[Azzy]

Alright guys,

Recently bought a sweet little e92 m sport and needless to say i'm over the moon [reason for the ish is that i previously had a 325i but sold it last summer]

Anyway, it was between an A5 or the LCI E92 this time round, but at the end of the day there was only really going to be one winner! I test drove my mate's A5, and it just didn't have the same feel or poise about it.

Here's a few pics of what she's like just now, have a few ideas of what to do next but would like a bit of input from you lot as well.

1. Tints - currently has 20% rear quarters and factory tints on the front; however i'm not a fan of the contrast so trying to decide between doing the fronts at 20% or playing it safe with 35% all round.
2. Grill - recently bought a set of matt black kidney grilles to dechrome the front end.
3. Calipers - starting to look a bit faded so thinking of giving it a splash of colour to freshen them up a bit.
4. Head Unit - currently has the bmw "professional" stereo, but looking into replacing that with a double din touch screen unit with bluetooth/dab etc [any advice/suggestions would be very welcome]

On a side note, does anyone know where i can find out what the speaker set up is like with the "professional" audio system? Tried asking prof google but the answers were a bit varied..

So yeh, thanks for reading, and let me know your thoughts.

[singh21]

I would go 35% all round (thats what I have but on white car)and I personally would have opted gloss black grills on a black car.

Looks good tho!

[Azzy]

Originally Posted by singh21

I would go 35% all round (thats what I have but on white car)and I personally would have opted gloss black grills on a black car.

Looks good tho!

Cheers bud! I don't want to give off a rude boy/drug dealer vibe so I think 35% would be ideal.

You got any pics of how they look on your car?

[singh21]

Originally Posted by Azzy

Cheers bud! I don't want to give off a rude boy/drug dealer vibe so I think 35% would be ideal.

You got any pics of how they look on your car?

They are dark but in some light look like a very light tint. I think 35% is perfect. At night with no light coming in the windscreen they look completely black

[Thermobaric]

I would be constantly paranoid I'd get pulled if I put tint over the max level from the factory. You've never had an issue?

[singh21]

Originally Posted by Thermobaric

I would be constantly paranoid I'd get pulled if I put tint over the max level from the factory. You've never had an issue?

Never had tints even mentioned to me and live down the road from a police station.

Its strange because in the day a lot of light does come in from the windscreen and makes it really looks like a slight tint.

It looks darker in the pics that real life even though there are times when it does look that dark too!

[Azzy]

I understand there's always going to be some risk involved when going over and above the factory tint, but the penalties seem to vary depending on the %age.

For me, 35% is a nice subtle tint which shouldn't attract too much unwanted attention!

Sick car btw Singh!

[angel1368]

mines pretty dark all round

[Sparky68]

Nice car mate, dont tint the front windows you will look like a dealer Change the chrome grills for black and you will be sweet.

[singh21]

Originally Posted by Azzy

I understand there's always going to be some risk involved when going over and above the factory tint, but the penalties seem to vary depending on the %age.

For me, 35% is a nice subtle tint which shouldn't attract too much unwanted attention!

Sick car btw Singh!

35% is the nice balance in the middle and I would say is a safe option. 50% doesnt even look tinted so no point. 35% can even look too light sometimes and I think the most perfect would be 30%

Originally Posted by angel1368

mines pretty dark all round

What are those? 20%?

[Isakdan]

I went for 50% on front and 20% on the rear. In some angles the 50% looks perfect, dark but not too dark and at other times I feel as though it could do with going just a little darker but I'm happy with it.

[Isakdan]

Phone is messing up the uploads but a side on pic

[Azzy]

Originally Posted by Isakdan

Phone is messing up the uploads but a side on pic

Damn.. lighting makes a big difference! Side on you can barely tell, but from any other angle the front looks a lot lighter than the back.

My current rear quarters are 20% as well, but I'm not a fan of the contrast, would rather have it a little lighter but keep it uniform all round.

It's booked in for tomorrow anyway so will see how it turns out soon enoogh!

[Isakdan]

Originally Posted by Azzy

Damn.. lighting makes a big difference! Side on you can barely tell, but from any other angle the front looks a lot lighter than the back.

My current rear quarters are 20% as well, but I'm not a fan of the contrast, would rather have it a little lighter but keep it uniform all round.

It's booked in for tomorrow anyway so will see how it turns out soon enoogh!

Yeah I love the fact that in some lighting you can't tell it's tinted, less chance of getting pulled for them . I'm not a fan of dark all round and like a little contrast, if a 40-45% was available I'd go for that. Had 35% on the back of my old 1 series and is also great for the front but doesn't have the same luxury of not looking tinted if you pull up next to police lol.

[Aragorn30d]

the issue is, with 50 and 25 as isakdan's, a quick glance from a passing copper it looks like a factory car with privacy glass.

With 35 all round, it looks obviously like you've tinted the windows, and thus your way more likely to attract the wrong type of attention.

[singh21]

Looks wise I would always go with the same tint all the way round

I thought there might be some awkward moments with the tints at 35% but there has been no issues at all.

I have even had my car checked over by police a few times and no one has ever mentioned the windows being tinted at all

[Thermobaric]

It's such a bizzare application of the law. Illegal to sell a car with tints over the legal limit. Illegal to install said tints. Not checked in MOT. Obvious from a PCs observation a lot of the time and yet they do nothing. If you tell your insurance, rather than 'no, sorry sir, we can't insure you for those as it will be over the tint limit', you get 'OK, that will be £100/£150 extra to your premium please' If you don't tell and have an accident, 'that's an undeclared modification, you cover has been canceled'

[singh21]

Originally Posted by Thermobaric

It's such a bizzare application of the law. Illegal to sell a car with tints over the legal limit. Illegal to install said tints. Not checked in MOT. Obvious from a PCs observation a lot of the time and yet they do nothing. If you tell your insurance, rather than 'no, sorry sir, we can't insure you for those as it will be over the tint limit', you get 'OK, that will be £100/£150 extra to your premium please' If you don't tell and have an accident, 'that's an undeclared modification, you cover has been canceled'

I think there was a spike a few years ago when they did crack down on it but I think that has now passed.

Unless you have seriously blacked out windows and have a few other dodgy things to draw attention to your car I cant see it being a problem at all..

[Azzy]

Right so a quick progress update [with some pics to boot]

Got the tints done last week, went for 35% all round and couldn't be happier Tried to take a couple of pics in different conditions; overall i like the subtlety when you're up close, but the privacy from a distance.

Also switched over to the matt black grills yesterday, which only took about 15 mins, and i just think it makes the car so much meaner!

Overall, two fairly inexpensive mods, but very pleased with the outcome.

Next up - double din head unit. Anyone have any thoughts/experiences in switching over from the oem stereo to aftermarket?

p.s. One point to note for anyone trying to achieve the same tint all round - if the rear windscreen is tinted, your rear quarters will always look darker as a result. Not really a game changer for most, but worth keeping in mind.

Cheers!

[singh21]

Looks good!