Factory Tint Levels
- Thread starter Tsuru
- Start date
was98strat
Member
The 5 comes with zero tint from the factory!!
SGT_OKINAWA
Member
- :
- 2010 Mazda CX-7
Man I hate the USA for this kind of crap, a few bad apples and punish the masses (jerkit)
When I used to live in the USA I had the same problem, here is what I did:
PLAN A.
1. GO to dealership in your 5
2. Ask to take a look at a 5 on the lot.
3. Find one that matches your windows.
4. Ask to see the build spec sheet, NOT THE WINDOW STICKER (well in some cases, but good luck on that, I bet it does not list it,not specific enough)
5. Note the tint level, if shown.
PLAN B.
1. Buy three levels of tint and bring in the box,
(Don't mess up the boxes, you'll take one, two
three of them back)
2. Go to cop shop, police station, etc. and ask
the desk SGT if an officer can come outside and
use the 'tint level checker' it's a little gun that tests
viability through the glass with or without tint.
Oh and the cops will appreciate it, that you are
asking and doing the RIGHT THING!
3. See what they read with NO tint, then open each
box, roll out a tiny bit and have the cop read WITH the
tint while going through your window, i.a. as if the tint
was on the glass.
4. Pick what one is legal and BAM off you go, take
the others back to the store and tell them what you did.
ALSO (Not recommended, but last resort) local parts stores
in the USA, like Auto Zone, Interstate Battery etc. most
the 20 something 'kids' working in there know the rules, not
saying all will be correct, but go to about 5 stores and take
the average of the 5 stores advice.
Good luck!
Peace!(rei)
WRONG! There are different levels of 'in the glass already' U/V and tint levels (see below).
YES. See #2 above. oh and depends on state you live:
a. Ticket = $$ lost out your poacket.
b. Fix it ticket, you've got 24-48 hours to get it FIXED and then drive down to cop shop and show them, otherwise the ticket turns into a FINE ($$) tciket.
c. Cop has the right to make you take it off THEN AND THERE!
YES, and no, all auto windows come with a thin layer of plastic built in, it's called "safety glass" or "Tempered safety glass" this make the glass turn into little tiny cubes and may or may not stay in one piece, or crumble like this:
not daggers of death, that is OLD SCHOOL glass (no)
SOMETIMES that plastic sheet is what you are seeing,
and SOMETIMES that sheet is U/V, all depends on the make,
model, year, etc. Go find a 1972 Gran Tornio and look at it's
side windows, whoa PLAIN GLASS, (boom06)
Now one more advice, some folks like tint, it works as a TINY
bit of thief deterrant too: LINK
Hope that helps folks, let us know what ya did / going to do?
Peace!(rei)
Good grief. Cops that worry about the 1-2% extra tint due to the UV protection are just turds. It's obvious since tint only comes in certain shades that a reading of 33% is legal tint(if 35% is legal in your state) with a slight factory UV protection added. Do you seriously have to worry about cops being that picky?
In Illinois, until recently, you could have any amount of tint on the rear windows but none on the driver's winder, passenger window, or windshield of course. I liked it that way because you didn't have to worry about having too much tint on the back windows.
Here the new legal tint combinations:
1. Up to 35% in the Rear/up to 35% front
2. 35-30% in the rear/up to 50% front
3. IF YOU HAVE BELOW 30% TINT IN THE REAR, YOU CAN NOT HAVE FRONT TINT If you have an MPV, which include but are not limited to, SUVs, Station Wagons, minivans, Toasters, etc., and said MPV has factory installed privacy glass (smoked), you are allowed to have up to 50% tint in front.
I have no idea what that means. I guess the good news is that few cops have the equipment to measure light.
Here the new legal tint combinations:
1. Up to 35% in the Rear/up to 35% front
2. 35-30% in the rear/up to 50% front
3. IF YOU HAVE BELOW 30% TINT IN THE REAR, YOU CAN NOT HAVE FRONT TINT If you have an MPV, which include but are not limited to, SUVs, Station Wagons, minivans, Toasters, etc., and said MPV has factory installed privacy glass (smoked), you are allowed to have up to 50% tint in front.
I have no idea what that means. I guess the good news is that few cops have the equipment to measure light.
I've read over the official highway act article on the subject and there's actually a 5% leeway built into the act ie: If the limit is X% for a window X +/- 5% is OK too. The act in this province was done in 1993 when there was no such thing as a SUV (at least as we know it today) so you have three classifications for passenger vehicles: Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle (Read: built on a truck chassis but not a truck. Ie: a Blazer would count but not a CR-V) Unfortunately, we fall into the car category which means I can only have 35% on the back window. At least I can do whatever I want to the every other window behind the driver.
The problem is that if you get pulled over and they check the tint it's a $400+ fine AND 2 demerits on your license. I'd rather have no tint than risk that.
I'm going to give a couple of police stations a call tomorrow and see if I can get a straight answer. I'm also going to see if they actually have testing equipment at the stations. No point in trying what the Sgt. suggests if they can't even test in the first place.
Edit: I just re-read the act. CR-V would count because it has "some form of off-road capability."
I can only do 35% anywhere behind the driver. Now to make some phone calls to people who gave me advice. Ugh.
