Werd! Thats why I got my 5% in the rear and 15% in the front. IDC what anyone says my next car is going to have 10% all around and 50% on the front windshield. If I didn't have the reverse camera then I doubt I would go that dark but if you do then it makes it a 100% times better. (all these %'s)

 

That OEM deep tint was first available in 1975-76 on the Suburban. The first year the tint was so dark it was impossible to see outside after dark - even bright headlights were a couple of dim smudges in the inside rearview mirror. It was even darker than most limo tints - why, I can't imagine, but if you bought a full-boat Suburban, you got the tint. At least it helped the AC work pretty well.

As if to prove the point the tint was maybe too dark, my Dad backed into a tree with my 2 week old Sub, cracking the rear window. That window was a new technology for Chevy's glass vendor, LOF, and to replace it required taking one off the assembly line somewhere because it was not available in the parts market. The charge for this sheet of black glass? $1000 in 1976 $ (for comparison, the windshield was larger and only $125).

The insurance company wouldn't pay it, wanting to install clear glass and tint it instead of replacing the OEM glass which was a good bit darker than any available tint. I drove it with a couple of large cracks for the next two years until the prices came down. Meanwhile, the repair to the tailgate and body was only $1500.

 

the reason is because factory tint on SUVs is about 15-20%

SUV's and Vans are considered cargo/family vehicles. Have you ever been in one of the few SUV's that doesn't have tint on the rear windows in the summer? It's unbearable due to the amount of glass that the sun passes through causing serious convection inside the cabin.

another serious consideration may have been the fact that a lot of SUV/Van owners transport their pets in the car, and tint would greatly reduce the chance of heat-related death for pets.

if you ever get just your rear doors and rear window done and get a ticket, present this scenario to the judge and i guarantee you will not have to remove it (scenario being SUV is allowed, why not car. and say you transport a pet now and then and it's safer for them).

if all else fails, make friends with an optometrist and get a prescription that says tint is good for you to have.

unless, that is, if you are an AK toting gangster hell bent on spitting teflon tips whenever you get pulled over for having a taillight out or speeding. Then you can leave the windows untinted and hopefully the officers will get a good shot off at the back of your head

 

I have tint for several reasons:

1. it prevents interior panels and upholstery from fading and cracking.

2. reduces heat inside by ALOT (dont know the numbers, but if i had to guess, 30% or more)

3. privacy, I cannot stand people being able to see inside my car. Doesnt mean Im doing anything illegal, just means i dont like it.

4. The car had the tint when i bought it, the reciept was in the glove compartment for a shop in houston...having the car tinted already when i bought it, saved me the $300 they would charge me to do it here in NY.

I could go on and on. I dont like the sunlight blinding me, My wife has SUPER sensitive skin (sunburns on a 1 hr trip to syracuse), and cars just look better with tint.

as far as it cutting down on night vision...it doesnt affect it off to the sides with 20%. it would if i had 5% on the front doors...maybe. and the reverse lights light up the rear nice and bright. Good quality 5% tint will be easy to see out of, and nearly impossible to see through from the outside. If you keep your interior lights off when backing up and look backwards like you are supposed to when you back up, you will not have a problem. It took my wife all of 10 minutes to get used to it. Now, she will never have another car without tint.

 

Thank jcat, that was a good explaination.

Lil4x, I didn't know it cost that much to replace a factory tint window. It probably cost 3x as much now.

 

but that doesn't matter to the legislative know nothings who only "care" about cop safety.

it doesn't matter why you get the tint, it's because they "fear" for the safety of cops getting shot and killed.

it sucks but like i said, we're paying for the actions of criminals.

I too have gotten tints on my car to protect the leather of my car, reduce it's cabin temp when left in the sun and if I could, i'd tint the front window to reduce glare.

Thank you dumbass's with guns popping caps in cops faces for not letting us tint our windows legally in some states.

bunch of jackasses for sure.

 

My post was in regards to mmarshalls "why even bother with tint"...LOL

 

and just for a little added emphasis as far as heat reduction, my 20% tint on my black 2gs with ivory interior reduced in car temps by at least 20 degrees, if not more. Also, the specific tint i got reduces glare by 78%, so not just the sun coming in from the sides and back, but also other motorists on the road approaching at intersections or jerkoffs driving behind me on the highway with their high beams/poorly aimed HIDs. Hell, I have an autodim mirror but it never really did much, now it doesn't even activate for the most part.

night vision is never a problem. Except maybe backing up in a poorly lit area but even then the reverse lights (i havent yet converted those to LED) and brake lights still give you a pretty good view of what's behind you.

 

sorry. more of a rant than anything about those idiot criminals than anything else

 

add pick-up trucks to the list of vehicles that come with the factory tinted windows. My 2000 S-10 had the factory deep tint on the small extended cab side windows and the rear, about 15%-20%. My 2006 Crew Cab Colorado came with the rear doors and the back tinted. I added 15% to the front doors even though it is illegal in Washington State because it looks better, especially with my trucks being black, I like the privacy and security, and it does keep it cooler in the summer even though in Washington that not a big issue. It is harder to see out at night, I have had to roll my windows down to get a better view in various conditions. When I get pulled over by the police the first thing I do is roll both windows down and put my hands on the steering wheel.

 

yES, mmarshall is right about that.. one of my friend Herman Yan's partner got shot in the face twice after stoping a stolen X5. The tints were too dark where the officers can't see inside. lucky he was shot on the arm, but his partner that night , was dead..

 

I question the legality of these police checkpoints. Dont see how any department can get away with doing something like this. Where is the probably cause?

 

You can stop questioning. Most of them have been upheld in courts. They are considered a police function in law-enforcement.

But police are not free to just treat motorists any way they want. Even in legal stops, they have to go by department rules, policies, and applicable laws. Officers who get carried away in their behavior (and it sometimes happens) have to account for it and take the consequences.

 

I agree, these suspicianless checkpoints whether DUI, immigration, seat belt, equipment, whatever the reason should be illegal in every state. In Washington local and state police cannot conduct these checkpoints but because of the Patriot Act now the border patrol can conduct immigration checkpoints as far as 100 miles from a border. It's basically racial profiling because we are not required to carry any documents to prove our citizenship within our own borders.

 

But what does that have to do with the thread topics...DUI/seatbelt/excess-tint checks? Whether you are a citizen or not, or carrying documents to prove it, has no bearing on the laws and principles involved here, Traffic laws are traffic laws, and the police have the job of enforcing them.....that applies whether you are American, Mexican, Canadian, African, Chinese....whatever.

In some cases, foreigners, if they are connected with embassies, have diplomatic immunity from prosecution, but that still doesn't stop police and other law enforcement officers from stopping them and recording the incident.