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Hey guys

I'm interested in tinting my 2005 Civic LX 4DR.

I got 2 quotes from local shops, $220 and $225.

I was checking out the state laws. I live in Wisconsin and it says 50% for front, 35% for back and rear. Of course, windshield is !llegal

Won't it look weird if my front windows are 50% and my back windows are 35%? Also, will it look weird if I got tinted windows and no tinted windshield?

I've read that its !llegal but I see a lot of cars on the road (stock and aftermarket) with windshield tinting.

jmk

 
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windshield tinting is illegal for a reason, dude. and no, it won't look weird if all your windows except for your windshield are tinted... what would look weird is if your brand new civic was wrapped around a telephone pole because you couldn't see the road.

find out from your local shops what kind of tint they're using... as some cheaper brands will turn purple after a couple of years. 3M makes a nice one called "Color-Stable" that advertises to stay black.

 
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if your gonna tint do it the same all around. and try to go to a shop that won't rip you off. 20% all around, and cops don't care. so have fun. i got mine done for 150 including a 5 inch front winshield sun strip. now have fun. btw there is almost no point to tint lighter than 30% cause thats what stocks are.

 
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According to that website, I am only allowed to do 50% on my front windows and 35% on my back/rear window.

The % is the amount of light that comes thru correct? So lower % equals darker tint.

My stock Civic seems to have no tinting whatsoever. Both local companies that I checked with use Llumar® Automotive Window Film . Have you guys heard anything about it?

MajinB, do you have pictures of your windshield strip? I'm not sure if I want to get that done or not. Also, if I'm allowed 50% on my front windows, should I get my back/rear 50% as well? I was going for a darker tint but I don't want to be !llegal!

Thanks,

jmk

 
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yeah here. i just took this. 4 inch sun strip. if you want the rest of my tint pics they are in my photo gallery.

 
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Cool. Thanks for the quick post. I'm probably going to get it tinted next week so I have some time to decide.

What do you other people think? Windshield strip... or ?

 
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im not fond of it, unless it fades into the rest of the windshield

 
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if ur short on money dont. seems pretty expensive there. mine was done for 120 with the windshield strip. if u can get it, get it, it does help....sorta

 
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Yeah I was told that $200 is overpriced but I received that same quote from 2 different shops... Maybe its just more expensive here in Madison, WI.

 
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hey if you want check out my carddomain page, i have 50% in the front and 5% in the rear. you can definetly tell the difference between the two. there is two pictures on there. btw they were taken in pure california weather so you will see how those puppies work and keep the light out.

 
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oh i paid 150 for mine, i think i got the 3m with the aliuminum (<--spelling?) particles

 
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you know what just screw it ill do it for you, here it is

 
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I really like your tint. Here in Wisconsin, we are only allowed 35% in the back.

I would be using Llumar® Automotive Window Film. Have you heard of it? I don't think it has metallic particles in it...

Anyway, I'm going to stop by the shop and see some samples they've done later this week. I'll keep you guys posted.

Thanks a lot.

 
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thanks. make sure they take their time when they do it. make them remove the windows to get the tint right on. i was lucky the guy also does windshield repair so he took my rear windshield off when he did it.

anyways the reason i tell you is because i know some shops just slap on the tint. you get a better layout of the tint when you remove it, since you wond have to work with the constraints of the window frame.

 
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jmk, I had my 2005 EX SE sedan done at Eclipse in Madison. I went with the 50% all around. I had the 50%/35% on my 1998 Civic, and I didn't like the 2-tone look. 50% is VERY little tint. You can tell the diff between the side windows and the windshield, but it's pretty light. Eclipse does not take out the windows to apply the film, but they do a great job. My 98 Civic had a 1/4inch untinted strip at the top of all the side windows, where they go into the rubber seals. Eclipse's tint goes right to the top, you can barely tell where the film ends. They don't have any remedies for the dot-matrix around the back window. They also put the tint over the Honda print that's in the bottom rear corner of all the side windows. It looked like they did a good job cleaning the windows, no hair or other crap between the glass and the film. But they do not waranty "small bumps due to imperfections in the glass". So if there's a bump on the glass or a small chip (most likely from the manufacturing process) the tint will make the imperfections very visible. I've heard you can run a razor (like from a box cutter) on the inside of your side windows to remove some of the crud that may be stuck to the glass. I didn't do that, and there are a couple of places where I can tell there was something on the glass surface before the film went on. You could also clean the glass yourself before going to their shop, it can't hurt. As far as stock tint, it's 97%. So when you go to the shop, they'll tell you to go 55% if you are really concerned with the Man. But they'll also tell you that they have done many cars with 40% and have not had anyone come back yet (don't know if it's true). I don't know if the LX has a moon roof, but my EX does. I thought the stock tint (must be 40% or so) would be dark enough, but I was wrong. You can't leave the slider open in the 100 degree weather we've been having and not have your car baked. I went back and for $30 had limo tint put on the moonroof. Something to consider. I'll try to attach some pics of my car with the 50% all around.

