Front windshield tint (1 Viewer)

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Curious if anyone has the windshield tinted with a clear film (Llumar or 3M equivalent) for heat reduction? I heard that it may give off a grainy effect at night from the lights seen through the windshield...
 
I don't have any issues.. i have ceramic tint, 3m crystalline at 70% and dont have grainy effect... helps with heat reduction coupled with dash mat and 20% on all windows, I'm in good shape for that southern cali summer.

I've done cheap windshield tint of 50% on windshield of other cars once and after a year got grainy...

crystalline holding up so far about to go on 2 years.

here is a pic, its very low profile never been pulled over.

20200614_212632.jpg


20200606_162643.jpg
 
I know a lot of folks with 70% on their windshield, I think the tint color is barely noticeable, if at all. It helps a lot with heat reduction. The detailer/tint shop I frequent does it on almost all their tint customers.

The car in the embed has it, if you scroll right.

 
You should be careful with front windshield tint and check your state laws. If you end up in an accident and they discover you had tint on the windshield, you could be held liable when you wouldn't have been otherwise.
 
I don't have any issues.. i have ceramic tint, 3m crystalline at 70% and dont have grainy effect... helps with heat reduction coupled with dash mat and 20% on all windows, I'm in good shape for that southern cali summer.

I've done cheap windshield tint of 50% on windshield of other cars once and after a year got grainy...

crystalline holding up so far about to go on 2 years.

here is a pic, its very low profile never been pulled over.

View attachment 2349527

View attachment 2349525
 
FIJCK, now that you got me thinking..FL state and with most of states tinting below the factory AS-1 (top 4-5" of windshield) is not legal. But my main intent is to reduce the heat and the film is nearly clear. It is not noticeable by police unless they are pulling over just to look for no reason. But you mentioned in an accident with the insurance adjuster that's a whole new scenario that I need to reconsider.
 
FIJCK, now that you got me thinking..FL state and with most of states tinting below the factory AS-1 (top 4-5" of windshield) is not legal. But my main intent is to reduce the heat and the film is nearly clear. It is not noticeable by police unless they are pulling over just to look for no reason. But you mentioned in an accident with the insurance adjuster that's a whole new scenario that I need to reconsider.
I think the same goes for a long list of modifications, including having anything mounted to your windshield or anything hanging from your rear view mirror. Also side window tint. Most all states limit VLT to 30 or higher, but a large portion of vehicles have much darker tint. Unless you're in an accident and you clearly ran a stop sign or ran into someone and you've got limo tint all around, I don't get the impression slightly darker tint is something that gets much thought from anyone.

I could be wrong, but I don't get the impression you're at a significantly increased risk unless you're obviously darker than legal. 70% looks clear.
 
I moved from OR to NH a couple years ago. Apparently NH has a no tint rule that is pretty strictly enforced through annual safely inspections. They actually measure the tint as part of the inspection. My second year here I was made to remove the tint from my front side windows that had been there since the previous owner. Now it’s summer again and I’m missing it. I like the idea of a clear uv blocker that might keep the car a little cooler. I don’t care about prying eyes (I live in the woods) or aesthetics (not a fan of the blacked out ricer look). Does anyone know if this would fly? When they measure tint is it visibility? Opacity? I have a feeling even the clear stuff would get nixed.

live free or die!
 
I had full windshield tint on my first cruiser that was imported from Colombia which is how it came.

It sucked driving it at night sometimes then when I had to bring it in for an inspection, it failed right away.

Removing it sucked even more so I just paid someone to do it after trying myself. No thanks.
 
I moved from OR to NH a couple years ago. Apparently NH has a no tint rule that is pretty strictly enforced through annual safely inspections. They actually measure the tint as part of the inspection. My second year here I was made to remove the tint from my front side windows that had been there since the previous owner. Now it’s summer again and I’m missing it. I like the idea of a clear uv blocker that might keep the car a little cooler. I don’t care about prying eyes (I live in the woods) or aesthetics (not a fan of the blacked out ricer look). Does anyone know if this would fly? When they measure tint is it visibility? Opacity? I have a feeling even the clear stuff would get nixed.

live free or die!

I'm convinced automotive inspections beyond emissions are an exercise in extortion and racketeering. I might actually move if Colorado (or whatever state I live in) adopts that practice. I feel for ya.

When measuring tint it's VLT - Visible Light Transmittance. There are ceramic tints that are 90% and clearer that still block UV and some heat. In some states, I suspect they would still take that opportunity to fail you and refer you to a buddy of theirs that runs a shop.

