Anyone currently have their front windshield tinted? If so, what %?

 

May I remind you that you're driving a Mercedes and not some rice racer. So keep it clean.

 

I have 20%to tint on my front windshield. I use radar and cameras to navigate.

 

I've only had one car with front window - a BMW X3. It was silver with a gray interior and the tint really set it off. I was not happy with the factory tint on the rear windows, so when I took it to my trusted tint shop, they recommended a very dark tint on the rears, then a "nearly legal" tint on the front sides and front windshield. It really did not look "ricey" at all. In fact, I was pulled over several times for various alleged traffic infractions and was never cited for tint. With the darker back tint, the front windows just looked "normal" I never had problems seeing, either. It was just dark enough to be tinted and it really helped keep the car cool.

I have considered tinting the CLK, but I just haven't gotten around to it. Also, the 17-year-old has asked to have her C-Class tinted, and of course I gave her the excuse that it's not legal and she'll be more likely to get pulled over, so I guess I should set a good example.

Oh, and if you are going to have this done, use a reputable shop! The best shops actually remove the side glass to tint it. Some will just remove the door panels to get a good edge-to-edge tine, but the cheap guys just "tuck" the tint behind the seals and hope for the best. And MBZ's inner windows felt is bad about scratching tint, so you might want to look into replacing it with a more tint-friendly material. Expect to pay well north of $600 for a good tint job.

 

I wasn't going to go dark at all. Mainly just wanted to reduce glare and keep the car cool. People say 50% would give it a slight tint and visibility would not be hindered, but I wouldn't mind going up to 70%. Just wanted people's experiences who've done this already.

 

I do a lot of night driving and i wear glasses so visibility is an important factor therefor i would recommend 50% for the windshield, the rest go as dark as possible.

 

in NY anything except a tint bar is illegal. I wanted to get it done but I already have enough tickets for the 30's i have on the front and 20's in the rear, so i gave up on tinting my windshield.

 

Thanks for the input

 

Put as much distance between yourself and these 'people' as quickly as possible... 50% tint cuts out 50% of the light, far from a 'slight tint'. I have 25% on my CLK and 40% on my C class, I can even imagine driving around with that on the front windshield!

What a lot of people do here is put a UV protectant film on the front windshield to cut down glare, reduce heat and protect the dash, it has a 5% tint value to it and it surprisingly makes a huge difference.

 

I have 20% all around and 20% on the whole windshield. It really completes the car. Every commercial you see for cars, the front windshield is tinted, it just looks better. It is my favorite tint on my car by far! I would highly recommend it.

 

Another pic of my E500's windshield tint.. this was before I put my wheels on and blacked out my grille. The pic was taken on my phone so its kinda crapy but u can see what it would look like..

 

Looks nice, but isn't it hard to see at night?

 

Not out the front. The rear window is the hardest to see out of at night. Reversing at night takes talent and a lot of 7 point turns lol. The windshield tint doesnt really have any visibility issues... except looking in!

 

id go for 70 or higher. just a slight tint. but the UV tint that kev was talking about seems interesting to look into

 

Has that V1 helped you from getting any tickets? How is it on Highway 17?

 

I live in Washington and they are really strict about window tinting. I have had my car since 2007 and have never been pulled over due to illegal tints. The law in Washington is 35% max on the two front windows and no tint on the windshield except for a 5% bar at the top. during the day my windshield at a glance looks like you are looking at it from an awkward angle, and reflects some of the sky. If you look at some of the pictures in my Profile Garage, you can see a lot of pictures with the sky reflecting on the windshield. It is not something that is really that noticeable to people. When I have been pulled over for speeding nobody has noticed the windshield. Only one time a cop actually questioned my 5% tint on my side windows, and that was in Idaho (no tint ticket). Id say if you have a black or dark colored car get 20-35% windshield tints, if you have a lighter paint color, go with a 50%. It also depends on the angle of your windshield. Window tint is a lot about angles, if your windshield is really sloped even a light 70% tint will look dark. if it is tall like an SUV windshield, you would need a darker tint.

