't solve the problem of getting pulled over in the first place, but will get you out of paying a fine. :dunno:

Oh...the trick to getting an inspection sticker when your front windows are illegally tinted, is to go on a sunny day, and roll down your windows BEFORE you roll up to the station...:banghead: :thumbup:

Wow those don't seem very dark but I guess each state has it's different laws especially up north they don't allow it to be too dark. Here in TX the "law" is 35% on the sides and 20% on the rear from what I remember. I have 35% on my front driver/passenger--matchs well with the climate package. Although here you do see some abusing it and doing limo tint (5%).

hey check this out - tint visualizer:

http://www.visualtinter.com/VT3/A0105TopEdge021308.swf (flash file)

^ updated with pics.

What's the % on the rears with the factory tint with the rear climate package?