28 replies to this topic

[mike.]

A legal front tint is not worth having.

Most factory standard glass reads at 70% (the limit) with no tint at all. Theres usually a percentage written somewhere on glass giving the percentage of light the glass lets through and alot of the time it says 70%.

I know a few completly standard cars i've been in recently say on the glass 70%, meaning the glass can have no further tint done to stay legal.


I have a friend who has 60% tint on his BMW (the lightist tint availible from pretty much any window tint place) and you can barely tell they're tinted. At night if you park the car where there is little light and look at it from a distance you can just about tell its tinted. So in my opinion not really worth having considering if he did get pulled over for them and had them tested, he'd still get fined.

IMO you either have a light/medium tint on the front and take the risk of getting pulled over (which is pretty likely these days) or just have no tint at all and just get your back windows done.

[GINO R32]

iv been pulled over so many times in 10 years with 70% dark all round never said nish bout my windows so id say get 70%

[MiniBonkerz]

some info i found

i run a busy tint shop and get asked (and always explain) the same questions everytime, mainly, whats a " legal tint for the front side windows?"

well, to put it simply, there isnt any! the law states that the windscreen and both front side windows must allow 70% light transmission. how they got to this figure im not sure, but if you drive a modern renault, citroen, ford, vw, rover, etc, chances are that your front glass measures 65-68% straight from the showroom!

technically,the dealers broke the law when they sold the car! this is our wonderful government for you, (which is why i dont bother voting) anyway, what it means is that any film applied to front side windows will not be legal-ish.

i say legal-ish because although the police state 70%, the ministry of transport (who are the geezers with the light testing kits) should only issue an advisory if the glass reads 45% or lighter, but then if youre stopped by the feds for tints (usually outside a max power show) it doesnt matter if youve got tints above 45% or not, the law is 70%.

this applies to every vehicle on the road,no matter how old.what is more important is the "dangerous vehicle" level. any window film above 30% should only be ordered to be removed and maybe a statutory £30 fine.

any filmed window that measures below 30% is classed as " a dangerous vehicle" and can be instantly impounded and transported away,which you'll have to pay for, leaving you with a bus ride home with all your homies!

you could also be prosecuted for driving said "dangerous vehicle" which comes with a hefty fine and min 3 points-something to bear in mind if youre a new driver or have a bagfull already

remember,points dont mean prizes when it comes to keeping your licence. more importantly, your insurance could be invalidated should you need to make a claim.

just to confuse you a bit more, the percentage rating on the film is not the same as the reading you will get when its fitted to the glass. it depends on the thickness of the glass, the origional tint of the glass and the quality of the film.

typically,(with the film i use)

50% film will read from 37-32% on most modern cars

35% film will read from 23-18% on most modern cars

20% film will read from 11-7% on most modern cars

5% limo just manages 0.3% on anything.........its dark!

so basically, nothing is legal but 50% should only get you a ticking off,unless you were smoking crack or summut when you got blagged. in which case you'll probally need darker film to avoid such intrusions-but then you'll probally get blagged because the feds couldnt see if you were having a toot or not.

now all this lot is ment as a general guide and not for use in court so dont go sueing me if its not totally correct. i could go on about the different types of film and why it costs so much but my beer has run out so its time to go.

and on a final note, i see a few ads on ebay saying tinting is easy, why pay a tint shop when you can do it yourself?

well, anyone can buy a couple of litres of car paint and spray their own motor-but would you want to drive it to a cruise and show it off after?

cheers RD

[mini_mad69]

I got quoted 50 quid for each rear side wondow, and 80-150 depending on the sizefor the rear windscreen. She said, oh its a mini, we may be able to charge for the smaller size windscreen.

I walked away.





Ben

Edited by mini_mad69, 12 June 2009 - 11:24 PM.

[newdawn1st]

Just for an add...

Window tints. You MUST NOT use a vehicle with excessively dark tinting applied to the windscreen, or to the glass in any front window to either side of the driver. Window tinting applied during manufacture complies with the Visual Light Transmittance (VLT) standards. There are no VLT limits for rear windscreens or rear passenger windows.

[dazzul]

A long time since i asked, but

Im paying 130 friday for 5, and thats to have the rear 3 took out

I shopped around and everyone was around this price.

Edited by dazzul, 02 December 2009 - 12:58 AM.

[phil_clubman]

i paid around £150 for the rear 3 done, with new seals and black filler strips.

clicky

cant remember exactly how much but 150 is ringing bells.

phil

[camp freddy]

Did my own, cost me about £25 for the tint, had the glass out, did
the doors aswell
http://cgi.ebay.co.u...=item4cebfa820b,
Not an MOT failure at the moment, but an MOT
friend of mine said he went for a refresher course and the examiner
made a chap (who had tinted his NEW BMW) remove his front
door tint before he would let him leave the compound !!!!

MY question is ,If it's not an actual MOT faliure how can
the police make you remove it?

80% tint 20% vlt

Edited by camp freddy, 03 December 2009 - 11:42 PM.

[evansisgreat]

Sorry to unearth such an old thread, but I thought i'd be better than making anew one...

So, if it's under 30% VLT then it's a dangerous vehicle, fair enough, if that's the law - that's the law.
So how are the coppers supposed to measure? If it's the ministry of transport with the measuring machines how can the coppers have any evidence of wrong doing?

[Pending]

this is just my opinion but i would'nt do it to any windows, if you go limo black which i think is 98% on the back and the legal limit up front, i think the car ends up looking like a miss-matched Van, like i say just my opinion

matt

[Burnard]

Is there a legal limit for the rear 3 windows, because there are loads of car based vans with no rear windows, or they have been cover in vynal for advertiseing. which makes me think these are legal?
So is it just the front 3 windows which have the limitations?

[Twincam]

Is there a legal limit for the rear 3 windows, because there are loads of car based vans with no rear windows, or they have been cover in vynal for advertiseing. which makes me think these are legal?
So is it just the front 3 windows which have the limitations?

Yup, its just the front two doors and the windscreen which have limitations.

My old man's T4 has "Lidnight/Limo" tints all the way round on the rear (it makes it look like a panel van again)

I was quoted £100 for my Focus and about £125 for my Passat Estate.

[WRLondon]

im tinting my g's mini for a grand total of £5
anyone wanting tints could probs get em done for £30

[skaterava]

All five windows on mine were done for £90. They didn't do a particularly good job, which they blamed me for (apparently when i took a grinder my parcel shelf, i pitted the rear windows, so the film doesn't sit smooth on the glass) and since they've been done i'm going off the tinted look.

I have 30% tint on the front side windows and over 50% on the rear - It looks tacky, but it's hiding my sound system from would be crooks, so until i can afford an alarm they're staying

Edited by skaterava, 05 May 2010 - 11:02 PM.