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legal tinting limit

Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2004 9:34 am
by Gravija
how much can i tint the windows (not winshield, unless i can tint that, which i don't think i can) and still have it legal?

anybody have a site or place with teh information, im trying to convince my dad to let me tint the windows but he won't budge until he knows its legal (btw, im in CA, near SF if the tint laws change by state)

and if i can legally tint the windows, anybody know of a place in the bay area (near SF, CA)?

thanks

Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2004 9:54 am
by ciper
Here is some info
Vehicle code 26708
section a part 1
No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied upon the windshield or side or rear windows.
section a part 2
No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied in or upon the vehicle which obstructs or reduces the driver's clear view through the windshield or side windows.
Section b
This section does not apply to any of the following:

Section b part 4
Side windows which are to the rear of the driver.
section b part 3
Signs, stickers, or other materials which are displayed in a 7-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield farthest removed from the driver, signs, stickers, or other materials which are displayed in a 7-inch square in the lower corner of the rear window farthest removed from the driver, or signs, stickers, or other materials which are displayed in a 5-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield nearest the driver.
Basically do whatever you want to the rear any window except the front three.

Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2004 4:28 am
by eastbaysubaru
While it's not legal, I've had tint on for the three + years that I've been back in California and haven't been hassled once. Our cars don't draw much attention from the fuzz.

-Brian

Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2004 3:10 am
by LaureltheQueen
In WA it's nothing darker than 35% tint.

Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2004 3:25 am
by vrg3
This could be a useful resource:

http://home.pcisys.net/~bpc/auto_law/tint/

Hehehe... Laurel, you're a spelling Nazi!

Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2004 3:29 am
by BAC5.2
No darker than 35% total transparency here.

Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2004 3:44 am
by LaureltheQueen
they spelled arising wrong :evil:

whoops... i'm a good speller. lol

Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2004 3:45 am
by vrg3
LaureltheQueen wrote:they smelled arising wrong :evil:
Eh?

Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2004 9:42 am
by georryan
I have 5% in the back half of my car and it's legal in california. You just can't black it out like they do in limo's.

Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2004 7:17 pm
by eastbaysubaru
5% IS limo tinting IIRC. 20% is what the SUV's with factory tint have, and I think is the legal limit for any passenger car in California.

-Brian

Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2004 8:59 pm
by georryan
Oh really? hmm, maybe I'm just remembering it wrong. I could have sworn it was 5% that I have. I'll have to look into it.

Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2004 2:32 am
by AWD_addict
Although 35% is the legal limit in WA, I have 20% and I've never been pulled over. I think cops are looking for other things, so getting a ticket for tint would be a stretch.

Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2004 7:38 am
by Gravija
so i can tint it some, but not so its totally black right?

heh, my friend's jetta's back 3 windwos are totally black, and its purple if you look out them windows from the inside, he's not been pulled over yet

Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2004 9:40 am
by LaureltheQueen
purple means that he cleaned his windows with amonia cleaner such as windex. ruins tint. :)

Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2004 1:40 pm
by czo79
or maybe its one of those ugly purple tints...
See them a lot, do it yourself jobbers in east bumf!@*

Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2004 3:47 pm
by Legacy777
not exactly true....purple means that the tint is a dye based tint vs. a metallic based tint.....and that they used windex or some other harsh type cleaner.

I've used some other cleaner that has a little bit of ammonia in it, and my tint is good. There are certain areas where it is lightly fading (hardly noticeable).....it's more due to age then anything.

Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2004 6:49 pm
by eastbaysubaru
Apparently, the only reason not to use ammonia is because it would get in around the edge and break down the adhesive. When I went to get my sister's car tinted, the guy said that only happened on older tint and that the new stuff wouldn't be affected by it.

And with our cars, I wouldn't worry about rocking some tint. It makes it look much better IMHO.

-Brian

Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2004 7:48 pm
by LaureltheQueen
blah. tint is for ugly people.

Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2004 9:32 pm
by BAC5.2
LaureltheQueen wrote:blah. tint is for ugly people.
Then you know the legal limit because....

Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2004 9:32 pm
by eastbaysubaru
Only a girl(cute) would say something like that :lol: :D

-Brian

Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2004 9:45 pm
by LaureltheQueen
I hang out with honda drivers, how could i NOT know.

Only reason I'd ever get tint is for theft protection of a stereo. There's no way i'm putting an alarm on my car. lol

Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2004 9:55 pm
by czo79
I like a tint with the black window trim in our cars. It looks real good. But I would only want a tint if I could tint all the side windows, not just the back, I hate that. Personally, I'm waiting for the photoelectric windows to develeop further and get cheaper. Hopefully someday they will have a cheap aftermarket coating like a tint, that can go from black out to clear and anything in between at the touch of a button.
Thats what I want...
I wonder how much it would be to have two front windows custom made with the "electric tint" now...

Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2004 9:58 pm
by LaureltheQueen
when i tint i'm doing 20 all around. nobody's gonna mess with a station wagon with tint, even with my plate

Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2004 3:18 am
by eastbaysubaru
I've got 20% on the rear five and 35% on the front two. If I were to do it again, I'd do 20% on all seven. The cops have NEVER said shit about the tint because it's a dumpy 'lil wagon :wink:

-Brian

Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2004 3:35 am
by BAC5.2
One of the shops here won't install anything darker than 35% film on any car registered in MD.

WTF?