To tint or not to tint?

I've just ordered a 2011 Legacy in Graphite Gray Metallic. (Please don't rant about the new styling, this will be my third Subie and I'm ok with it). It comes with a black interior, and I live in the hot south right now, so I'm toying with tinting the back side and rear windows. OTOH, I'll be changing jobs in a couple of years and have no idea where I will wind up. PA, NY, RI, and WA have 70% tint limits. 70% almost seems not worth the money, and I have heard that even driving through said states with more tint than their legal limits can result in a significant fine.

 

Does anyone have experience with a 70% tint? Does it do anything in terms of sun/heat protection?

 

Does anyone have 50% tint in those states and if so, have you had any trouble because of it? Has anyone with 50% tint driven through those states and been fined?

 

Are there any officers here who can confirm/deny whether they would ticket an out of state car for excess tinting?

 

On a semi-related note: Does anyone have a favorite brand of heatshield?

If you have not previously tinted and driven in the summer I feel sorry for you. The sun/heat protection makes me not give a crap about a fix-it ticket. (Besides, in cali, we can tint our rear and rear passenger windows limo black and its is fine)

I was in RI this past weekend and drove past several cops with 35% tint all around. They didn't look twice at me. Also, VT allows tint on the rears but not the fronts, though I have only heard of them enforcing that on VT residents.

 

70% is a waste of money and 50% isn't much better. Lots of cars have very dark "privacy glass" on the rear window and rear seat windows. IIRC, the Subaru privacy glass is 22%. The glass that the cops will notice is the front windows. If I'm worried about getting noticed, I open the sunroof - the extra interior light makes the tint look practically stock.

 

I think I used SunGard tint, but my memory stinks and I don't have my invoices at work to check.

You also have to remember that tint laws can be viewed very subjectively by the 5-0. I've known a few people with some dark tinted windows. One drove a mint 84 Subaru GL wagon () and he was never hassled once. Another guy had a riced out Accord and the law gave him grief numerous times. Look like a dildo going down the road? You can be sure your chances got better of getting hassled. Drive normally and use your lights, obey signals, observe posted speeds and they probably won't give much of a damn.

 

Edit: I live in SE PA and cops can and have hassled people before here. Does that mean I don't want to? Nope. Drive and act like an intelligent adult and they won't care in some circumstances.

I live on Long Island I've had 20% tints on all windows on my 09 legacy for the last year. Have driven past many cops during the day as well as at night and have yet to get a ticket for the tints (knocks on wood). I have been pulled over once for rolling a stop sign earlier this month with all windows up and the officer did not say anythign tome about my windows.

 

My previous car was a 99 Jeep Cherokee and i had 15% on the front windows and limos on the back for 5 years and not once did i get a tint ticket in that car for window tints. I had gotten pulled over twice for speeding and again the cop said nothing about the tints.

 

The one time i was pulled over in my parents 03 Honda CRV with only rear windows stock tinted the cop said they were too dark but did not give me a ticket for them.

 

So to sum it up its all how the cop feels at the time.

Get lighter tint (35% or greater) for the front than the rear if you're worried. Personally, I like either 35/20, or maybe 50/35. 35/20 is good for everyday use, but can be a little dark for backing up at night.

 

Any tint is a dramatic improvement over no tint, in terms of protection.

In terms of protecting your cars interior, all tint regardless of percentage will offer similar protection. Any decent quality tint will include UV blocking agents, and UV rays are what do the most damage. I found a study that looked at a stock Volvo S60. UV transmission was 80% with the stock window. UV blocking film (un-tinted) reduced that to 0.4%.

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/112583251/articletext?DOI=10.1002%2Flsm.20329

Thanks for the input, all!

 

Someone had mentioned to me that Subaru puts 100% UV block on/in all windows. I can find nothing on the Subaru site to verify this. Has anyone else heard anything about this?

Not a leggy but,

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3182/2625783216_4c88d4fb11_z.jpg

 

In OH, the front side windows are limited to 50%, but everything behidn the driver is unregulated as long as you have two outside mirrors. This is 50% on the front sides and 35% on the rear sides and rear window. It looks darker in person as well. I can feel a noticeable difference in heat from this car to my leggy which I haven't been able to get in and tinted yet.