 
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hey jmk........... Llumar is one of the best tints and highest quality tints you can buy..... it takes a very long time until it can get purple.... i risked myself and got 5% all around.... the quality of the tint is so nice and amazing... now ive never seen the 3m tint but i guarentee that Llumar auto tint is just as good or even better... and better yet i have free lifetime warranty for any Llumar tint dealer around the U.S. the 5% looks so good..... not on my windshield tho... just a strip.. but if i were you.... id go 15% on the back and 35% on the front... cops wont really notice the 35%... many see it as a secondary violation

 
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i would call your local highway patrol or police station to verify the tint limits. it says CA is limited to 70% on front windows, law passed so its no tint on front windows in california. so call to make sure with the local police and enforcement.


and no, 35% and 50% wouldnt look weird. there both light anyways. the 35% is perfect for night though. 50% is just like a light shade. IMO, i would go with 35% all around depends on how much of the jerks your local police are in town...

 
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Wow. That was a lot of input. Thanks a lot!

Anyway, I will be sure to check with my local police and see whats legal. I wonder if the shops will let me put on a tint darker than is allowed in WI.

Evil Betty, your 50% all around tint looks nice but I wanted to go with something darker... maybe a 35% all around. I'll email them and ask if they are willing to do it. My LX doesn't have a moonroof so I don't have to deal with that.

joescivic02, your tint is really nice as well. I think a 5% tint would be pushing it a little bit. I emailed the 2 shops I'm looking into and asked if they were willing to do a 35% all around. I'll let you guys know what they say. I wish there weren't any laws about this so we could all have limo tint.

jttegx, taking your advice! Going to try the 35% all around.

 
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if they charge you more than 150 then its ripped. btw i paid cash for mine, and it was 20% so it had to be cash cause it was illegal. so if you get like 30% nobody will be able to tell the diff between 35 and 30. cash is always cheaper. remember that when you ask the shop next time.

 
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Eclipse will put on whatever tint you want, legal or not.

 
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EXCELLENT

 
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I came across this photo album and now I'm thinking 35% isn't enough.

Hmmm.. in some pictures, the 35% looks like its not dark enough but on some other pictures, it looks HOT.

I can't decide

 
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check my album.

 
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35% is perfect during nights and somewhat ok during day.

with 35% at night, u can still pick ur nose but no one outside would be able to identify you... but they'll know your picking your nose lol. with 20%, you can pick ur nose all night and not care whose looking

picking nose at 35% during day, everyone is gonna laugh. picking nose with 20% during day... they'll laugh but wont know who you are.



man i wished i recored this lady whom was straight digging in her nose like the san francisco gold rush. looked like she had very dark tint, but the sun was directed at her and i saw everything. haha
so theres a different between looking at the tint when sun is directed onto the window and when its parked in the shade.

 
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yeah, i pick my nose with my 20% in the daytime. lol i love it. to tell you the truth, i like to people watch through my tint cause they don't know im lookin, so its hilarious what i see

 
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Haha, you don't need tint to pick your nose! If they look at you funny, just roll down your window and flick your booger at them.

 
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i pick my nose with no tint at all... mmm boogers.

 
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lol i have 5% so nobody can see lol..... but at our tint shop here you have to sign some papers stating that you wanted the illegal % you wanted so you wont sue them i you get a ticket...

 
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My brother got 2.5% on his 6thgen Si. You can barely see out let alone in. I thought 5% was pretty freakin dark, but this is like night time. His black car is always cool inside in the summer though.

 
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anyone know if the honda dealer can tint the windshield 35% ?