Opinions on tint and Minnesota tint laws

[MNgopher]

Two comments to add:

1. Skyactiv is correct. A larger GM car with tinted windows appeals to a particular demographic in this area. Whether right or wrong, you will be profiled.

2. Law enforcement on this side of the Twin Cities Metro is aggressive on enforcing window tinting laws. Not a question of if they do - they do, and they use it as reasonable cause to pull vehicles over regularly on a larger fishing expedition.

Not intended to slight law enforcement or complain. Just stating facts...

 

[firemachine69]

I ripped the entire tint out of my former Yaris, because it made nighttime food deliveries impossible.

 

[milkboy]

Hard to believe there are places where cops give a [censored] about tint.

You could paint your windows with tar around here, and look through a periscope to drive, and nobody would look twice at you.

 

[Kestas]

I'm with firemachine69. I wish tinted windshields were optional, like they were in the 60s. Excessive heat is not a big problem in Michigan. I want all light available at night to pass through unblocked. I once drove two cars, where one had tinted windows and the other untinted. The difference in visibility at night was... well, like night and day. There's less chance of making mistakes at night with superior vision. Too much light during the day?... wear sunglasses!

 

[aquariuscsm]

The sun and heat here are so intense,I wish you could legally limo tint all the windows (only rear and quarter windows can be limo'd).

 

[andrewg]

I don't know about Minnesota, but where I live tinting is everywhere. Personally, I don't care for it. I like to be able to see the face of the person I'm sharing the road with. It's difficult to know if they even see you are not....let alone aiming a gun at you. I think these days people either like to hide behind the tinting....or enjoy the semi-sinister look of a heavily tinted car.

Not my thing.

 

[Cujet]

I have 2 nearly identical f150's. One with tint. One without. Huge difference in overall level of comfort, especially after parking in the sun.

 

[grampi]

Here in IL I see tint on windows I know for a fact is too dark to be legal (you can't see into the vehicle at all). I don't know how these people get away with it...I guess like many other violations, the cops just aren't paying attention, or they just don't do anything about it...

 

[DoubleWasp]

I drive an older GM vehicle with dark tint. Why? Our sun is about as bad as the nation gets, and there is a LOT of glass.

Before I had the tint put in, interior Temps when parked would hover around 140-145°F. No thank you.

The car being white with a light interior made exactly no difference in the world.

I've literally never been pulled for tint. The only time anyone ever gets that is when the cops are already after them for something else.

If it ever were an issue, the door jam has a tint sticker from 1991 in it. Police can't pursue me, since old tint was grandfathered in when the laws reduced the opacity.

 

[CT8]

tint looks so ghetto.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: CT8
tint looks so ghetto.


Depends on how it's done...if it's the really dark tint, or it's one of those half-a$$ jobs with all the air bubbles trapped underneath the tint, yes that's ghetto looking...

 

[DBMaster]

Ask about IR blocking tint. That stuff comes in shades all the way down to clear and blocks a lot more heat that the standard type. It's twice as expensive, though.

 

[andrewg]

Originally Posted By: CT8
tint looks so ghetto.


I lean your way. Even well done tint on many cars DOES look ghetto.

I predict it's a style phase that will soon be gone.....or at least lessen in popularity.

 

[DBMaster]

It's been in widespread use around here for nearly 40 years. In the hot states it's no fad.

 

[Kira]

I wish I could deposit a metallic coating on my auto glass. Neighbor's had "chromed" drinking glasses.
The chrome was full mirror at the bottom of the glass and faded to 0 at the top (where you'd put your lips).

Whatever solution was needed dip glass in top-side up and withdraw it. Like a mirrored building.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: Kira
I wish I could deposit a metallic coating on my auto glass. Neighbor's had "chromed" drinking glasses.
The chrome was full mirror at the bottom of the glass and faded to 0 at the top (where you'd put your lips).

Whatever solution was needed dip glass in top-side up and withdraw it. Like a mirrored building.


I remember in the 70s seeing cars tinted with "mirror tint". Was that some kind've 70s fad? Cheif Auto Parts would have rolls of that stuff for sale.

 

[DBMaster]

At the tint shop I use they had this interesting display. It was a wooden box with a heat lamp inside with a glass sliding tray underneath. On half of the glass had high quality dark tint applied and the other side was nearly clear. You could still feel plenty of heat through the dark glass but not as much through the clear. This is tint that is legal (in Texas) to use on the inside of the windshield (since 2009 law change). But, as I said, it would cost around $500 to tint my Mazda3 compared to the $189 I paid for the regular "lifetime" stuff. My experience does tell me that the regular stuff blocks more than enough UV to prevent interior fading and cut down on the heat by a decent amount. If you're willing to spend the money, though, you should have no worries about legalities because you can go as light as you want and still block the heat and UV.

I keep debating about whether or not to spend the $250 to do my windshield. I am still leery of visual aberrations or scratched tint. The Mazda's windshield is so large that the A/C has a bit of trouble keeping me cool enough on 100 degree days. The air comes out of the vent at 42 degrees, but by the time it covers the distance to me underneath that huge greenhouse it doesn't feel as good.