I have a Black Coupe and my wife scheduled a window tint for tomorrow as s Christmas present.

Any suggestions on tint % ?

I want to go dark but I don't want to obstruct vision driving at night.

Same all around? Darker in the back and sides? Has anyone done the dark stripe at the top of the front window? ….

Thanks guys!!!

 

check your local laws. Around here the legal limit is 32%. You can go lower if you have a medical condition and a drs. note but you will be harrassed by cops. I had the strip on the front windshield but it looked horribly out of place so I took it off.

 

Here's a black coupe with 33% sides and rear, no tint @ top of windscreen. I must admit the visibility is reduced at night by quiet a bit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQWlQ..._order&list=UL

 

i have limo tint on the quarter windows an rear window an 28% on the doors an strip on the windshield
a plus with the limo tint you cant see anything in the the rear

 

In Maryland the limit for cars is 35%. I plan to do 35 for the driver/passenger doors, 5 on the small windows, and 35 for the rear. I figure the police won't harass me about 5 percent on the small windows when I don't have back seats to "hide" anything.

 

i would go 5% on the rear window also

 

I have limo tint on the hatch window and the side quarter windows/
Medium on my doors

Love it and it provides privacy and security.
No real issues seeing at night either.

 

I have 35% on sides and rear windows.... I can go 15% on the rear but I was worried about night visability when backing up.... 35% works good for me and looks good..

 

[FONT='Tahoma','sans-serif']Anyone Tint the front windshield?
[/FONT]

 

17% high performance metallic (no fading, ever) film all around...

 

John, do you take that ugly thing out in public??? (j/k)

It looks almost as good as the Aero.....

 

Be aware that metallic window tints will hamper the functionality of most all radar detectors ( low-functioning remote style and those that only look forward being exceptions)

Windshields, Testing for Radar Detector Range


Chris

 

Yup....

 

I did two XF coupes and a pair of Audis with 35% side (so I can still see at night) and 15% on the rear window to subdue the SUV headlights and provide more privacy for the trunk area. Looks great.

 

7 cars with metallic tint (worked in a tint shop earlier in life) and never had a problem, nor any customers reporting problems with radar detector range or usefulness...

"SOME STICK-ON WINDOW TINT FILMS ARE "TERRIBLE" TOO. Some tint films also have metallized layers. We've tested samples from Wal-Mart (Axius brand) and AutoZone (Gila brand)."

We used only ultra preium films like madico, llmuar, solar guard, etc. and what is being discussed here is cheap walmart type film, a big difference IMO.

I drive my XF daily and the radar detector has saved me many times, and from considerable distances. I am ticket free in this car, daily driven - I think that speaks volumes.

And I plan to have my car for many, many years and do not want purple film in a decade...

 

being neither a "7-time end user" nor a former tint installer, I may be less qualified to offer conjecture or anecdotal evidence ... so I wont

I do feel qualified to say that I think your car looks awesome (really, very nice!).

I generally hesitate to speak in ABSOLUTES like ... never, always or ... WILL (as opposed to may). When I said, " ... will hamper the functionality ... " , I felt that to be true. However, after further reflection, it occurs to me that if the end user is unaware of a decrease in functionality - then is it truly hampered?


You seem like a good guy with lots of useful things to contribute, so I hesitate to split hairs here. If you have used radar detectors that rely on a rear-facing receiver (a Valentine One, for example) and have not witnessed any decrease in reporting accuracy, then that is very good news.

It was not my intention to dissuade anyone from tinting their windows. I thought the link (to Valentine's comments) had its place in this thread - so I added it (Given the steep angle of the rear glass, it occurred to me that this could be an issue).

It is my belief that a top quality radar detector and some other "speed monitoring counter-measures" are the least expensive pieces of speed equipment (in terms of cost to benefit ratio) that you can add to your car. I have gone to great lengths in my own vehicles to insure that my "counter-measure" equipment (be it passive or active) is used to its full capability - so I would probably not use any metallic tint .... but that is just me .

Like I said, your car looks really good and I am glad that you are not getting tickets

Chris

 

Thank you for the kind words, Chris. After reading many of your posts, it appears you possess an infinite amount more knowledge than I, and I think the link you added definitely has a place here, especially from a company as reputable as V1

Do some films interfere with the radar, I am sure they do, just as some intakes hamper performance (HAI anyone?) but we used to tint a lot of cars for people just like us - true car enthusiasts and racers. These are the guys who had the V1 and Bell radar detectors in ultra hot exotics, and never feared tickets. I have a strong feeling if our film would have rendered their expensive, but ticketless toys nearly useless, we would have heard about it.

An interesting article and even more of an incentive for people to use quality film from reputable manufacturers.

Motor on, my friend.