Window Tint Shades, Side by Side.
Darker Isn't Always Cooler.
Shade is how dark the glass looks. Infrared rejection is a separate number, and S9 runs 91 to 93 percent across Rayno's published shades.
Which shade is right for your car?
Tap a percentage. The number is how much light the film lets through, so 5 is the darkest and 70 is nearly clear.
Your pick
35%, Carbon, S5 or S9, from $240 on a sedan
Legal all around in Illinois: 35% on the front doors when no rear window is darker.
Infrared rejection at 35%: Carbon 41 percent, S5 53 percent, S9 92 percent.
Shades simulated on one sedan photo. Illinois front side windows: 35% or lighter when no rear window is darker than 35%; 50% or lighter when the rear is 30% or factory tinted; no film when aftermarket rear film is darker than 30%. Infrared figures: Rayno published figures, read October 2026.
What the shade number changes, and what it does not
Four things decide it: privacy, night visibility, the Illinois rule for your front doors, and heat. The first three move with the shade number. Infrared rejection comes mostly from the film.
Privacy
The lower the number, the less of the cabin anyone outside can see. 5 percent is what people call limo tint. 50 is for infrared rejection and glare, 70 for glare; neither is for privacy.
Night visibility
Every step darker leaves less light to see by after dark. The guide to 35 vs 20 vs 5 percent tint at night compares the three after dark.
Legality
In Illinois the front doors depend on the rear. Outside the medical exemption, nothing darker than 35 percent is legal on the front side windows of an Illinois registered car, and rear film darker than 30 percent rules out film on the front doors entirely.
Heat
Shade is not infrared rejection. The shade number, also called VLT for visible light transmission, measures visible light only. Infrared rejection is how much of the sun’s infrared the film holds back, and the film sets most of it, not the shade.
S9 is rated 91 to 93 percent infrared rejection across Rayno’s published shades. S5 is rated 53 to 72 percent, depending on shade. So a 50 percent S9, rated 92 percent, holds back more infrared than a 5 percent S5, rated 72, while letting ten times as much light through. Both films block 99.9 percent of UV in every shade Rayno publishes.
If heat is the reason you are tinting, choose the film first and the shade second. Tap a shade in the picker above and it shows Rayno’s infrared figure for each film at that shade, where Rayno publishes one.
Tint percentage chart: films and where each shade can go in Illinois
These rules apply to cars registered in Illinois without the medical exemption, and the statute treats sedans, SUVs, vans and trucks the same way. A car properly registered in another state is exempt from them.
| Shade | Films | Infrared rejection | On the front doors | Used on the rear, the front doors can take |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 percent | Carbon, S5, S9 | Carbon 72, S5 72, S9 92 percent | Never | No film |
| 12 percent | S9 | Stocked at Tint Starz; Rayno publishes no figure for this shade | Never | No film |
| 15 percent | S5, S9 | S5 58, S9 93 percent | Never | No film |
| 20 percent | S5, S9 | S5 53, S9 93 percent | Never | No film |
| 30 percent | S5 | S5 56 percent | Never | 50 percent or lighter |
| 35 percent | Carbon, S5, S9 | Carbon 41, S5 53, S9 92 percent | Only when every rear window is untinted or 35 or lighter | 35 percent or lighter |
| 50 percent | S5, S9 | S5 56, S9 92 percent | Yes, unless rear film is darker than 30 | 35 percent or lighter |
| 70 percent | S9 | Stocked at Tint Starz; Rayno publishes no figure for this shade | Yes, unless rear film is darker than 30 | 35 percent or lighter |
The infrared figures are Rayno’s own, read October 2026; Carbon’s come from Rayno’s MonoCarbon specification sheet.
The rear side windows and the back glass have no darkness limit in the statute. Any treated rear window does require a side mirror on each side of the car.
Factory tinted rear glass is its own case. With it, the front doors can take 50 percent or lighter, whatever the vehicle type.
The windshield is separate. Illinois allows nonreflective film only along the top, no more than 6 inches down, which is where the AS-1 line usually falls. That strip is the sunstrip, from $60.
Night driving, shade by shade
At night the shade number works against you. 35 percent film passes about a third of the light that reaches the glass. 5 percent passes one twentieth. Darker glass means less light to see by when you check a blind spot or back into a space.
