GatorGX

Hi, I plan to tint the front (driver/passenger side) windows shortly. I live in Florida where the law is max of 28% light transmision through the windows (for the front side windows). I'm not looking to push it, the FL legal limit is fine for me.

What do people recommend for the tint percentage to closely match the rears without altering the rear windows (w/out tinting the rears further than stock)?

• 20%, 25%, 28% (if it exists), 30%, 35%?
• Also is the color "charcoal'?
• What brand tint if you know?

Some related threads that I found:

Here, 35% 3M was recommended. Said the factory tinted rear windows measured at 25%. (The 35% I've seen at the Lexus dealer seemed lighter than the rears when applied):
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...highlight=tint

Suggestion that 35% was too light:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...highlight=tint

20% and 35% recommendations:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...highlight=tint

28%:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...25#post2443761

GS3Tek

iTrader: (8)

I have 35% in the front for my gs and they're very light, enough where cops won't hassle me For CA, no tint in the front

If FL allows 28%, might as well get that, but if you want to push it, then 20%-25% for the rear.

I would probably bring it in to your tint shop and have them put up a sample to decide.

tigmd99

Stick with 35%...no hassle from cops in any states.

Reboot

I'm in IL and got 20% all around. 20% on top of the factory tint in the rear and 20% in the front.

I needed some more shade for my little one in the back, so that's why I did that.

Salvator

Should have just bought a delivery van... no windows to allow any transmission of that deadly sunlight...

(j/k )

KonvicGX

to tell you the truth, I live in Miami were the cops are really on you, and i have 5% limo all around and a 20% for the WHOLE windshield, If your driving the GX your odds of getting pulled over for tints is 1 out of 100, i use to own a 1972 caprice 2dr and i had 35% all around, and i would get pulled over every other day, so i dont think you would have much of a problem, unless you have extremely blue hids(or purple) or like spinning rims (lol) something to catch there attention, i would go with a 20% or 15% all around and youll be pretty good, itll block out alot of the sun

cmarshack

I think that everyone is missing the point here. He/she is asking what tint mathes the fatory tint the best. I would like to know too. If I go in and have my front two windows tinted I want them to match (as close as possable) the factory rear tint so that it does not look like a mismatch.

I had my Chrysler 300 done at a local shop and it looks great...but the tint has a bit of a silverish look in the reflection. It would look horrible on the front windows of the GX because they have no hint of silver in the tint. Some tints are brownish others are are grey etc. What I would like to know, and I think it's what GatorGX is looking for too, is what % and what brand looks best to match the factory tinted windows?

I know that you can tint all of the windows darker and I know that some people want to black out thier cars, but I don't think that is what this particular thread is about.

my2c

Reboot

It's hard to match factory tint because factory tint is in the rear of the vehicle. The front of the vehicle has the entire windshield to throw light in from.

Having said that, I believe the factory tint (closest) is around 35%. If you throw 35% on the front 2 windows and hope it'll match up, you're in for disappointment. I would go with 20% in the front 2 windows for a closer match.

My brother-in-law just ended up doing 5% over the factory tint on his Denali and then 5% on TOP of 20% tint on his front windows to get a full blacked out look. Of course, that's insane and I wouldnt' recommend that to anyone due to not being able to see much out the windows.

GatorGX

You hit it right on the head cmarshack, thanks. I'm sure the other info of tinting the rears is helpful to some, but I specifically want to know just what you and I both stated. What mfg, color, level matches the factory rears best?

Reboot, yup, I have seen 35% on the front two and it seems lighter. In some of the links I provided, owners said they had their rear factory measured at about 25%. As for the fronts... other things come into play like you said (windshield light, the fact that the fronts are all ready tinted at 70% according to the first link I provided, etc.)

kphu

iTrader: (8)

In MA if you have tints on your car during the yearly emission inspection the shop has this device that measures the light transmitance of your window. Having someone do this for you would be your best shot at finding out what % the factory windows are.

GatorGX if I were you, I'd stick with the 28% or 30% as there maybe a small tint on the front. As for the color or shade of the tint I think it'll be a crap shot as most tinting places uses 1 brand and may or may not have an assortment of shading available. You might have to shop around and like GS3Tec said take it to the shop to see if they can match it up as best as they can. Even if you did get the information on what the manufacture has, you might not be able to find a tint shop that has tint to match up to the manufacturer's specs.

Lastly, if you put tint on tint it makes it darker so if your car is already at 35% and you put on 20% then its really more like 5 or 10% tint.
2c$

jacksonian

I live in NC. I had my 2 front windows tinted at the Lexus dealership when I bought it. It seemed fairly dark, but not as dark as the rear. Didn't have any trouble the first year inspection, but this time the Toyota dealer doing the inspection called and said it wouldn't pass because the windows were too dark. Someone had messed up and used too dark of a tint on the front. Had to have them redone to pass inspection. But I was also told that if I had just rolled down the windows the first time, probably no one would have thought to roll them up and check and would have just put N/A on the inspection form and passed it.

GatorGX

Do you know what percent and what brand/type of tint they put on the 2nd time?

GatorGX

Well today I went to get the front two windows tinted. Decided to go with the 3M Color Stable 35% recommended in this thread:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=273272
Found a place that had it (they said), got down there, they didn't.. only had some SunTek brand. I punted but before I knew the brand was SunTek and not the 3M Color Stable I was looking for (and they told me they were going to put on)... we put an 18% and a 35% scrap of SunTek films on the window. The 35% was really light and the 18% looked closer to the rears. This was with the GX in a garage where they were going to do the work. Granted, only about a 10" square of each was applied so it would be darker in the car with the entire (both) windows done.

They are getting the 3M film in later this week. I ended up leaving. I am more confused than ever now of what to get. FL limit is 28% on fronts. Many go darker. the 3M CS 35% is really 38% and the fronts (according to that other thread) are 70% from the factory. The rears are supposedly 25%. So .38 * .70 = about 26.6%... so this film should be close (as TSHAYANKS says in the other thread). 35% SunTek did not seem to be close. Hoping the 3M CS 35% is going to match better.

• Does anyone else have a picture of 3M CS 35% film on the fronts with nothing on the rears so I can see how well it matches (besides TSHAYANKS in the other thread)?
  
• How about others with other films (no rear added tint) on the front that have pics to show the match? Please provide brand/type/percent of film.

thanks

jacksonian

Sorry, I don't know. I know the first time it was Huper Optik (with some German accent marks in there over the u I think). It failed with a 29%, so they replaced it, I can't remember what the law is here in NC, maybe 32% or 35%?

I really liked the Huper Optik, it's supposedly a ceramic tent that seemed to match the factory tint real well. It wasn't reflective/mirrored at all.

GatorGX

Anyone else with any front tint info? Or a response to my post #13 above?

I keep seeing GX's on the road with the front tint just about perfectly matched to the rears. So far have not been in a situation where I could ask the owner the brand/type/percent of film.