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Tinted Windows

B1GEast

B1GEast

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I thought it was illegal to have dark tint on the front windshield and windows. It seems as though half the cars I see have a dark tint where you cannot see the occupants of car.

I'm thinking of getting a light tint for the sun. Has anyone recently done a tint job. Is this something you can do on your own?
 
B1GEast said:
I thought it was illegal to have dark tint on the front windshield and windows. It seems as though half the cars I see have a dark tint where you cannot see the occupants of car.

I'm thinking of getting a light tint for the sun. Has anyone recently done a tint job. Is this something you can do on your own?
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We install automotive tint in Florida and there are strict laws concerning tinted windshields. Absolutely need a valid medical exception form to do it abd it’s the lightest shade 50% only, getting caught without means a ticket, impounding and towing your car and possible storage fees and removing the tint, we stopped offering the option, and Florida has way more lenient laws compared to Connecticut regarding tint. Advice, if a shop offers to do it fir cash no receipt they have no liability and it’s all on you, if you get a receipt the shop will be held responsible for most costs and invariably any accidents that the tint may contribute to in the event of an accident at night, hope that helps.
 
New Jersey just lightened up the restriction (see what I did there) and it is now allowed provided you can still see the driver and the passenger in the front seat. I would strongly recommend you have it professionally done by a competent guy. Done well, it looks terrific, but when it’s messed up it looks like absolute crap.
 
If you're going to get tint to keep out heat and reject UV rays, get ceramic tint. You can get a 96-98% front ceramic tint and you won't even notice it's tinted. Then you can do a 50% on your windows if you don't want it dark. You can also always do a dark strip at the top third of the windshield if you really want to block sun from impacting your vision.

I don't recommend doing it on your own. Find a reputable place because they have to be careful to not get water all through your doors and ruin the electronics.
 
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There is no ocular reason outside of ocular albinism to get tinted windows.. I get these requests all the time. Wear your damn sunglasses. What's gonna happen when you step out of the car? So dumb
 
MJKI said:
There is no ocular reason outside of ocular albinism to get tinted windows.. I get these requests all the time. Wear your damn sunglasses. What's gonna happen when you step out of the car? So dumb
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Good quality tint also significantly reduces the temp in the car if you park outside. But yeah, the super dark front windshield tint is stupid.
 
Back in the day we would just open the sunroof to let some more light in when the cops drove by. Instant legal tints!
 
When I walk around at lunch, most of the illegally tinted windows are late model luxury cars or Nissans
 
UConniki said:
We install automotive tint in Florida and there are strict laws concerning tinted windshields. Absolutely need a valid medical exception form to do it abd it’s the lightest shade 50% only, getting caught without means a ticket, impounding and towing your car and possible storage fees and removing the tint, we stopped offering the option, and Florida has way more lenient laws compared to Connecticut regarding tint. Advice, if a shop offers to do it fir cash no receipt they have no liability and it’s all on you, if you get a receipt the shop will be held responsible for most costs and invariably any accidents that the tint may contribute to in the event of an accident at night, hope that helps.
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Wow. Thanks for the heads up on that. You would not think that the law was that strict the way so many cars have that kind of tint.
 
B1GEast said:
I thought it was illegal to have dark tint on the front windshield and windows. It seems as though half the cars I see have a dark tint where you cannot see the occupants of car.

I'm thinking of getting a light tint for the sun. Has anyone recently done a tint job. Is this something you can do on your own?
Expand ...
To actually address the questions in here, the laws in CT are:
  • Front windshield: no aftermarket tint
  • Front windows: 35% tint cutoff
  • Rear side windows and rear windshield (no limit but the a very dark rear window tint can make visibility out of the rear windshield at night very difficult)
I am right at the legal limit on my car with slightly darker on the rear windshield (I think 20%) and can tell you I have never been pulled over for it. If you're driving like an @..hole, it gives cops another reason to pull you over/ticket you, but if you're driving like a normal human, cops probably aren't going to waste their time to pull you over, test the windows, and potential issue you a fix-it ticket.

And on your last point, don't do it yourself. It's not a particularly expensive job and dealing with the film is finicky and would probably cost you more in wasted material/time than the labor cost of a professional installer. Just make sure you're going to a reputable installer that's using good tint (3M has a good reputation). Going cheap on this is how you end up with the tints that start looking purpleish with bubbles forming. I'm 10 years in on mine and looks brand new.
 
John said:
speaking of tints, I've been seeing more and more tinted license plate covers that make the plate almost impossible to read. That should be an automatic pull-over and ticket.
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I just saw one of those. Impossible to read the plate.
 
John said:
speaking of tints, I've been seeing more and more tinted license plate covers that make the plate almost impossible to read. That should be an automatic pull-over and ticket.
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Vancat said:
I just saw one of those. Impossible to read the plate.
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I see a lot of the dark covers, which are banned in most of the northeast. But the wildest thing I saw was a plate that was so reflective that at night in headlights it just looks like a light source, you can't see it at all. So it would appear normal in daylight. Criminals are clever I guess.
 
My favorite is when I'm at a stop sign and some idiot in a heavily tinted car tries to wave me through. After sitting there for several awkward seconds I eventually, just barely, make out their flailing arm movement through the dark windows.
 
WhereistheDove? said:
To actually address the questions in here, the laws in CT are:
  • Front windshield: no aftermarket tint
  • Front windows: 35% tint cutoff
  • Rear side windows and rear windshield (no limit but the a very dark rear window tint can make visibility out of the rear windshield at night very difficult)
I am right at the legal limit on my car with slightly darker on the rear windshield (I think 20%) and can tell you I have never been pulled over for it. If you're driving like an @..hole, it gives cops another reason to pull you over/ticket you, but if you're driving like a normal human, cops probably aren't going to waste their time to pull you over, test the windows, and potential issue you a fix-it ticket.

And on your last point, don't do it yourself. It's not a particularly expensive job and dealing with the film is finicky and would probably cost you more in wasted material/time than the labor cost of a professional installer. Just make sure you're going to a reputable installer that's using good tint (3M has a good reputation). Going cheap on this is how you end up with the tints that start looking purpleish with bubbles forming. I'm 10 years in on mine and looks brand new.
Expand ...
This is going back about 15 years ago, so things/laws may have changed. Someone I know had illegally tinted windows and went through a DMV safety checkpoint. They were not going to let her drive her car unless she let them peel off the tint
 

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