[jester924]

I'm planning on having my Black '09 XLS tinted in the next few weeks but I live in Californina, so legal tinting looks less then great =(

That said, I was thinking about doing a 3 level tint, basically to avoid cop troubles and still have a(possibly) interesting visual effect. I'm planning on using FormulaOne Pinnacle for the whole job.

The setup would basically break down like this:
Front Windows-Pinnacle 50 (I know any front aftermarket tint is illegal in Cali but hopefully wouldn't be noticed)
Back Windows-Pinnacle 35
Cargo area/rear Windows-Pinnacle 15

Has anyone done/seen this in action? Any comments/thoughts? Thanks in advance!

 

[escapedtroy]

personally i reckon it would look crap lol
id do the front one level and then the second row and back heaps dark. door the rear hatch lighter if u want to let some light it. but keep the sides apart from the front the same.

mine started with 35% on the from and privacy glass on the back, which was pretty dark.
put 15% on the front and 20% on the backs. to give the effect of darker and lighter so i get no trouble from the boys in blue, and its worked so far lol. i also put nothing on the back hatch which was already privacy, i did this so i could see when reversing.

cheers

 

[gmercedesbenz]

Yea I have to agree, I don't think it would look to great. Mostly becuase your 'scape is black, you will notice the difference in each window more. My back windows are privacy glass, my fronts are 20% and I haven't had any cop trouble. Here in NY, the law states you can't have anything darker then 70% on your fronts, but they leave me alone. They only get excited about 5% (limo) tint.

I would just tint the front to match the privacy glass, and if you happen to come on a cop and think he might not appreciate your tint, just put the front windows down until you pass him.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[jester924]

Yeah, if law enforcement issues weren't a problem, I would go with the Pinnacle 15 all the way around and be done with it, however that seems like it might be pushing it, as I've heard stories of fix-it tickets being written for similar setups in my area. After thinking about it some more and digging on some other car forums, I'm leaning towards doing the Pinnacle 35 all the way around or possibly 35 on the fronts and 15 on the rest, though I'm starting to think that I want stay away from multi levels all together and keeping it uniform since I'm working with a black Escape.

***Note: As this is an XLS, it has nothing on the windows right now, so trying to match factory stuff isn't a problem. Also the interior is Tan and Grey mostly, which I've heard makes tinting seem lighter.

 

[lilshimy36]

Also the interior is Tan and Grey mostly, which I've heard makes tinting seem lighter.

True statement, that's exactly why I ended up with my front window back down to 2%. I think you're overthinking the tint, either way you go will look better than with no tint at all. The legal limit here in Ohio is 50% on the front windows, but cops have yet to bother me for my 2%, OR my extremely low window visor.

 

[Squishy]

I've heard of cops in California taking keys to a window to check if it was factory tint. :bill:

 

[jester924]

I've heard of cops in California taking keys to a window to check if it was factory tint. :bill:

Yeah, I've read about that in a few other forums while doing my research but haven't heard any first hand accounts. It sounds like most of that is in and around L.A. and I'm down in San Diego County, so I'm a bit better off, the cops seem a bit less agro here.

 

[lilshimy36]

I've heard of cops in California taking keys to a window to check if it was factory tint. :bill:

Yeah, I've read about that in a few other forums while doing my research but haven't heard any first hand accounts. It sounds like most of that is in and around L.A. and I'm down in San Diego County, so I'm a bit better off, the cops seem a bit less agro here.

You should be fine then, just don't do anything else to catch their attention.