So, I have an appointment to get my 06 sonata tinted this wens. I was wondering if people who have this done wouldn't mind uploading a pic of there car and telling me what %'s they went with. I'm trying to decide what the best look would be. I'm in IL so i'm not supposed to tint the two front windows, but I think if I go with a lighter shade, I might not get a ticket. Well, thanks all!

Hey Cpt,

Check out my garage to see mine. There are several decent pics of my tint for you to check out. I did 30% on the front windows, and 20% everywhere behind that. It's the perfect combination for me - not too dark for night driving but great at blocking the Texas sun and heat. I don't know if this combo would work for you (if you're not technically allowed to tint the fronts) but it's worth a look.

And whatever you decide, don't forget, we need pics ASAP. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grin.gif)

Nice! And Nice Grill! And hey you did the switch replacement! Was that easy? Been thinking about doing that to. Anyway, my car is the same color to! The question I have is if the back tint at 20% is about the same color/darkness as the sunroof? Just wondering. i was thinking of trying to make my back end match that darkness, but i'm still not sure which way to go. Thanks though! Your car certainly gave me much to ponder on.

The level of tint should be in proportion to how bored the cops in your area get. I did my Tiburon at what I thought was a legal 35% tint, not thinking about the little tint that's already in the glass out of the factory. The fact that it was a bright yellow car with a black interior made the tint look even darker, but in our sleepy little burb there's far more drug activity and people shooting each other for the cops to bother with tint.

But I got got one sunny Sunday afternoon, puttering along at the speed limit in a more rural section of southern Maryland. State trooper pulled me over thinking my tint was too dark and I had to get it metered at the DMV where it came in at 26%, too dark. I wound up pulling it all off and getting the fixit ticket taken care of, and sold the car before feeling the need to re-do it.

The Sonata is done at 35% but since it's a darker body (Deepwater blue), more window area and that awful grey interior, the windows don't look all that dark. It's better than factory, but I'd love to see it at 20% or maybe even darker. But I got spooked by that traffic stop in the Tib so I'm not going to chance it. I don't want to give the police any excuses to pull me over.

Anyway here it is at 35% (photos taken back in 2006 right after it came out of the tint shop) and you'll probably agree, that's not dark enough

(IMG:http://www.claffie.com/photos/060209-02.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.claffie.com/photos/060209-01.jpg)

Great timing on thread. I have an appointment to get my windows tinted today at 11AM. Don't know what % I'm going to go with but after reading Claff's issues with the PO PO, I think I'm going to go the safe route as well. Probably get 40% or so. I'll take pics and upload them to my Garage when I'm done. I'm also going to rim shopping today as well. BTW Claff, the tint looks great.

I love it!

This IS crazy timing. I was about to drive this place right now and get a quote, but then it started pouring. I will also post pics once I get this done.

LOL, I'm thinking about doing it too, the darkest I can go is 50% all around... **** MN! anyways, how much do they usually charge for tint?

Awesome! The more the better to help me decide. I have an appointment in the morning, so i'll put my pics up when done. I guess i'll have to decide then. My quote was 269.98. Lifetime warranty on them, and they are laser cut (not hand cut). I'm in a chicago suburb and called all the shops around. This was the best deal I found. I found one for cheaper, but only 3 yr warranty and was hand cut. Anyway this is the place i'm taking it to.

http://www.ztechnaperville.com/

Ive wanted to get mine done for awhile now, I just don't know if I like the half tinted looks of just the rear windows being tinted, because it's illegal to tint the fronts, I also thought of having the front tinted lighter then the back, maybe 50 front and 30 rear... There are so many cars in my area with jersey plates that have full tints... And If I don't get stopped, I have to deal with inspection. Do you have inspection there in IL?

This post has been edited by Djonemore: Jun 30 2009, 11:55 AM

$269? In Miami the going price is less than half of that. I'd shop around before plunking $300 on Tint.

I also live in IL (southern) and just got the windows on my 08 sonata tinted. I went 35 all around and with the dark interior I think it looks really good, not too dark but not too light. Another bit of good news for you is that in Illinois there is currently legislation out to make 35 on the front windows legal. It's already passed the house and senate and is on the governors desk waiting for him to sign it. Here's the link to the bill if you want to read it and/or follow it.
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus...ID=76&GA=96

Here's a pic of my sonata with the tint.

Yeah, $269 is a lot, but its the cheapest I can find here unless I go to Chicago! Then it's $180.

njwalt- your tints look pretty nice! And thanks for the info on the bill, I didn't know that! Hopefully it passes!

You cant see mine to well ill have to upload a pic but mines 5% all around

Well, just got back from the shop. Here's some pics. Llumar 35% Mass. legal. $210 even out the door.

This post has been edited by iclicku: Jun 30 2009, 03:13 PM

Nice! 35% all around.

Thanks for the compliments.

The switch replacement isn't that hard if you're somewhat handy. It requires a little work - more than just a plug and play job. This topic will give you all the information you need to change out the audio controls. Post #1 is the DIY I followed and post #48 is one of my follow-up posts with a little more information.

The 20% tint is roughly the same shade as the sunroof, so that would be a safe bet for what you're looking to do. Good luck with your mod(s).




I agree with Miami on this one (for once, ha ha) - $270 for tint is RIDICULOUS. Maybe it's so much cheaper in Texas because EVERYONE here gets their windows tinted. I gave $165 for the lifetime-warranted, laser-cut tint with no specials or coupons. The three-year stuff would have cost $99.

I'll have to try and get a better picture of mine. If you go to my garage you can expand the avatar picture. I got 30% Huper Optik ceramic all around. My main goal was performance followed by appearance. The Ceramic tints block a lot more heat than the dyed tints and more than high performance metals. Go to www.tintcenter.com and you can see the specs of many of the brands. The 30% on my car is strange....some days (bright and sunny) with the light grey interior I'm like "that tint looks REALLY light" then I take one step more and the angle changes and it looks dark. On cloudy days it looks REAL dark but one step closer and you see right through.

Biggest part for me is that I like cold and live by A/C. In my car on hot days after a short time, my A/C is ALWAYS on low as the car is very cool on the inside. Keeps the fan nice and quiet which is also nice.

Other "options" are to get a lighter tint and add some static cling type dot matrix for when you want it darker, cooler and privacy. Think of it as a full window, kids type pull down sun shade (except it sticks awesome AND you can roll the windows down!). See my links in THIS POST.

I like this. I like it a lot. Do most tint shops carry this, did u bring it in, or diy?

It's a real shame how the cops in some areas have nothing else to do but spoil everyones ability to add things to their car to improve the way it looks. I have always had good luck when it comes to tint on my cars where I live, I've had double 5% on all my rear doors and back windows with 5% on the two front and never been stopped for it . One time at night late I went through a ride stop check and all they asked me to do was just roll down my back windows so they could see inside, and I have been stopped for having to many headlights but never for the tint on my cars. A car with a nice dark tint all round looks really sharp, at night it almost as if the car is driving by it's self, as well as keeping people away- most people don't screw with a car that they can't see in the windows when driving because they don't know how many are in it or who is driving it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/thumbsup.gif)