 

i believe the v1 has saved me like 6 times total. its def paid itself off. 3 of those 6 times were on 17. 2 at night and 1 in the day time. felt bad for the car thats zoomed passed me when i decided to slow down tho.

knock on wood bro lol

but in cali, i believe the law is 70% law on the front windows. i have 35 and never gotten pulled over for it. my buddy with 20s have gotten pulled over tho. and my other friend that did 50 on the front windshield got pulled over but only for the front windows and not the windshield LOL

i think its all about luck and how much of a dick the officer wants to be.

 

Ya I would agree w the dick cop thing. Honestly i think cops just dont like to mess around with nice cars. A few of my friends who have dark tints on their rice rockets get pulled over all the time for it. I actually lived in the SF bay for the past 4 years for college. Thats where my car has been driven 80% of the time I have had it. No issues for me with CHP or anyone else because of tints. I do have a washington drivers license tho.. I dont think cops can give window tint tickets for out of state cars. Again tho, its all about what color your car is. The darker, the more tint you can push without standing out. My car flys under the radiar for the most part cuz of all the black. What car do you have?

 

silver CLK320.

i would agree they pay more attention to rice rockets. but that comes with other things too. rice rockets tend to have more of the illegal mods. no cats, jdm engines non bar'd, 8000k lights, etc.

our cars fly under the radar because most people think things come stock ie larger engine, tuned exhaust note, xenon lighting

of the times ive been pulled over, i have never gotten dinged for tints...but im sure my 8000k lights with 3000k fogs attract more unwanted attention from them now vs when the car was stock.

i feel like the nicer your car is + when you drive (i dont want to say reckless) ...i guess "spirited" driving cops will def more than likely pull you over. and i think the variable is how you drive.

mods+spirited unfortunately dont go together.

bottom line, if you mod your car, just not to push it.....all the time LOL

sorry im rambling. 4am in the morning insomnia

 

I feel you on the insomnia lol. Adderall is one hell of a drug. I got 6,000k bulbs for my e500. you should check out the pics in my garage, the color is noticeably blue but not purple. Also if u got time check this website out for me and let me know what you think. Its www.wheels-power.com and they are selling new Asanti wheels for like $900 for a set.. I really hope its legit, but im suspicious. Their price for a whole set of 20s is the price for 1 wheel at a local shop. Any thoughts?

 

Here in Alabama, we are allowed a "generous" 32% tint (actually, it must be greater than 32%) on all car windows. The front windshield may only have the top six inches tinted , but it can be as dark as you like as long as it is non-reflective. A lot of shops around here use 30% tint which is "nearly legal". It generally will fade slightly over time, plus there are variances in the factory tints in the glass itself, so it may actually be legal when measured.

I drove my BMW with 30% on the fronts and windshield and 70% on the back and rear glass and was never bothered. Oddly enough, the day I was getting mine done, this kid in a Nissan 350Z came in and the same guy that sold me on my tint was totally discouraging the kid from getting anything beyond legal. When the kid left, I asked about it and he told me that cops won't bother old guys driving BMW SUV's but they are all over kids driving sports cars.

He was right. The first week I had my CLK550, I was pulled over twice. Once, driving not quite 40 in the flow of rush hour traffic on a 50mph highway and I was pulled over. I think the cop saw me from the back and assumed I was a kid (I am lucky to still have all my hair and without much noticeable gray, even at 50). He claimed he paced me at 60mph, but said he'd let me go with a verbal warning (I think he realized I wasn't some punk kid). Later, I was pulled over for "improper lane usage". I'm not sure how that was, since I was going straight in the center lane of a 55mph three-lane highway at about 20mph in rush-hour traffic.

Sometimes I think these guys just want to see who's driving the car. But for this reason, I have not bothered to tint my windows on the CLK. I'm not going to be happy with 32% and I'd also want the windshield tinted. Being a cop magnet, I just don't feel like dealing with it.

 

My car is also black, but my tints are just 30% ceramic all around. Seems like what you're saying is true. I rolled by a sheriff recently with no front plate/windows up he didn't seem to care. I was thinking about going darker, but didn't want to deal with the dick cop situation.

 

I have a light tint on my windshield. Uv protection and it is tougher for police to determine if the side windows are tinted because there is not the abrupt change in color between windows. In 4 years I have never been pulled over for tint on this car.