Pretty much what everyone has stated already. I've only had 2 tickets in 5 years running 30/35% when 50% is legal, and both tickets were on the 'wealthier' side of the cites. It all depends on the cop really. I've had TVs in the back seat a couple of times while we run to grab lunch, and its almost invisible unless your nose is on the glass.
my car came from FL and it has pretty dark tint. I like the look, but it is a little hard to see out of at night. I can't imagine that I won’t get pulled over soon and get a fix it ticket. That and the no front plate are apparently the #1 crime that has to be stopped in some of the suburbs around here. 
1kris06 wrote: Pretty much what everyone has stated already. I've only had 2 tickets in 5 years running 30/35% when 50% is legal, and both tickets were on the 'wealthier' side of the cites. It all depends on the cop really. I've had TVs in the back seat a couple of times while we run to grab lunch, and its almost invisible unless your nose is on the glass.
Eden prairie likes to jam a brotha up for some tints, that's for sure. Them and wonton.
I really want to tint the Delica, but I hate really dark tint. I just want it darker than the clear glass that is on the van currently.
Driven5 wrote: In reply to Duke: I believe that should be ~20%. I'm surprised people are so concerned about the side windows visibility.
As a fellow driver on the road with you, my concern is my visibility to you, the driver. It's part of your 'communications' to me to help me read you so I can determine your next move before you make it. A look to the mirror, a glance to the side, or looking down at a phone, helps me, as your fellow road mate, decide my next move. Getting harder to do with tints.
I had 12% on the side windows and 20% on the windshield on the 93 Civic EX when I got it. It stayed like that for 3 years until I got a fix it ticket and removed it.
On window tint, I could keep or leave it honestly. I wouldn't mind it but I wouldn't pay to have installed.
Many years ago I had a To Hell With It attitude about the appearance of my rides. How'd that work out for me? I got pulled over a lot because my window tint was too dark, my wheels were too wide, my bumpers & headlights were too low, my headlights were covered, my headers were too loud etc. Or often, for no reason at all except the cop was pissed I could afford that car and he couldn't!
In California I was pulled over for a "safety check" of a totally stock Royal Enfield motorcycle. The officer could find no issue so he let me go. About a quarter mile further along the same road another officer pulled me over for a "safety check." He told me he'd been warned on the radio that an unsafe motorcycle rider was in the vicinity. So since I was the only motorcycle rider on the road of course that had to be me! At the time I was an officer in the USMC, was wearing a helmet, and had a base safety inspection sticker on my bike. None of that mattered! They didn't want any "Hells Angel" motorcycle rider in their town even if his hair was 1/8th inch long and he was an officer in the USMC!
Not long after that I bought a brand new '69 Red Roadrunner 440 6Pack. I was pulled over almost every time I drove that car. And that wasn't limited to the state or municipality I was driving in. That car was so red, so in your face, it was considered illegal to operate even while parked.
Once while driving my Road Runner through a local small town I was pulled over, with no probable cause, nor could the officer find anything wrong with my title, equipment, etc. But the chief of the local police was called to the scene. When he arrived he told me. "We don't want your kind in our town!! If you are stupid enough to drive that hot rod back here, you will get a ticket every time we spot your hot rod darkening our borders." My ticket that night? Creating a public threat!! Which cost me $35, a lot of money in 1969!
Getting older I noticed people whose rides weren't so in your face got a lot less tickets and had lower insurance rates than I. So I went under cover, if you will. I didn't change my driving habits. I just changed my public persona. In fact the only red car I've owned for many years is a Honda Fit.
Now I drive cars that appear totally stock. I'm almost never stopped. I'm not pulled over to check my registration or what state I actually live in. I'm almost totally under the police radar. As long as I appear to make an effort to drive within the law, I'm assumed to be OK.
For example I got pulled over in a construction zone a couple of years ago while driving through Virginia in my Honda Fit. I was driving 55 in a 35 construction zone on a 2 lane highway and I had an out of state license plate. The officer asked why I was driving so fast & I explained I was looking for a place to stop for breakfast and didn't notice the construction signs. He of course let me go & even advised me where a good place was for breakfast.
What am I saying? Don't get yourself profiled. Don't be the only black on a white street, the only white on a black street. Or the ride with the darkest window tint. And for God's sake don't drive even a mile over the posted speed in a car that appears to be speeding when it is parked!
Is profiling by police unconstitutional? Of Course it is! Is it a fact of life? Of Course it is!
In reply to Rupert:
The tint on my GP was very illegal in Knoxville, and they were very strict with enforcement. Naturally I drive like an idiot because I am one, but for some reason I was never stopped for it or hassled when stopped for speeding over it. I don't know why, normally if I even think of doing something I shouldn't be doing I get busted 
BTW, I can't remember what % that tint was but I had no issues at night with it.
