Police Attitude & Driver's Side Deep Tint

[Peanut Butter]

Broadster, it won't help with privacy but it will help with heat and UV issues which was your concern. Plus you won;t be bothered with by the police. Crystalline is expensive but the UV protection and heat prevention to me is worth it. Sprinter windshields have a significant green house effect. The Crystalline dramatically reduces that.

[boardster]

Good points PB, the 3M film as you described to take care of the heat and UV, plus a true privacy panel or pleated shade when desired is probably the best way to go if not considering cost.
Also even if getting away w/ a 18% tint is a possibilty, my night vision is deteriorating enough due to aging as it is, maybe that's why it's the young kids that have the front side tint typicaly and law enforcement expects to find a younger driver behind the dark glass.

[Old Crows]

Boardster,

Do it once .... do it right!

IME crystal film is the only way to go. Our van is all black including side and rear windows. Black black! Black or dark tint glass just absorbs more heat and radiates it into the van being the largest and best heat conductor in the van. W/O CF the glass is too hot to touch in the SW beating sun inside or outside. With CF it is just warm on the inside. Driver and pax doors use CF w/ lightest legal tint... almost as dark as rear glass. Front is near clear CF film.
Cut small hole for the worthless state stickers...

Tint does not block view from outside at night ... you need RV shades that have day & night positions. Daytime is no problem if tint is dark enough. Shades also act as a barrier to heat xfer from the glass.

Honestly, CF film on all windows was the 2nd most cost effective improvement we made to our Ventura. Now you can drive directly into the blazing Texas sun and be comfortable.

[atulin]

Originally Posted by Old Crows

Boardster,

Do it once .... do it right!

IME crystal film is the only way to go. Our van is all black including side and rear windows. Black black! Black or dark tint glass just absorbs more heat and radiates it into the van being the largest and best heat conductor in the van. W/O CF the glass is too hot to touch in the SW beating sun inside or outside. With CF it is just warm on the inside. Driver and pax doors use CF w/ lightest legal tint... almost as dark as rear glass. Front is near clear CF film.
Cut small hole for the worthless state stickers...

Tint does not block view from outside at night ... you need RV shades that have day & night positions. Daytime is no problem if tint is dark enough. Shades also act as a barrier to heat xfer from the glass.

Honestly, CF film on all windows was the 2nd most cost effective improvement we made to our Ventura. Now you can drive directly into the blazing Texas sun and be comfortable.

I'm definitely doing my windshield but what did it cost you to do all of the other windows?

[jackpinner]

Florida, my tint guy which does all my work trucks says he can do 6" down on the windshield & thats it. Also we cannot go as dark up front as we can in the next row seating. I don't know why you would want it so dark, especially at night it is very hard to see outside the windows when the street is dark.

[boardster]

Originally Posted by jackpinner

Also we cannot go as dark up front as we can in the next row seating. I don't know why you would want it so dark, especially at night it is very hard to see outside the windows when the street is dark.

What % do you guys go for the drivers side window?

[Old Crows]

Originally Posted by atulin

I'm definitely doing my windshield but what did it cost you to do all of the other windows?

About $600.... But it's a lot of glass ... All windows except for window behind the bath/wc, microwave, cabinets on drivers side...

[Old Crows]

Originally Posted by atulin

I'm definitely doing my windshield but what did it cost you to do all of the other windows?

Originally Posted by boardster

What % do you guys go for the drivers side window?

I don't remember... Max allowed in Tx.... Windshield is clear w/ dark band about 6" down. (that's the problem w/ poorly written rules.... You could but a foot wide strip on a Sprinter....I pull the visor down and thats blocking a lot of the windshield.

[atulin]

Originally Posted by jackpinner

Florida, my tint guy which does all my work trucks says he can do 6" down on the windshield & thats it. Also we cannot go as dark up front as we can in the next row seating. I don't know why you would want it so dark, especially at night it is very hard to see outside the windows when the street is dark.

I have 15% on the front windows (or 14 according to the cop that ticketed me for them a couple months ago) so what are they going to do if I have 70% on the windshield write me two tickets

I have no night time problems with that tint level. It's also a good substitute for this things not being available with auto dimming mirrors...

[psychoboy]

you can sneak light tint on the windshield past the glance test with a highbrow.

if you have a legal dark strip along the top, the officer assumes the rest of the windshield is untinted. so long as you aren't being foolish with it, anything lighter than 70% (transmission) tint would probably never get a second look.

of course, in oklahoma, we don't have inspection stickers, so we don't have to worry about having state property under our tint.


the hard part is finding a piece of tint big enough to do the whole sprinter windshield in one piece.