Honda Car Forum

My infant daughter will be sitting in the back seat and I'd like to limit the sun on her face and keep the car a little cooler so that she can have a comfortable ride, but I'd still like my car to look nice. California law limits the amount of tinting you can have on your window; particularly the front windows. I've never been a huge fan of tinting the back and not the front or tinting the backs waaaayyy darker than the fronts. I have; however, seen cars on the road that look nice with the backs a little darker than the fronts - but I don't know what tinting percentages they are using.I'm hoping there's a car enthusiast out there that can help me with any suggestions or examples on what percentages might look good on the front windows vs. the back windows, while keeping my daughter comfy and staying withing the legal limits?

i dont know what the laws of your state are , 25 to 35% is about average for after market tinting, the lower the number the darker the tint, eg. allows 25% of the light to shine through, so 5% is really dark, it only allows 5% to shine throughhope this helps

a good rule of thumb is that you put what ever the law will allow on your front windows and the next shade down on the rear. that way theres not a huge contrast but it will still be darker. i know that ,in according with local law, i have 33% on my front and 15 % on my rear in my Blazer and it looks pretty sharp

I think the law on front windows in california is 70%. That is the lightest tint any company makes. I would suggest one of two things to keep it somewhat legal and still keep you and your child comfortable. My first suggestions would be to put 70 on the front two windows and 35-50% on the backs. This will look fairly uniform and provide adequate protection. The other option is what I would do if I lived in CA. I would tint the The whole thing 70%. I would look for a shop willing to put it on the windshield too. Its so light nobody will ever know. I have 45% on my windshield and 35% on the rest and it is great. I makes a huge difference in how much cooler it keeps your car. But the main thing you need to look for is the quality of film. Cheap films wont block out much light or heat. Quality films will block out more heat and light without actually being darker. I would suggest Llumar, 3M, or what I use, Sun Tek. You need to get one of these three grades of tint: HP, Sputtered, or HP NR. These are all techincal terms that dont matter to you, but the sputtered will be the best at blocking heat. The HP is the cheaper of the three and will not hold up as long, but is still good. The HP NR is a new breed of films that arent metallized, so they wont interfere with your radio antenna if you have a newer car that has it built into your back glass. This film is usually a non-fading film too. I would recommend this type. But depending on where you live it may be hard to find. What I use is called Carbon series by Sun Tek. I have never had a complaint. If all else fails get one of those sun shades that have suction cups to stick on the window for the window nearest your daughter for those really hot days. Hope I helped you to make an informed decision!