 

Just spend the little extra cash and get good tint, not dyed film. The dyed film type will turn purple or blue over time. Get the good metal based tint. It's crystal clear, perfectly grey, and makes cool color effects on other car's windshields if you wear polarized sunglasses.

I found from a purely aesthetic standpoint, that my QSM 08 didn't really need tints to look good, window wise. the dark interior made the car's windows already look tinted.

 

Never had a problem with heat either. Between the moonroof and the dual zone A/C... I'm not sure why anyone would have any problem, unless they are pasty white and can't handle sun at all. But even then, UV light doesn't pass through glass, IIRC.

While owning a Graphite Gray Metallic myself with black interior, the 35% tint looks great. the black interior makes the tint look darker.

I was in RI this past weekend and drove past several cops with 35% tint all around. They didn't look twice at me. Also, VT allows tint on the rears but not the fronts, though I have only heard of them enforcing that on VT residents.

 

 

That's because they cant enforce it on anything but a locally registered vehicle. ditto for front plates, registration tags, fog lights and other specific state laws.

 

Oh and for OP: get the tint, you won't regret it... the only reason NOT to get it would be if you intend to race the car (a lot) and even then it's not a big no-no.

Agree go with tint even if its light say 30%.

 

I have 30% all around my car and been pulled over a few times and followed by cops and never had anything said about my tint. This in PA by the way.

If you have not previously tinted and driven in the summer I feel sorry for you. The sun/heat protection makes me not give a crap about a fix-it ticket. (Besides, in cali, we can tint our rear and rear passenger windows limo black and its is fine)

 

Yups. I've been running 20% or less on all my cars i've owned (grew up in Hawaii). It saves your interior, optimizes your AC in the summers (or year round if you're in a socal), and looks nice to boot.

 

FYI. Anything greater thatn 20% is wasting your time IMO. So get it dark.

Yups. I've been running 20% or less on all my cars i've owned (grew up in Hawaii). It saves your interior, optimizes your AC in the summers (or year round if you're in a socal), and looks nice to boot.

 

FYI. Anything greater thatn 20% is wasting your time IMO. So get it dark.

 

eh.... that's where peoples' aesthetic opinions come in. IMO, light car with really dark windows = highschool/teenager car. I say with a dark interior, go lighter, so it's more subtle and still effective without looking rice.

 

dark grey/black car? go dark tint.

 

NEVER GO COLOR TINT. that's just so 1994.

i went 5% tint all the way around, and it was covered over the original windows that have a 18% factory colored window (not tinted) looks nice expecially for a wagon. i usually drive with my windows down and have never had a problem.

 

and its just way to nice during the summer to ever want to go lighter.

70% is ridiculous and a huge waste of money. Get at least 50% or you wont even know you have tint.

I was in RI this past weekend and drove past several cops with 35% tint all around.

 

What part of Rhode Island? I'm thinking of some tint in the spring, mostly for looks though.

 

What's a good % to make the car sexy, not a Secret Service vehicle.

Go dark or don't bother. Anything on the fronts is considered "illegal" in the north east.

What part of Rhode Island? I'm thinking of some tint in the spring, mostly for looks though.

 

What's a good % to make the car sexy, not a Secret Service vehicle.

 

I was heading through the Richmond area. There was some sort of county fair or something and I rolled past a whole bunch of cops at 5mph in heavy stop and go traffic. Would have been real easy for them to wave me over.

 

I think 20% looks great but at the speeds I drive, I don't want any added incentive for the cops to pull me over. My 35% isn't dark at all but I'll usually open the sunroof when I pass cops to make it look even lighter. My tint shop had a 27% and I there are certainly days I wish I had gotten that. It all comes down to your preference - there are no absolute rights or wrongs.

I'm from NJ, love the tinted look and the cops don't. Tinted 99 Legacy (Black Car) several different times, my fav was 15%: never pulled over once...

2nd Subaru: 99 Rs (rally blue- lite color) mirror tint, harrassed but not for tint: no tickets

3rd Subaru: 02 Wrx (white) tinted 15% front and back, painted black wheels. Pulled over on the way home. Told cop i was moving, no ticket, pulled over almost weekly $100+ ticket became too much after a few months. ($400 mth ticket budget) : (

4th Subaru: 08 Spec.B no tint but would love too.

 

If your in a dark car the tint less then 35% should not draw attention. imao