Mazdangerous86

Happy Holidays, Ya'll!
K, something that i knew i should prostrate before the forum-

Mirror Tint

GASP! SHOCK HORROR! I know, i know.

I love my 08 Mazdaspeed 3s, and knew a cheap and easy way to personalize my baby would to throw a little tint on the windows. Now, i've seen 2 or 3 american cars around with the mirror tint that kinda fades as it gets higher on the window, and i thought it would look really good on my sunlight silver speed. I never rush into anything, so started doing my homework. Apparently in VA, where my car is registered, 50% non-metallic up front and 35% in the back is the darkest legal limit. Mirrorred tint counts as full-metallic and therefore naughty.
I called a few tinting places and the responses were basically "We do it, but it's cash only" and "We do more illegal tint then legal" and "Of the 1000 or so illegal tint jobs we do a year, only a handful come back to remove it" and my personal favorite. "Just keep mailing the tickets in" GAH!

So i guess i'd like to hear some opinions. I may be re-registering my car in AL pretty soon where i can go as dark as 32% light transmission all around, in which case i think the dark charcoal tint would look just as good as mirrored fade all around (And way more legal), and the best price i got quoted for mirror fade here was 150 dollars, which seems about right.
I'm also thinking about putting a custom paint job down the line, within the next 6 months; white with checkerboard vinyls, and can't really picture the mirrored tint with that scheme.....

I value the forum's opinions! Let me know if i'm off my rocker or not!

BOB9995

I'm in the middle of the procedure for purchasing a 08 Mazdaspeed3 GT in black or blue any comments on what to look for, or watch out for when I go to pick up the car. The dealer has to "locate" one for me I was surprised they had to do this as the dealership is a large one. My order was simple "include everthing except the nav system. Would appreciate any comments anyone might have.

Thanks BOB9995

kargoboy

Tinting your car is really not a lot different from any other illegal mod.
Or modding in general.
For example, I have a header. It's illegal because I removed a catalytic convertor.
I run a risk at every inspection.
The bottom line to all of this is, if you aren't willing to pay the price of modding your car, whether it's illegally removing emissions equipment, compromising your
warranty, or tinting your windows, then don't do it.

SilverMS3

IMHO, I wouldn't do it if it's illegal. I just had a friend get busted with a fix-it ticket. So, he paid for tint, now has to pay a ticket, pay to get it removed within 2 weeks, and since he would still want tint, pay to get it tinted at a legal level.

And for me, I would think that the mirrored tint would be cool for awhile but you might not like it as much down the road. And resale might be affected if that's a concern.

My $.02

ahightower

I think the mirrored tint fad has pretty much come and gone, at least in my area. And I agree that while it might match your silver paint, it wouldn't work as well with a future white paint job.
I just went for the darkest regular tint legally allowed.

lordtygr

i think you already answered your own post, lol. sounds to me like your trying to talk yourself out of it already.... listen to your instincts

MSpeed3

Save yourself some headaches and get the legal tint. The hassle just ain't worth it with the illegal stuff.