The crazy thing about the strict tint laws in some states is that zero tint on your windows is a well documented safety hazard due to skin cancer. The enforcement of prohibiting all tint is likely killing people over time. 4000+ people die in the US from skin cancer every year. A non-negligible portion of that is likely from UV exposure while driving with no UV protection. Some OEMs include UV blockers in the side windows, but I don't think many do in the windshields.

The windshield tint, in theory, also has a significant advantage in glare reduction. My wife has a hard time driving at night with all the HID and LED sharp cutoff headlights. That's more a danger than dimly lit roads.

Sigh, now I'm all riled up and ready to wave a "Don't Tread On Me" flag, haha.
 
We have a ceramic tint on my wife's RX350 all around with 70% on the windshield. I think it's 100% worth it. Anything under 90 degrees we can hop in and it's as if we had a sun shade up. 90 degrees after a couple hours it was toasty, but cooled down quick. If i did that with my civic without a tint i'd burn my hand on the shifter.

On my LX i have a ceramic tint all around, but i have a visible chip on my windshield that's been filled in already. I'm waiting for something else to warrant a replacement from insurance before i put a 70% ceramic on...hoping that comes sooner than later :)
 
You just made me thought of another scenario regarding insurance replacement of damaged windshield. In some states such as FL they don't require deductible for insurance company to replace damaged windshield. What if during the removal they discover that you have the clear tint, will that void the insurance payment for the replacement?
 
I wouldn't expect them to pay out the ~$100 or so to replace the tint, but would HIGHLY doubt they'd withhold payment for the windshield.
 
I think the same goes for a long list of modifications, including having anything mounted to your windshield or anything hanging from your rear view mirror. Also side window tint. Most all states limit VLT to 30 or higher, but a large portion of vehicles have much darker tint. Unless you're in an accident and you clearly ran a stop sign or ran into someone and you've got limo tint all around, I don't get the impression slightly darker tint is something that gets much thought from anyone.

I could be wrong, but I don't get the impression you're at a significantly increased risk unless you're obviously darker than legal. 70% looks clear.

Yeah i'm gonna have to +1 what you said. I live in California, and from anecdotal experience, law enforcement doesn't really enforce the front side limo tint unless you're driving like a douchebag.

The law here (for now, atleast) is you have to allow 70% Visible Light Transmission (VLT) for the front windshield and front side windows, so as long as that rule is followed, you are good. Not sure about other states, but I can't imagine them being stricter than California's haha.
 
You just made me thought of another scenario regarding insurance replacement of damaged windshield. In some states such as FL they don't require deductible for insurance company to replace damaged windshield. What if during the removal they discover that you have the clear tint, will that void the insurance payment for the replacement?

Depends on the insurance, but generally there's no way the shop would link up with insurance to narc on you about the tint and then void insurance payment. Regardless of legality I don't think insurance can deny coverage for the presence of tint unless it can be shown that the tint caused the loss (which of course would never happen with a rock chipped windshield).

I wouldn't expect them to pay out the ~$100 or so to replace the tint, but would HIGHLY doubt they'd withhold payment for the windshield.

When I got my windshield quoted out I got quotes ranging from $250-400. $100 for windshield would be quite a steal!
 
I don't have any issues.. i have ceramic tint, 3m crystalline at 70% and dont have grainy effect... helps with heat reduction coupled with dash mat and 20% on all windows, I'm in good shape for that southern cali summer.

I've done cheap windshield tint of 50% on windshield of other cars once and after a year got grainy...

crystalline holding up so far about to go on 2 years.

here is a pic, its very low profile never been pulled over.

View attachment 2349527

View attachment 2349525
Shoot, now I need to get a dash mat =]

What material did you go w/ and is that from covercraft?
 
Depends on the insurance, but generally there's no way the shop would link up with insurance to narc on you about the tint and then void insurance payment. Regardless of legality I don't think insurance can deny coverage for the presence of tint unless it can be shown that the tint caused the loss (which of course would never happen with a rock chipped windshield).



When I got my windshield quoted out I got quotes ranging from $250-400. $100 for windshield would be quite a steal!

Good point, i forget what i got quoted on my LX for the windshield. On the RX we paid $650 cash for full ceramic tint (not 3M, not sure what brand) plus windshield with lifetime warranty on bubbling, peeling ,cracking, & creasing...so i think it was ~$200 for the windshield. If it was $100 i would've just done it on the LX, so it must've been in that $200 range. Just couldn't justify putting it on an damaged windshield.
 

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