California Tinting Laws

deltarogue13

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So I'm taking my car into a local tinting shop on Friday and I'm trying to decide what how much tint I want on my windows. I have the coupe so I have less windows to tint than the sedan. According to this link I can have my back windows as dark as I want, but the front windows have to be at least 70%.

http://www.tinting-laws.com/california/

If there is anyone here from California who has had their windows tinted darker than 70%, has this gotten you in any trouble with cops? I see a lot of cars on the road in my area who seem to have really dark tint on their front windows, but I don't want to press my luck with my new car and get technically illegal tint on my front windows. Any input is welcome!
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We have the same basic laws where I live, and you are gambling if you go darker on the front than the law allows. You are riding around with a "pull me over for free" card at that point.

If you aren't worried about that, tint away...the experiences others have had will be irrelevant to your situation because any cop you come across at any time might make the decision to check your tint.
 

1WickedCivic

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If there is anyone here from California who has had their windows tinted darker than 70%, has this gotten you in any trouble with cops?
Last weekend, got the sedan tinted with 3M Color Stable film, 50% all around. It looks like factory tint because it isn't dark enough to attract cops attention. The local PDs won't give you a lot of grief about it - what you will run into problems with is CHP on the freeways, as they nitpick on anything they see.
 

stayninja

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So I'm taking my car into a local tinting shop on Friday and I'm trying to decide what how much tint I want on my windows. I have the coupe so I have less windows to tint than the sedan. According to this link I can have my back windows as dark as I want, but the front windows have to be at least 70%.

http://www.tinting-laws.com/california/

If there is anyone here from California who has had their windows tinted darker than 70%, has this gotten you in any trouble with cops? I see a lot of cars on the road in my area who seem to have really dark tint on their front windows, but I don't want to press my luck with my new car and get technically illegal tint on my front windows. Any input is welcome!
in CA it is illegal to have ANY tint in the front two windows.
 
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deltarogue13

deltarogue13

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Last weekend, got the sedan tinted with 3M Color Stable film, 50% all around. It looks like factory tint because it isn't dark enough to attract cops attention. The local PDs won't give you a lot of grief about it - what you will run into problems with is CHP on the freeways, as they nitpick on anything they see.
Makes sense. I'll probably get something darker for my rear windows since there's no legal limit. The shop I'm going to quoted me $240 for a full tint job with a lifetime warranty, and they materials they use are either 3M FX Premium or Llumar ATC. I'm thinking of going with 3M, but I've also heard good things about Llumar as well. I've got 3 days to make up my mind haha
 


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deltarogue13

deltarogue13

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in CA it is illegal to have ANY tint in the front two windows.
It says in the link I provided that you have to allow 70% or more light through the front two windows, meaning that you can have tint applied that can block out up to 30% of sunlight. No darker. But I see a lot of people with darker tint regardless.
 

1WickedCivic

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materials they use are either 3M FX Premium or Llumar ATC. I'm thinking of going with 3M, but I've also heard good things about Llumar as well. I've got 3 days to make up my mind haha
3M FX Premium is their lower-end film, you might want to consider an upgrade to Color Stable. You could do 50/35 or 50/20. You can check out Groupon, LivingSocial or Angies List for deals too.
 

1WickedCivic

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It says in the link I provided that you have to allow 70% or more light through the front two windows, meaning that you can have tint applied that can block out up to 30% of sunlight. No darker. But I see a lot of people with darker tint regardless.
Actually, that's not correct. Our cars already come with greenish tint in the glass from the factory - because of this, the VLT (visible light transmission) is at 72 - 74% (my tint place just had a cheap light meter, so percentages may be a couple of points off either way). When you put any tint on the car, it will lower this VLT number below the legal limit.
 
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deltarogue13

deltarogue13

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Actually, that's not correct. Our cars already come with greenish tint in the glass from the factory - because of this, the VLT (visible light transmission) is at 72 - 74% (my tint place just had a cheap light meter, so percentages may be a couple of points off either way). When you put any tint on the car, it will lower this VLT number below the legal limit.
Huh I didn't know that I already had tint on my windows. Interesting. It looks clear as day though looking through my front windows into my car. That's one of the main reasons I want to get tint is to deter anyone from peeking in my car to see what I have inside, even though I don't keep any valuables in my car. That and to block out as much heat as possible since my area tends to get high temperatures even during the Fall and Winter months.
 

1WickedCivic

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That and to block out as much heat as possible since my area tends to get high temperatures even during the Fall and Winter months.
Understood. I also got the visor strip (about 4-5" strip on top of windshield) tinted at 20% (mostly folks do 5%) & 35% on the sunroof as well (place ran out of 20% film, so they gave me the 35% at cost for the sunroof part).
 


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deltarogue13

deltarogue13

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Understood. I also got the visor strip (about 4-5" strip on top of windshield) tinted at 20% (mostly folks do 5%) & 35% on the sunroof as well (place ran out of 20% film, so they gave me the 35% at cost for the sunroof part).
Nice. I'll see what options I can get when I go there Friday. I requested quotes from a lot of tint shops in my area and these people had the lowest prices. They were also recommended by a friend. I'll be sure to post pictures after the job is done.
 

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All windows are minimum 70% but like that dude said its usually about 72-74. If you are given the choice to use llumar, I would recommend that. I have the ceramic 35/25 and it's awesome. Def go ceramic, it won't change color, and it is darker looking due to the pigments they use.
 

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So I'm taking my car into a local tinting shop on Friday and I'm trying to decide what how much tint I want on my windows. I have the coupe so I have less windows to tint than the sedan. According to this link I can have my back windows as dark as I want, but the front windows have to be at least 70%.

http://www.tinting-laws.com/california/

If there is anyone here from California who has had their windows tinted darker than 70%, has this gotten you in any trouble with cops? I see a lot of cars on the road in my area who seem to have really dark tint on their front windows, but I don't want to press my luck with my new car and get technically illegal tint on my front windows. Any input is welcome!
I Went with 5% limo tint all around it is dark and it feels like you are in your awn cave.
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