The problem is that if you get pulled over and they check the tint it's a $400+ fine AND 2 demerits on your license. I'd rather have no tint than risk that.
I'm going to give a couple of police stations a call tomorrow and see if I can get a straight answer. I'm also going to see if they actually have testing equipment at the stations. No point in trying what the Sgt. suggests if they can't even test in the first place.
Edit: I just re-read the act. CR-V would count because it has "some form of off-road capability."
I can only do 35% anywhere behind the driver. Now to make some phone calls to people who gave me advice. Ugh.
Last edited:
SGT_OKINAWA
Member
- :
- 2010 Mazda CX-7
Glad we can be of help, yes the cops like it when you ask, so call and ask, right ?
Some states / provinces have and some don't have the equipment to test on the road. Depends how the law is written and such, hence the fix it ticket is cool, because no cash out of your pocket because you get 24-48 hr to fix it.
Good luck, post pics!
Peace@ya! (rei)
Well, that sucked. Just got back from the local police department. Used their tint meter to check how dark the film I wanted to apply would make things. I'm allowed 30% as an absolute max low (35% +/- 5%)
Guess what numbers came up? 28 or 29.
Anyone know where I can get some 50% tint in Canada? (as in large national chain)
Guess what numbers came up? 28 or 29.
Anyone know where I can get some 50% tint in Canada? (as in large national chain)
was98strat
Member
Man I hate the USA for this kind of crap, a few bad apples and punish the masses (jerkit)
When I used to live in the USA I had the same problem, here is what I did:
PLAN A.
1. GO to dealership in your 5
2. Ask to take a look at a 5 on the lot.
3. Find one that matches your windows.
4. Ask to see the build spec sheet, NOT THE WINDOW STICKER (well in some cases, but good luck on that, I bet it does not list it,not specific enough)
5. Note the tint level, if shown.
PLAN B.
1. Buy three levels of tint and bring in the box,
(Don't mess up the boxes, you'll take one, two
three of them back)
2. Go to cop shop, police station, etc. and ask
the desk SGT if an officer can come outside and
use the 'tint level checker' it's a little gun that tests
viability through the glass with or without tint.
Oh and the cops will appreciate it, that you are
asking and doing the RIGHT THING!
3. See what they read with NO tint, then open each
box, roll out a tiny bit and have the cop read WITH the
tint while going through your window, i.a. as if the tint
was on the glass.
4. Pick what one is legal and BAM off you go, take
the others back to the store and tell them what you did.
ALSO (Not recommended, but last resort) local parts stores
in the USA, like Auto Zone, Interstate Battery etc. most
the 20 something 'kids' working in there know the rules, not
saying all will be correct, but go to about 5 stores and take
the average of the 5 stores advice.
Good luck!
Peace!(rei)
WRONG! There are different levels of 'in the glass already' U/V and tint levels (see below).
YES. See #2 above. oh and depends on state you live:
a. Ticket = $$ lost out your poacket.
b. Fix it ticket, you've got 24-48 hours to get it FIXED and then drive down to cop shop and show them, otherwise the ticket turns into a FINE ($$) tciket.
c. Cop has the right to make you take it off THEN AND THERE!
YES, and no, all auto windows come with a thin layer of plastic built in, it's called "safety glass" or "Tempered safety glass" this make the glass turn into little tiny cubes and may or may not stay in one piece, or crumble like this:
not daggers of death, that is OLD SCHOOL glass (no)
SOMETIMES that plastic sheet is what you are seeing,
and SOMETIMES that sheet is U/V, all depends on the make,
model, year, etc. Go find a 1972 Gran Tornio and look at it's
side windows, whoa PLAIN GLASS, (boom06)
Now one more advice, some folks like tint, it works as a TINY
bit of thief deterrant too: LINK
Hope that helps folks, let us know what ya did / going to do?
Peace!(rei)
sorry, aside from the UV inhibitors there is NO TINT in the 5 as it comes from the factory to North America! Just the slight greenish hue to the window from the UV inhinitors.
also the fact that all auto windows have a layer of plastic in them is incorrect. the windshield has a layer of plastic in it, that's what keeps it from shattering during an impact! all the other windows are tempered glass (no plastic) the makeup of the window and the way it's processed make it turn into cubes when broken, not the plastic film!
- :
- 2008 Mazda5 GT
(werd)
The 'other' thing to keep in mind is the color of your interior. At 35% tint with dark interior WILL seem darker. You may want to go up a notch if you are afraid of the tint police.
Just an update. Managed to find a local tint shop that was willing to test the tint on my windows before I purchased. Llumar ATR 35% tint has a VLT of 38% so with the windows it came to 31-32% net. Legal!
It's already cut so it should be going on tonight.
In case anyone is wondering, just the stock window glass in the 5 came up as 83%. The guy who was doing the checking for me kinda had a weird look on his face when that number came up but I never got a chance to ask him what it was about.
It's already cut so it should be going on tonight.
In case anyone is wondering, just the stock window glass in the 5 came up as 83%. The guy who was doing the checking for me kinda had a weird look on his face when that number came up but I never got a chance to ask him what it was about.
SGT_OKINAWA
Member
- :
- 2010 Mazda CX-7
Agree, I was a bit wrong there, I'd not said what windows I was talking about. Thanks for the correction.
Peace!(rei)
