CaBlonde

Another tip from Miss 20% tint here. When you see a cop, you can immediately open the sunroof shades and let in the light. This makes the tinted windows appear lighter than they really are.

Au contraire, Edge2. I have been pulled over for tint, a few years back, driving someone else's truck. Just a fix-it ticket, but still a ticket.

BTW, nice pics, Twister.

Kaius88

Ah... talking like an experienced law-breaker there.

Does tinting affect the clarity of looking out? I never wear sunglasses because i always feel it affects how clear I can see. My most recent ES loaner had tint all around, and the slight darkness somewhat affected my views. So is it like wearing shades, or is it negligible?

PaJaHa1

Finally! Thanks for the pics Twister. For $190???? Give up your source!

amf1932

Picture this: It's a dark and rainy night. It's difficult to see objects. Now add a darkening tint to this equation, and what have you got? I'll tell you what you've got.......a much more dangerous situation!!! It's like wearing sunglasses at night. Therefore, no more window tints for me.

twister

@ PaJaHa1: I kept my promise, got car washed (right after the rain LOL!!!) and took these pics! The place is AutoGear on Rt 37 in Toms River NJ. PM me for more details. Regarding the price, I was recommended to go there by my dealership, so I hope its their everyday price and not a customer-special.

@ Alan: I do remember that you had a bad experience with your tint and a crappy installation. Can't blame you for having such a negative feeling toward it. But the material used, in my case, is relatively transparent from the inside. If anything, its actually filters out the glare from other car headlights similar to our auto-dimming rear view mirror. Keep in mind, I got 35% which is not a limo-dark shade, just appear darker from outside due to my black interior. BTW, did you get your car back?

Regarding the front windows tint, its a risk with cops since they can always use it as an excuse to pull you over. My brother-in-law who is a cop told me, if you drive within a reasonable speed limit and its a Lexus versus flying on a modded Civic with a back spoiler-wing the size of your whole car - cops might look at it differently, and in a worst case if you get pulled over you can just get a warning.

amf1932

I'm picking it up today. They had a helluva time trying to locate replacement headlight assemblies. I'll post back later with the results of this repair.

toneman

Also remember that in CA, a tint fix-it ticket will also require removal of the tint in order for it to be signed off...not unless you happen to know a friendly LEO who's willing to "pretend" that you did remove the illegal tint.

In addition--unless you have a really good relationship with your tint shop, said tint fix-it ticket isn't gonna be cheap since you'll have to pay the tint shop to remove the tint, then paying them to put new tint back on if you plan on having it done after getting the ticket signed off.

Me--I've been pulled over once...but that was because I had 35% on the fronts. Haven't been pulled over in any of the vehicles I've owned since going lighter w/ 50% front tints. And...even if I do get pulled over for tints, the penalty won't be too stiff for me since my bro owns a window tint shop!

twister

Out of curiousity (actually, just in case if I will need it myself), how clean is the tint removal? I'm keeping this in the back of my mind, if I'm faced with it - will do front/back side windows 50% and keep back 35%.

Lexucan

I had my rear seat side windows retinted fairly recently. I was able to stand and watch the guy remove the old tint and redo it. It only took a matter of seconds to remove the old tint from each window. He just grabbed one corner after peeling it away from the window a bit and then....ripppppp! It came right off. Then he had to go back and use a strong cleaner and a razor blade to remove any traces of adhesive, but there wasn't much to it. What really hurt to watch was when he applied the new layer of tint and used a small cetalyne torch to heat the outside surface of the window so that the tint film bonded well.
One slip and my paint job or rubber window trim would be toast....literally!
But he's been in the same business for 15 years and really knows his stuff, so I had to trust him....not without some temporary trepidation, however!

BTW, your car looks great!

Lexusfreak

Very nice ride twister!

ssmoked

i had a 35% tint too, like 3 and 1/2 years ago. now days everyone has limo tints and i never seen or heard anyone got pulled over for it. trust me, if i was going to tint another car, i will definately go with limo tint. if you dont feel confortable doing it, go abit lighter at the front. for the post above with "cant see clear at night" you will get adjusted to it. i was thinking the same thing the 1st week but after that it was like second nature, but my only conplaint is i cant see the sierens on police cars at night . i got my tint for 120 all around, but that is in orlando, fla. by the way nice tint, although it would look nicer/more private if it was darker

DjFergi

Lookin good

GFerg

Looks great!!

twister

Thank you for ""

I just wish this rain would stop here on East Coast so I can take it for a ride!!!

I'm also considering bigger wheels with phatter tires, but this will take awhile before I see other people modding their ES350s and sharing their ride experience and wheel/tire specs. I absolutely enjoy the quiet/smooth ride now (its too quiet, which is kind of freaky), but feel that a wider rims/tires will give this car a better handling at higher speed...

prmow

I've read on another website that metal tint films can affect the functionality of devices such as Bluetooth. At my local tint shop they told me that a brand new BMW 5 series was recently brought in and all of the tint had to be striped out because of the bluetooth stopped working. I had my tint shop install "Pinnacle" from Formula One. This is a ceramic film and is fully compatible with all electronic devices. I'm happy to say my bluetooth is still working! The "Pinnacle" cost $316 to install. My local Lexus dealer charges $475 and uses the same tint shop to do it!!!

On a final note, the tint shop said that "Classic" film also works because it is non-metal, but they think the dye will change color over time and so if you plan on keeping your car for a while, buy the ceramic because it has a lifetime warranty and the heat reduction is superior to regular film.