Sorry, I couldn't find our posts on this subject so I thought I'd start all over from the top.

Illinois Law :
Front Side WindowsMust allow more than 35% of light in.Back Side WindowsMust allow more than 35% of light in.Rear WindowMust allow more than 35% of light in.

More Legal Combinations:
1. 30-35% in the rear/up to 50% front

2. If you have below 30% tint in the rear, you cannot have front tint



Having rear and sides at 5% and 0% front...wouldn't that look "unfinished"?
I feel 35% all the way is too light.
This will be one of my mods this year so I need your feedback.
An upclose inspection at a Meet & Eat would be help also.
Thanks guys.

 

I've been thinkin' about this too (and am even more clueless on the possible paths forward). I guess I need to figure out what the IA laws say. I didn't even comprehend that there were so many different colors of tint available.

densan57 got their MINI tinted this past year--likely right there in your neighborhood. I know that R56MINICooper knows a lot about this subject and has recommended vendors. Maybe he'll weigh in.

 

I wish I could supply some information on this subject, but I know very little about window tint. I will ask our accessory sales manager on Monday and see what he has for information.

 

Here ya go

http://www.tintcenter.com/laws/IA/

 

35% all around actually doesn't look too bad . I have been past many of law officers and not gotten a ticket for it. I have even gotten pulled over and not had an issue with my tint. I have 35% front and 15% in back I believe on both cars..Might have gone 35% all around on Willie this time around though. Iowa law is very stingy on the amount of light. You basically can't have any tint on the front windows in Iowa, factory windows I believe already only allow 85-90% of light through so any tint that offers an aesthetic change makes it illegal. :(

 

Who did the work on Willie for you?

 

Willie was done here in Iowa City by the guys at AutoToyz. Used to take it to AutoTrim and sign in the QC area, they do great work as well.

 

We had ours done at Solar Vision on River Drive in Davenport. We had to sign a waiver to have the front windows done. Our only complaint about the job they did was that they cut through the stickers we had on the windows, when they were doing their cutting and didn't bother to tell us about it. 16% front windows and 38% on the three back windows. The material is called Llumar.

 

^^ You went darker in front and lighter in back eh? That's pretty bold I had 15% all around in my contour and I got pulled over twice for tint within 48hours of getting it done. Needless to say, that front got removed :(

 

Actually I think I inverted those percentages. They are lighter in front than in the back. Sorry.

 

I am pretty sure that mine are 20 in rear and 35 in front. I have a 3M reflective tint guaranteed for life. I live in South Florida, so the rules may be different than where you are, but I have never been stopped. When I went to get my tint, I was concerned that having the different percentage tints would look non-uniform, but I am really happy with it, and I can hardly tell a difference. FWIW, here are a couple pics from my gallery.

 

When I researched this topic in 2009, I found that there were state laws that governed tinting. Most do not allow any tinting of the front window, but I see that Iowa allows tinting near the top of the windshield. While I would have like tinting darker than allowed by Virginia law, I went with what the State defines as legal. While not a lawyer, it seems to me that if an accident occured, one of the areas that might come into play is if your window tinting exceeded state law and how that might have impacted the accident, if at all. I, do agree, that tinting really adds to the look of the MINI.