[TinsleyC]

Our QX50 was supposed to have the windows tinted before delivery and apparently they forgot to apply it, but didn't forget to charge me for it.

The good thing is that I can now specify the tinting shades we want. What do any of you recommend for tinting shades?

I'm considering ~45% on the front-side windows, and ~35% on the rear glass. Add that to the factory tint built into the glass and it should be about 40% front, 30% rear.

In Texas we can have a maximum of 25% tinting on the side windows. The windshield can't have any tint added. The rear glass can be any tint darkness. 25% means that 25% of the light is passed through. So the lower the number, the darker the tint looks.

The way it was explained to me - the factory glass already contain some built-in tinting. If I had to guess, I'd say they block out about 5% of the available light, making them an approximate 95% tint rating. I'd like to know what the actual tint percentage is on factory glass, if anyone knows.

So if you buy the maximum tint in Texas of 25% and apply it over a window that already has 5% tint from the factory, you get a darker tint than 25%. This happened to me on my 2009 G37. After owning it for 5 years, I failed an inspection because the window tint was too dark. They said it metered at about 18%. This implies the factory glass had a 7% tint.

I called the dealer who sold it to me (new) and they said yes, they did apply 25% tint film. I decided to keep the rear glass the way they were and replace the front-side windows with a 35% film, which then passed inspection.

Considerations:

1) This is Texas and it's hot, so blocking a lot of UV will make the car feel cooler. Darker is better here.

2) With the light Wheat interior color of our QX50, it's easy to see things inside the car when looking in through the factory-tinted windows. This is a security issue considering that the QX50 has little "hide away" space inside the car. A dark tint can hide valuables. For example, I cannot see things on the back seat of my G37 through the 25% tint.

3) A dark tint is hard to see through at night. When it's dark out and there are no street lights, I can see very little out of my G37 with 25% rear tint. I can see much better through the 35% front-side windows, but it's still pretty dark. In bright sunlight, it's about right. I recall one year we were driving around at night looking at Christmas decorations. It was very cold that night, but the rear passengers could not see the Christmas garb well through the tinted glass. Rolling the windows down so they could see was not an option when it's 20 degrees outside.

4) Legalities - the closer you get to the maximum tint, the more likely you are to fail an inspection, or get pulled over.

So I know it's up to me - but just trying to hear of other's experiences here with tinting on a QX50.

 

[1nf1n1t]

Friend of mine has a QX70 running 35% all around and finds that to be good in florida weather, so on a QX50, i can imagine that being good enough but the heat impacts people differently so that might either be good enough for you or not. but it's what i would get.

 

[alohabra]

I have 20% tint all the way around behind the drivers seat, like an SUV. Works fine and legal in California and not too dark at night. Looks like a normal SUV.

 

[insaned]

I have huper optiks ceramic 15% tint all around the vehicle (drivers+passenger, back windows+hatch) and 70% huper optiks ceramic in the full windshield and sunroof . It works wonder... even at 15% this tint is quite good at night. The light color interiors makes it near 20% VLT so I think it was a good choice, but this tint is expensive.
Probably I could change the hatch for 10% or even 5%.
DOing the full front windshield made it very very slightly blurry, but only noticed the first drives due to the difference and it was worth it with the heat.. I would picture it like a new mobile phone and then you apply a screen protection.

legal aspects aside, I drive perfectly fine with at night at this level, however it also implies having the car clean dusk in the windows is the biggest issue. I would say that compared to 3M I can see way better at 15% with this tint that other car that I have with 20% with 3M.. so this really can depend on the brand as some tint reflect more than others etc

 

[RHA]

Fortunately when it comes to tints, its very rare for cops to have a measuring tool to see how dark/light a tint is, its really up to the cops judgement and depending where you live its doesn't even fall on their priority list unless its a slow day near the end of the month.

 

[QBall]

Fortunately when it comes to tints, its very rare for cops to have a measuring tool to see how dark/light a tint is, its really up to the cops judgement and depending where you live its doesn't even fall on their priority list unless its a slow day near the end of the month.

Usually their judgements are ridiculous and horrible. I've gotten pulled over before for 35% and that's the legal limit in my area.. stupid.

 

[RHA]

Usually their judgements are ridiculous and horrible. I've gotten pulled over before for 35% and that's the legal limit in my area.. stupid.

It happens from time to time, there's only so much you can debate with them unless you want to wait for a supervisor, and if that doesn't work you take it to court.

Fortunately being a newer vehicle we're not nearly as likely to be pulled over as someone in an older vehicle that has obvious modifications done elsewhere

 

[QBall]

That is very true. I really can't see people getting pulled over in these unless either 1) they're driving like tools, or 2) they have their QX on some big chrome wheels. Or of course a combination of the two lol.

I typically don't even try to argue though, it's just a pointless waste of time. Get the ticket and send someone to go fight it for you.

 

[RHA]

Not always can you win even when you try to behave as best as any driver can and try to not draw any attention to yourself. If it's the end of the month and you run into a cop that follows the book by the word then... you're out of luck. If you're luck enough they'll let you off with a warning and require you remove or replace them with lighter tints.

 

[QBall]

They'll tell you to take it off and replace them with lighter tints even though you're within legal limit though.

 

[RHA]

Costly mistake to make, best not to let it happen.

Seen some videos of active tints that work by the press of a button but haven't seen many people using them, might be for a good reason why and why the traditional method is dominant.

 

[QBall]

Yea.. I seen videos of that years ago and up to this date, I have never seen it in person. Ever. The only thing I seen that was remotely relevant was a restaurant in Japan that used that for the bathroom stall doors. Seriously.

 

[moonmage2025]

Before tinting, don't forget to degrease the glass and wash it with a steam cleaner. When choosing a steam cleaner, it's advisable to look at articles and reviews. Recently, they offered the Optima steamer at a discount, but it was good that I looked at the review on Do not buy the Optima steamer before reading this. I chose a model that surpasses it in comparison.