Tinting Windows on Black Car

[Funez]

Hey guys, I'm ready to tint my windows on my black 318i. Its long over due. I found a place willing to do it for $220 which is one of the lowest rates I found. They also including a lifetime warranty on fading, peeling, or bubbling.

However, they only have 20% or 35% tint.

35 is the legal limit here in Ontario. Originally I was thinking of going with it because I didnt wanna go too dark since my car is already black on black. . But now Im thinking 20% would look good on my car.

Anyone here have black on black with 20% or 35%?? I just wanna see the difference

[owwwch]

no pics but imo i would go w/ the 20.... i had that on my alpine

[kevinqjhps]

Hey guys, I'm ready to tint my windows on my black 318i. Its long over due. I found a place willing to do it for $220 which is one of the lowest rates I found. They also including a lifetime warranty on fading, peeling, or bubbling.

However, they only have 20% or 35% tint.

35 is the legal limit here in Ontario. Originally I was thinking of going with it because I didnt wanna go too dark since my car is already black on black. . But now Im thinking 20% would look good on my car.

Anyone here have black on black with 20% or 35%?? I just wanna see the difference

$220? Ziebart just did my 323is for $180.

[Bris328is]

$220? Ziebart just did my 323is for $180.

he is in Canada-- everything is expensive there

[Funez]

I've called about 5 different places and most estimates are close to 300 plus tax.
This last place was $220 plus tax.

[Bris328is]

I've called about 5 different places and most estimates are close to 300 plus tax.
This last place was $220 plus tax.

careful-- some times you get what you pay for--see if you can find some other customers and if they are satisified.

[SethuM]

[Blanco]

Something to think about. How well is the tinting law enforced in your area? I know a few people who've had to remove their tinting and it always sucks.

[skyguy]

i bought mine with limo tint on it.
the car looks great and you cant really tell how dark it is until you put your hand on the inside of the car, while standing outside, and realize you cant see it anymore. backing up at night is impossible without the windows down but my car stays cool in the sun...
haven't gotten a ticket yet ether so lucky me...
i would go with what is legal only so you don't get messed with by cops

--sky

[goingnowhere]

i had 20 in the back and 35 in the front never got a ticket, and im in nyc where legal is 70 percent rear only on cars that came with tint from factory 0_0......

[Bimuh007]

if you have a black interior than 35% should be enough. Usually it looks darker than 35% because of the dark interior

[marineifra]

see my sig

[Envious]

I personally like them better without any tint. The car looks cleaner IMO. My tint was all jacked up on my front windows when I bought the car so I just pulled it off. I left the back for the kids. It actually blends very well. You can't tell the front tint is gone unless you are standing beside the car.

[bbancsov]

Go with 20%, if you get 35% you'll just want it darker in a few weeks

[Bluebimma]

Go with 35%. Its easier to see through, from a drivers perspective, at night plus black interior makes the tint a lot darker from the outside.

[arctic28]

i have 35 on the doors and 20 on the rear windows, as long as i dont park to where the sun comes in through the windsheild the tint helps alot, i guess i should get a sun shade for when that happens, but the only downfall is that its a bit hard to see out of at night onetime i was driving home around midnight and a cop ended up behind me and i never saw him, all i could see was headlights, so after speeding, not completely stopping at a couple stop signs ,and not using my blinker he pulled me over, luckily he didnt give me a ticket.i have no clue how i got out of that one

[DJDD]

Go with the 20%, a friend of mine on here has 15% all the way around on his black 94 318i and it looks great. 35% just looks too weak, especially on black cars.

[NYe36er]

This is 35% on Black/Black 328iS. Do 35%, it looks good, and its not too dark where it makes it difficult to see at night. I had 20% on my last ride since it had a tan interior, and it wasn't dark enough due to the light interior. On my BMW, the black interior literally adds 20% to the appearance of the tint (35% on black interior would look like 15% on a light interior).

[randomy]

I have 35% all around on my 328i black\black. I got pulled over just a few weeks ago by a state trooper for (what appeared) too dark of tint. He got some measuring devices out of his trunk, and he held one up to the the inside of window, and another on the outside. He was surprised when it showed him that it was legal, (I think legal is 27% in CO). It seems the dark interior really makes it seem darker, even to the trained eye.

True Story: 45 seconds before I was pulled over I was doing 120 towards the road I turned on where the state trooper pulled me over. Though I wasn't pulled over for speeding, it was something I was completely absolved of on the spot, I felt the universe was sending me a message,... a little warning maybe.

[johnnybmw1]

is that 20% or 35%?? put some info unless i missed it.

[DJDD]

is that 20% or 35%?? put some info unless i missed it.

Looks to be ~35% unless he has windows rolled down on the other side or something.

[beem3]

Out of all the times I've been pulled over, I was never cited for tint, I suppose I'm lucky. Having a black on black car, it's easier to use the excuse that the windows just look darker because of the black on black color combination. However no officer ever even brought up my tint before, probably because it's not too dark for my front windows.

I don't remember the exact percentages, so I'll just speak in terms of light,medium,dark,limo. Right now I have light in the front, medium in the back side windows, and dark for the rear windshield. If I were to do it over again, I would get dark all around. Tinting helps tremendously with keeping the interior cooler as well as preserving your leather/interior. And you can see fine through the rear windshield with dark tint, plus it stops glare at night from headlights behind you.

You should choose a tint that has a lifetime warranty. The rear windshield tends to bubble up after a few years around the edge of the window on E36s. My rear windshield started to bubble after 6 years, so I brought in my receipt and got new free tint under warranty for the rear windshield. I got lumar tint.

Here's a sideview pic.

[vadim321go]

if ur in the GTA, call audio heaven in richmond hill. they do tints and i think its 200$

[IraSummers]

Check the link in my sig for plenty of pics. I didn't tint them, but I did test them at "21.5%", which is 20%. All tint will test difrently, but only slightly.

[Funez]

Well judging from the pics, 35% does look dark enough. In direct sunlight you can see its a little weak, but I think thats ok for me.

The advantages of the 35% tint for me:
I can see better at night
I think it looks cleaner
Its the legal limit in Ontario
It looks pretty dark with the dark interior

The only knock against it is in direct sunlight. But I think thats a hit I'm willing to take.

Thanks for the feedback guys. Keep the pics coming. Although I'm leanings towards 35%, it doesnt hurt to see some more.