The front doors and the windshield carry most of what you see while driving, and they are the windows Illinois keeps lightest.
Film quality shows at night too. S5 and S9 ceramic stay optically clear, where cheap film can haze.
Start with the rear windows: they set the front doors.
Say you want 20 percent in back for privacy: the front doors then take no film. For film up front as well, the legal pairs include 35 all around, 30 in back with 50 or lighter on the front doors, and 50 or lighter on the front doors over factory tinted rear glass.
| Rear side and rear windows | Front side windows |
|---|---|
| Every rear window untreated, or 35% or lighter | 35% or lighter |
| Rear film from 30% up to just under 35% | 50% or lighter |
| Factory tinted rear glass | 50% or lighter |
| Aftermarket rear film darker than 30% | No film |
Source: 625 ILCS 5/12-503, verified 2026-10-08. The full Illinois tint law, in plain English.
Where to go next
- Starting prices by vehicle and film are on the window tint prices page. A sedan starts at $330 in S5 and $400 in S9.
- The two ceramic films side by side, infrared and UV included, are on the ceramic window tint page.
- Penalties, the medical exemption and the subsection behind each rule are on the Illinois window tint law page.
- For an exact number, get a quote with your year, make and model. The shop calls you back with the price within minutes during shop hours.
Every price here is a starting price. The final price depends on the vehicle, film, coverage, condition and installation difficulty. The Get a quote button in the picker at the top of the page carries the shade you picked into your quote request.
The shop is at 837 Oakton St Unit C in Elk Grove Village, by appointment Monday to Saturday, 9 to 6, and most jobs are done the same day. Tint Starz is rated 5.0 across 82 Google reviews.
20 or 35 percent tint: which should I get?
Get 35 percent if you want every side window tinted and legal in Illinois. 20 percent is darker and gives more privacy, but on an Illinois registered car it goes on the rear only, and rear film darker than 30 percent means no film at all on the front doors. Both come in S5 and S9 ceramic.
The full front and rear rule is on the Illinois window tint law page.
What is 20 percent tint?
20 percent tint is film that lets 20 percent of visible light through the glass and holds back the other 80. Tint Starz installs it in S5 and S9 ceramic. It is a privacy shade, and on an Illinois registered car it goes on the rear windows only. With 20 on the rear, the front doors take no film.
Is 30 percent tint dark?
30 percent tint is a medium shade. It lets 30 percent of visible light through, a little darker than 35 and lighter than 20, 15, 12 or 5. Tint Starz installs it in S5 ceramic only. In Illinois it is the darkest rear shade that still allows film on the front doors, at 50 percent or lighter.
What does VLT mean on window tint?
VLT means visible light transmission, the percentage of visible light that passes through the window. Lower is darker: 5 percent is the darkest shade Tint Starz installs and 70 is nearly clear. Illinois law uses the same measure: front side windows at 35 or 50 percent or lighter, or no film, depending on the rear.
VLT does not measure infrared. Infrared rejection depends mostly on the film, not the shade.
Does tint affect night visibility?
Yes. Every shade cuts the light that reaches your eyes, and the darker the film, the less you have to see by after dark. On an Illinois registered car the darkest film goes behind you: the front side windows take 35 or 50 percent or lighter, or no film, depending on the rear.
What Illinois allows on the front doors, case by case, is on the Illinois window tint law page.
Can I tint only some of my windows?
Yes, as long as the result follows the Illinois rule that the front doors depend on the rear. One example is tinting only the two front doors on a car with factory tinted rear glass. Two front windows in S5 start at $100, and with factory rear glass Illinois allows 50 percent or lighter on them.
Rear only works too: the rear windows have no darkness limit, but a treated rear window requires a side mirror on each side.
Does darker tint block more heat?
Not reliably. Shade measures visible light, while infrared, the part of sunlight you feel as warmth on your skin, depends mostly on the film. S9 is rated 91 to 93 percent infrared rejection across Rayno's published shades and S5 53 to 72 percent depending on shade, so the film you choose matters more than how dark it is.
Compare the two films on the ceramic window tint page.
Get an exact price
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