Don't tint your windshield...lol

[Dexter]

It'll be the most badass thing you've done to your Expy until this happens and you get SUED! (Apparently it caused the accident) I knew I should have invested in some road armour! lol








^ Anyone know what that cracked piece is called? It's the thing that holds the headlights, etc. I have no idea what the actual name for it is.


...Ok, I'm done crying. Ford estimates 7 grand to fix it. So far I've fixed the radiator mounts, taken all of the damaged parts off, bent and re-centered the body in the front on the frame (everything was pushed over about 1/2"...I think the very end of the frame is slightly bent...Doesn't really affect anything however), fixed the front bumper mounts (torch, hammer, and a crowbar) and ATTEMPTED to realign the hood. I took her for a test drive down the street earlier with no front end. Seems like the engine revs up higher to get the truck moving. I suspect it's because my steering alignment is now WAY off. I have to turn the wheel almost 90 degrees to the right to go straight. Also, one of the wheels is turned in more than the other one..(She's pigeon toe'd). Hopefully the prior isn't that big of a deal. Calling a tire placed tomorrow to find out how much it'll cost to fix, then it's off to the junkyard to look for a fender, bumper, bumper cover, and hood. Fun. Spent a total of $0 so far, but after tomorrow I'm probably looking at around $3000. And as if I'm not busy enough...I think tomorrow will be a good day to flush mount my tweeters. The picture reminded me of how ghetto they're mounted atm..

Anyways...moral of my rambling: Tint your windshield. It's badass.

 

[BakerEdition]

WOW....that sucks...at least you were not hurt...what year is this?

 

[Dexter]

06

 

[Remo]

Well, I know I was teasing you before about the tint causing the accident, but that really sucks about the lawsuit, though. Good luck!

I think the part you are referring to is called a header panel. Here's the part on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/03-04-05-06...|Model:Expedition&vxp=mtr&hash=item2a14e7361c

 

[GAINMOB]

@ Dexter...do you have any pics of what it looks like from the inside besides the one where its getting installed? what % did u have...im thinking 50% on mine

 

[Dexter]

@ Dexter...do you have any pics of what it looks like from the inside besides the one where its getting installed? what % did u have...im thinking 50% on mine

50% would be a waste of money. You literally wouldn't be able to tell that it was tinted. I ran 30% on my windshield for a few months and it doesn't affect night time driving at all...especially if you have HIDs. 30% looks pretty nice...doesn't give a solid black look or anything, you can still drive safely at night, but in most lighting conditions it'll completely hide your face from people looking in from outside. It all depends on your side windows though. I run 5 over 5 all around. I only ran 5% temporarily. It was next to impossible to see at night obviously. I actually had 15% when I got in my accident. I currently have 1 layer of 15% on the entire windshield, then a 15" strip put on after. (Can't see the strip at all from the outside...I only added the strip to keep the sun out of my eyes.) I'll see if I can find pictures of when I ran my 30%. I will admit though...I got a little too used to no one being able to see me. I'm usually able to yell at people and curse them out while driving without them knowing that I was doing it lmao..I drove my girlfriends car the other day and some chick backed out in front of me, so I started the usual road-rage. In this case, I clearly mouthed the words "**** you *****!" She was looking straight at me and could understand every word! I felt bad! Anyways...

Here's the pics of the 15% with a 15" strip:

This picture was taken at noon. As you can see...It's too dark in there to see the speedometer, so I'm usually forced to drive with the parking lights on. LOL. (Ironically, this is where I got in my accident)

15% on windshield:


15% on windshield:




AHA! I found a picture from when I was running 30% with a 9" strip. I had this done wrong...I got the strip first, then the windshield after, so if you look close you can see the line where the strip stops and the windshield tint starts. In this picture it looks really black. Most of the time, you can faintly see the steering wheel and dashboard. It probably looks darker than it would for you because my sides are really dark though...

30% on windshield:



I'm more or less forced to run tint on my windshield because of how dark my sides are...Without any tint on the windshield there is a horrible glare, and it's nearly impossible to see out, even during the day. With windshield tint, you can literally see out of my Expy perfectly. But without...You're looking at this.




Not that you can see any noticeable difference from the 15%...Here's a pic of running 5% on the windshield.

5% on windshield:

 

[GAINMOB]

Finally...someone came through...i've been asking for a while...this really helps...i'm going to strip my 15% visor and get 35% (5, 20, 35, & 50%s are all they carry in VA)...and do 5% visor on top...

thanks for the pics...i'm doing this as soon as i return...

 

[Dexter]

Np dude. I originally wanted to do 20%, but all the shop carried was 5, 15, 30, and 50. If I were you, I would definitely go with 20...because 30 wasn't cutting it for me. I didn't think it was dark enough honestly. I'm telling you right now, once you get 35, you're going to wish you got 20.

Night time driving isn't even THAT horrible...I have no problem driving around in the city. It's the rural roads with no lights that get you. But honestly...if you have 20% and HIDs, I think you'd be fine.

Here's a night-shot of 15% at night with 6000k HIDs on a road that has no lights...

Also...MAKE SURE you get the ENTIRE windshield tinted before you get the strip. Like I said...I made that mistake when I got 30 and the little white line it made along the bottom edge of the strip was enough to make me to pull it all off and get 15 instead...done the "right" way.


EDIT: THANKS REMO! - Header Panel. Now I can actually look for one! lol

 

[Lane24]

Hot Damn. A tinted windshield looks SWEEEEEEET on a white ride. Too bad about the accident. I guess having a tinted windshield would probably be easy hunting for the insurance co. But then they could go after you for wearing sunglasses too if they wanted.

 

[GAINMOB]

ok...looks good on rural road...20% it is...

 

[2000eb]

I would deffinately fight the lawsuit. Your expy looks good though i hope you can find everythingyou need. Even check amazon for the stuff also you would be surprised of the random parts you can find on amazon

 

[walnuts4x4]

damn I like the window tint... sorry about expy... but no way could I get away with that tint in NY.... hard enough having my sides tinted

 

[Dexter]

FREEWAY, you're going to love it bro lol.

Yeah, I am fighting the lawsuit...It's nice being the son of a lawyer lol

And thanks for the compliments guys!

 

[BakerEdition]

Dex, Being a former law enforcement officer myself I can understand about walking up to a vehicle with dark tints...however, when I have had to do that, I have always used the PA speaker and told the driver to roll down all the windows...no night driving is a problem because some states consider it a "Vision obstruction"....I have often thought then you should issue tickets when you see people wearing sunglasses....in some cases those are darker than the glass...and whats the difference..your still looking through the vehicle glass or sunglasses...

 

[Dexter]

Dex, Being a former law enforcement officer myself I can understand about walking up to a vehicle with dark tints...however, when I have had to do that, I have always used the PA speaker and told the driver to roll down all the windows...no night driving is a problem because some states consider it a "Vision obstruction"....I have often thought then you should issue tickets when you see people wearing sunglasses....in some cases those are darker than the glass...and whats the difference..your still looking through the vehicle glass or sunglasses...

I've been pulled over a few times. As soon as I stop, I roll my windows down, turn on my interior lights, and keep my hands on the wheel. I've never gotten a ticket for the tint in over a year. I can understand it being scary...especially when you don't know who's car you're walking up to...so I keep that in mind when I get stopped.