In '03 I bought a brand new black on black Jetta wagon 1.8t. I promptly lowered it and tinted the windows 20%. I HATED it. Having to roll down the windows at night in the rain because I couldn't see street signs and house numbers sucked. It looked awesome though. The next car got 35% (legal limit) and that wasn't terrible but I wouldn't do it again.
I think tint looks terrible and very out of place on cars older than about 1980. The darker it gets the worse it looks. I don't plan on owning anything newer than the late 60's for a while so I Don't have to think about it until then.
In Las Vegas, it's practically required. I park outside, and in-car temps can exceed 145F. No thanks.
20% on the front-door windows (legal limit). The rest of the side glass got 20% tint also, but they were factory-tinted to 25%, so that leaves me at 5% or so. The liftgate glass got no additional tint above the factory 25% - sometimes I really want to see behind me, and if glare bugs me at night, that's what the day/night mirror is for.
Window tint also keeps some of the brightness of the sunlight out of the corner of your eyes when you're driving, which is very nice.
In reply to Rupert: I think that we should hold the police to a higher standard than that. Profiling often leads to wasted time searching and doing extra checks on people just because they stand out. Often, they end up harassing and arresting black and hispanic folks much more and it hurts our society.
I've never noticed any difference with the temps, but I put 35% on pretty much everything because I like the way it looks. I let the tint guy talk me into 20% (same as factory on the higher end models) for the rear window on my truck and regret it. I can't see anything at night.
So in my mustang I have no tint and my skyline does. I never bought tint before but the mustang is a white car and the skyline is black.
It's like a night and day difference in Las Vegas. The Mustang is hot as berkeley and feels like sauna inside. The Skyline is not so bad. When both have been out all day.
Mr_Clutch42 wrote: Window tint also keeps some of the brightness of the sunlight out of the corner of your eyes when you're driving, which is very nice.
I'm not worried about the sunlight, I'm worried about the d-bag SUV/pickup/minivan driver tailgating me.
Ditchdigger wrote: I think tint looks terrible and very out of place on cars older than about 1980. The darker it gets the worse it looks. I don't plan on owning anything newer than the late 60's for a while so I Don't have to think about it until then.
I don't agree. This looks awesome.
Mr_Clutch42 wrote: Window tint also keeps some of the brightness of the sunlight out of the corner of your eyes when you're driving, which is very nice.
These were big in the late 1980's
In reply to Mr_Clutch42: I agree with most of what you say, I just don't know of a method to verify those higher standards.
First, anyone with a ride that stands out or is borderline legal can expect to be harassed. It's not about being black or hispanic as much as it often is driving while young and/or the officers' envy and resentment that you own that ride not them.
Second, I can try to hold hold police to a high standard in my home. But on/in a ride at 02:00 & 500 miles from home, they control all the standards. And they use that ability at will! Perhaps if police were required to wear body cams. WHICH THEY COULDN'T TURN OFF,your accountability concept might work. Patrol Car On dash cams are regularly turned off while the billy-bats and huge flashlights are in action.
On the nightly news how many young males, regardless of race have you seen without facial cuts, abrasions, black eyes, etc. when they are arrested and arraigned before the judge? Do you really think all those people resisted arrest, banged their face against a brick wall, or fell onto the curbing? In the Marine Corps we had a lot of alleged miscreants "fall and get hurt in the shower." But we knew or should have known that could happen when we enlisted.
In reply to Rusnak_322: Glacier glasses! I love them & have some.
In reply to Rupert: It's definitely not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination. I think the first step is the majority of people not being in favor of profiling policies like New York's old stop and frisk policy. It will take time, but most important is the effort we place in it.
It's understandable if they give tickets to people more often that have bright red or yellow sports cars over someone with a beigemobile, but harassing is on another level of inquiry.
My son had his GTi windows tinted in Atlanta, I don't know the % but it really helped down there. In New York he got stopped twice, $288 each time.
He asked a tint installer about removing it and was told you can't, replace the glass.
You can remove the tint, but new glass is cheaper than the labor to remove the tint adhesive.
Penetrating oil works awesome to remove duct tape residue, but I haven't had an opportunity to de-tint glass since I learned that method. I spent four hours on one window with various other chemicals, once.
I use lacquer thinner and a paper towel to remove tint adhesive. A straight blade razor scraper to remove the film.
Done it on quite a few with bubbled/purple tint.
If I buy a vehicle with bad tint I remove it...and then have new stuff installed. On one of my Land Rovers the tint made backing up at night difficult. I installed two rear mounted Hella 500s-no problem! Good LED bulbs can do the same thing nowadays. My truck (pic below) is a rolling fishbowl and the tint took it from sweatbox with A/C on high to comfortable with A/C on medium. I park next to a privacy fence and have to roll won the side window to see the mirror while backing up on dark mornings. The point is for me there are ways around the inconveniences of dark tint and the pros outweigh the cons.
Pro Tint shops use a steamer like this to remove tint.
It is still a slow process.
The 35% tint is a medium shade and it keeps out a good amount of heat from a vehicle.
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