Factory Window Tint

[Basil135]

Does anyone know to what level the side windows on a 2004 D2 are tinted to?

According to the lovely policeman I was speaking to today, the Disco has tinted windows when delivered, and the addition of any aftermarket tinting is bascially making it too dark, hence illegal.

Ok, so it was dark, BUT 1) it looked really cool & 2) the dealer did it.

As soon as I got home, I rang the dealer & told them that they have a problem. I have only had the car for just under 3 months, and hence it is still under the warranty, and therefore it is their problem. To their credit, their reaction was "whoops - we will get it fixed". My response was "Yep - I know. Oh, and by the way, you are taking it back for re-inspection and paying the fee".

So, anyway, I guess the moral of the story is, know how dark the factory tinted glass is before you add more tint on top.


BTW - SA has some of the toughest rules regarding window tint around. What is legal in other states, is illegal here. Been there, done that when we moved back from Vic. Another story for another time...

[Scouse]

The front side windows are virtually untinted compared to the rears on the later D2's. This is for Australian spec cars anyway, other market might be different.
Was the problem with your front side windows or the rears?

[Basil135]

The nice policeman pinged me for both front & back windows.

His portable testing doovie showed a tint of 33% at the front & 17% at the back.:o

Evidently the max allowable is 75% front & 35% rear. I presume this is the minimum amount of light that must pass thru the glass.:mad:

[DI5CO]

Apparently the factory tinting is only what they call "privacy glass" which means that it doesn't offer any UV protection unless it is actually built into the glass. You may notice some manufactures glass has a slight green look to the glass & this is about 5% protection. (I don't know if the privacy glass has any protection in it). To get full UV protection there is a clear film which can go on the glass & then you can just get the fronts done in a dark tint.

[Basil135]

Well, took the Disco in to have it inspected at the local cop-shop.

After a bit of waiting while they found someone that was qualified to take the measurements with their magical machine, we finally got around to the nitty gritty.

The rear passenger windows have no tint on them at all, and are spot-on legal. No leeway here at all.

The front windows were tinted with the lightest possible tint, and they failed. The machine read them at 65% where the legal minimum is 75%. Just as I was muttering to myself, I noticed that one corner of the tint was a little loose, so I ripped it off all together.

The machine goes back on, and look at that.... 70%. Still not legal - even with no tint on the window at all.

However, the lovely police lady said, "well, there is nothing else you can do, so I will pass it." Whoo...

She also said that it was a bit rich that I was done in the first place. Yea, ok the tint was illegal. But the car is nothing out of the ordinary, and shouldn't have attracted any undue attention.

The XR6 that I traded on the Disco had tinted windows, duel exhaust from Pacemaker headers, and made a very nice note... BUT that was NEVER pulled over - NEVER.

Oh well, so now the Disco looks like all the others out there...

A word to the wise, if you are going to have your windows tinted, make sure you specify that it has to remain legal. Otherwise, I would have had to wear it, and not the dealer.

[2_door]

Well, took the Disco in to have it inspected at the local cop-shop.

The front windows were tinted with the lightest possible tint, and they failed. The machine read them at 65% where the legal minimum is 75%. Just as I was muttering to myself, I noticed that one corner of the tint was a little loose, so I ripped it off all together.

The machine goes back on, and look at that.... 70%. Still not legal - even with no tint on the window at all.



how can an untinted window not be legal????

their machine must be buggered :(

[Basil135]

how can an untinted window not be legal????

their machine must be buggered :(

Thats what I was thinking, but "all of their units are calibrated regularly...:nazilock:"

Only thing that I can think of is that the local laws are different to the ADR's.

[Tombie]

LMAO... Sorry to hear yor woes..

I also traded an XR6 on my first Landy

It had Limo Tint :) on the back glass and rear doors... And Very dark tint on the Front doors....Never got pulled over

Had a very low ESP with same tint, never touched...

Tinted the first rover dark over factory tint and never had an issue....

Just the luck of the draw unfortunately...

Can I ask what colour the vehicle is? Some colours make the tint look darker and draw attention...

[Basil135]

You could have a point there....

My car is black, and with the windows being dark, I guess it did look a little menacing....:D

[Lotz-A-Landies]

It used to be the case that the rear and side windows excluding the front doors could have any tint excluding reflective film, so long as the vehicle had exterior rear view mirrors on both doors. The front doors had to let no less than 75% of light pass through.

If the rears are limited to 35% how do the myriads of white vans with metal "windows" and utes with pantec bodies pass the 35% rule?

Diana

P.S. well here you are, you need to have a passenger vehicle that was first registered and tinted before the horses birthday in 1994 http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/registration/downloads/vsi/vsi03_rev3.pdf the rest relates to panel vans and buses and can still have any level of tint including metal.

[Basil135]

It used to be the case that the rear and side windows excluding the front doors could have any tint excluding reflective film, so long as the vehicle had exterior rear view mirrors on both doors. The front doors had to let no less than 75% of light pass through.

If the rears are limited to 35% how do the myriads of white vans with metal "windows" and utes with pantec bodies pass the 35% rule?

Diana



Funny thing is, I asked the "nice" police people that did the second inspection a similar question. Their answer "dunno. Think you were robbed a bit"

So if our boys & girls in blue arn't really sure, then who is?

Probably the most annoying thing in all of this, is that since then, I have seen sooo many cars around with darker windows than mine. And the reeeeaaalllllyyyy annoying thing is that it is usually on the cars commonly known as "ricers":twisted:

Oh well, its done now... Still blaming child #2 for getting sick at school....:eek: (insert sliding door syndrome here....:D)