What are the Pros & Cons of Tinted Windows?

[Dwatted Wabbit]

I just tinted and had a choice between 55 and 40 or something like that.
I chose the darker, wish I'd chosen the lighter.

Tint gives some reflection in the left side mirror. It makes it more difficult to identify following vehicles.

[SoHoVe]

Yeah, years ago I had a black Camaro with limo tint. It looked really sharp and was fine during the the day but at night it was almost impossible to see what kinds of vehicles were around me OR pedestrians. Trust me, it was no fun driving around Chicago late at night in the dead of winter with the windows half down so I could see. All my prior vehicles were tinted to the legal limits and I had no problems.

[everwinter]

Pro's
My main reason is so I can whiz in a gatorade bottle in my car & nobody knows. I do this daily. Saves time & pain.

Privacy as you drive down the road. You won't have annoying people look over at you.

Con's
costs money

From the outside it looks crappy on all cars, unless they are black.

[JBMallory]

pros: keeps car cooler inside
keeps interior from fading
reduces road glare
reduces headlamp glare
a layer of UV, very light tint on the windshield (illegal almost everywhere) will make a HUGE difference on interior temps too

cons: most tint is illegal
if installed poorly it will bubble and peel
can make it hard to see at night

i had an 05 scion xB with double limo all around and a superlight UV on the windshield
you couldnt see in or out at night and couldnt see in during high noon

loved it, couldnt distinguish the windows from the car lol

[Newdaawn]

I find it hard to communicate with the driver of a vehicle that has the drivers door window with dark tint. Some times you want to know if they are motioning you on or you are motioning them on etc. I think it is risky to tint the front seat windows.

[JoshB]

Originally Posted by CHICAGOLAND92

Thanks for all the replies you all

Yeah, I didn't think that GPS/Cell phone thing had too much credibility...sounded fishy to me from the beginning.

I'm gonna check with the dealer to see what their price is, and then get a quote from where my friend got his car done (black 2005 fusion...looks really nice).

Quick question: If I were to go out of state for college, would I have to remove my tints to comply with their laws?

First of all I see your from Chicago, Hello neighbor. Any ways say you decide your going to school in Milwaukee or Madison. You are required by Wisconsin state law to get plates, drivers license et cetera within 30 days of residency. So you would need to get WI plates. Meaning once the cops see you are within there jurisdiction to enforce a vehicular law they will enforce it. So lets say you slide through the cracks and leave your IL plates on the camry while living in Wisconsin. The police may cite you once they notice you've been there longer then 30 days, so either way you need to be really careful.

In Wisconsin the biggest agency to enforce vehicle compliance laws would be the state patrol. They focus on everything traffic related. Most municipal departments, county sheriff departments wont bother you for tint. I've personally had WSP stop me for the tint on interstate 90/94. What they did was test it, told me it was illegal I said ok. The trooper then said it's a tedious job and I will need a razor blade and water. Told me good luck and I may be on my way. He never told me to remove it, just told me it was illegal and that it was tedious to remove. Never issued me a fix it ticket or anything.

So drive sanely don't go to low on tint and you may be fine.


Best of luck, Josh