My preference is 70% tint, so a reduction of 30% of the light that passes through the glass, on the front windshield. And a 20-30% tint, so a reduction of between 80% and 70% of the light that passes through the glass, on the rest of the windows. And if your installer has it, use a ceramic window tint product. Ceramic tint greatly reduces the amount of UV light that causes heat to pass through the glass. With 70% on the windshield you'll have a good amount of UV reduction without the windshield being so dark it makes driving at night dangerous or difficult. The side and rear windows should all match which is why I didn't suggest a three or five percent tint. Those windows don't have to match but I like the esthetic of it. Here is my car with 70% on the windshield and 30% on the sides.

 

Doing for looks or heat rejection? Looks go with what you like. I ceramic tinted mine for heat rejection and went 70% windshield and 55% everywhere else and works excellent keeping the car cool in the southern heat

 

I can tell you that a 30% side window tint is dangerous at night if you live in area without street lighting. On my Mercedes which came tinted from the dealer, when I go out at night, I can’t tell if there is a car coming from the right if I look out the side windows. The only way to notice cars on a cross junction is to lean forward and look out the windshield, or wind down the side windows.

I hear people on forums claim they can see perfectly at night through a 30% or 20% tint. Those people are delusional. And BTW My eyesight and night vision is excellent per my optometrist. The issue isn't my eyes it's the tint.

 

The “best” tint is the one that you prefer. For me it’s none except for factory. However, I don’t have to deal with some of the temperatures that others do.

As @P1Pilot points out, dark tinting can be dangerous, and not just because of restricted night vision. Pedestrians and cyclists cannot see the driver's‘s eyes through dark tinting and therefore cannot tell if they have been seen. Similarly, you don’t want a police officer not being able to see you through the window. He or she might jump the “gun”.

 

Look through the sample films while wearing polarized sunglasses. Some films alter color perception and oncoming cars may appear magenta or greenish. It's annoying.

 

On mine I was after UV and heat protection rather than blacking out the windows, so I did 70% on the windshield, and 50% on all the other windows; all ceramic. I'm very happy with it, and it looks dark enough to be noticeable from stock, and not murdered out.

 

Guys thanks for the replies, I forgot to mention that I live in a country where UV index reaches 12, so it has to be protective, and at the same time look nice. I think with the car being black, 30% would lean towards a limo look which is not what I am trying to go after, my goal is to tint the windows enough so that it looks OEM, and at the same time protect me from the UV which as I mentioned before, reaches extreme limits where I live. Thanks indeed!

 

Have you had window tint on any car previously? It takes some getting used to. When I first moved to Texas (which limits what you can put on the side windows, currently to 25% but I think it used to be 35%) and had my vehicle tinted with the rear side windows at 25%, the back glass to limo tint and the driver and passenger front side windows to whatever was legal, it did seem too dark at night but your eyes get used to it. The most important thing is UV rejection, which is what fades interiors and heats the car up--good quality ceramic tint also resists fading. To me, if the UV rejection is the same, then darker vs lighter is all a function of looks. 30% is not really limo dark--30-35% is pretty common here in Texas.

I have Huper Optik 33 front and 20 rear windows on my 997

 

Hello, yes my dad has his macan tinted at 50% and it does seem to be a little bit too much from time to time, I want my 718 to look as stock as possible, believe me when I say UV protection is a must where I live and I can't understand why the state limits us to one vehicle tinted each. However, the Cayman you shared doesn't look bad at all! I'd definitely consider your % if the car weren't black. That's what worries me the most, the fact that mine is black and i don't want to turn it darker

 

For southern US driving, I used ceramic tint on my Boxster's doors only, in part to help reduce fading and heat, and went with 70%. You don't even notice it and I wish I went with 50%.

So on my Cayman I recently did 50% all around (except windshield which I never do) and I really like it. You can tell it's there but it sorta looks stock, just a bit darker. But he keeps the heat and UV out and look great IMO.

The air pockets on the edges went away once tint dried. This was the same day it was installed.

 

Sorry for the glare, but this is 35% on the sides and 95% on the windshield. Windshield was mainly for UV and heat mitigation. I think it's a good balance (30% is the legal limit in my state).

 

I had mine done with xpel xr plus ceramic tint. It makes a huge difference with heat and UV protection. I did 70% on the front, 30% on the driver/passenger, and 20% on the back and back side windows. To me it’s not bad at all at night and the car stays way cooler.

 

I've a big fan of XPel on my cars as well, probably going to tint mine soon. One thing that is sorta new is Xpel now offers a Windshield PPF as well now, i wonder how that would look with a windshield tint.

 

The XPel windshield protection goes on the outside, obviously, and it is completely clear. On my RAM 2500 I had 70% tint on the windshield and STEK windshield protection. The windshield had no effect on the tint. The STEK film was completely clear

 

50% windshield, 30% sides.

 

I have the 15% llmar stratos. It is fine in the day too dark at night. The next one up at 35% is too lite in the day but much safer and better at night.