So if some think tints on cars are silly' date=' why do car manufacturers always advertise their goods with tinted windows, whether TV ads or on magazine pages. The "quality brand" cars are always have blacked out windows, think BMW, Audi, SAAB etc.

Regarding limiting visibility, my front side windows are 25% tint (rears 50%) and although there is a difference inside, I would argue in certain situations, they make for better visibility, e.g. low sun. At night I have no problem with side visibility.

Point taken that other road/pavement users may not be able to see the whites of your eyes, but then again, this should mean they will not assume you have seen them and continue regardless as is the case in some accident situations, I'm sure.[/quote']

Lee

I agree that advertisers / manufacturers like to use tinted glass in adverts - basically as it emphasises the shape of a car and there is no reflection or "see through visibility" to distract the viewer. However, that doesn't mean that everyone likes the look of cars does it ... we all like different things

I considered doing this but didn't for exactly the same reason as Denis explained. I accept that tinting in bright sunlight should assist with safety but conversely it has to harm visibility and safety in dull light or the dark ... if not I would love to hear the explanation as to how this is achieved.

Irrespective of all the pros and cons though, the article that Denis posted seems to indicate to me that ALL tints will be illegal shortly and that they would make the tinter liable for prosecution and the owner liable for damages in the event of an accident and would also invalidate their insurance. Am I reading it wrong :confused:

the regulation is unenforcable...

many cars leave the factory with EC approved glas that will not pas this.. I for one will be taking Blair the **** to the european court of human rights if his left wing starfishtroopers try it with me..

last got grief of the feds when i had the CLK - when challeneged with are you going to prosecute me i was met with the reply "wait here for 1 hr whilst i locate a test device" when i laughed and asked him if he wished to arrest me to make me wait "No sir, this is not an arrestable offence" ... strangley he didnt wave back as i drove off....

the regulation is unenforcable...

many cars leave the factory with EC approved glas that will not pas this.. I for one will be taking Blair the **** to the european court of human rights if his left wing starfishtroopers try it with me..

last got grief of the feds when i had the CLK - when challeneged with are you going to prosecute me i was met with the reply "wait here for 1 hr whilst i locate a test device" when i laughed and asked him if he wished to arrest me to make me wait "No sir' date=' this is not an arrestable offence" ... strangley he didnt wave back as i drove off....[/quote']

Fair enough on everyday stuff ... but if you had a serious accident it could be worth pursuing by the injured party, relatives, police etc etc - particularly in the current litigation obsessed society

I'm flattered.

as you can tell I'm a hit with the ladies!

I think I need to have a look at a tinted car from the inside out. I was always under the thought that it's the same from either the inside or the outside.

It would be useful to have tints in the winter sun time as it's murder on your eyes.

Fair enough on everyday stuff ... but if you had a serious accident it could be worth pursuing by the injured party, relatives, police etc etc - particularly in the current litigation obsessed society

agree in theory but they qwould have to prove that the tints caused the accident...

and im pretty sure that would be difficult as the actual loss of vision is negligble compared with differences in eyesight / car clean / car dirty..

and im sure there would be something wrong with their car too.. misplaced sticker / wrong wattage bulbs / undisclosed remap / tuning box / business use.. if they play hard you have to play hard too....

Fair enough on everyday stuff ... but if you had a serious accident it could be worth pursuing by the injured party, relatives, police etc etc - particularly in the current litigation obsessed society

...and your insurance co. would be happy to help by having a good excuse so as not to pay out as the car is unroadworthy and therefore contravenes the Construction Regs as detailed in the earlier link.

If the feds don't like the look of something on your car, they can issue you with a vehicle defect notice.

Steve

If the feds don't like the look of something on your car' date=' they can issue you with a vehicle defect notice.

Steve[/quote']

only if they can prove it.

not on the basis that tints "look dark"

lighter the paint the darker they look.

no sunroof =darker

smaller rear window=darker

darker rears=darker looking fronts

smaller windscreen= darker looking.

dark coloured interior=darker looking.

non of these affect how much light "can" come through... just how dark the interior is..

hence i always got grief in silver clk with darkrears and no sunroof ... yet got naff all grief in xkr with white interior even though had very dark fronts..

i'll admit to opening the sunroof when i first had them to lighten the interior of the car but just dont worry about it now cause they really arent "that" dark at 20%.

main reason i had mine down was because i'd always wanted a silver car with smoked windows. there was no other reason for it. dont know why i did, i just did. guess the adverts of silver cars with dark windows worked on me.

since i had them done though i can see why alot of people do it. the sun doesnt dazzle you through the side windows, and there is added secuirty with the film in place and contrary to popular belief with this tint at night it isnt as dark as you'd think. the visibility from the inside is almost as good as the front window.

i cant remember the name of the film they used, may have been pentagon, but i really dont know to be honest, thats more than likely a name i've picked up over time from else where.

If anyone wants to give them a call ring AutoKraft on 07733 268599 and ask for Phil.

If you tell him you got the number from Nigel with the Silver Octavia RS that Paul with the black one put in touch late august he might even do you a good price.

pentagon, do window tinting but they can be abit expensive, they are mostly used by dealers (I think). Though they do some top work.

only if they can prove it.

That's why they've started carrying light meters. Cumbria has 2 AFAIK.

Steve

Pentagon is security window tinting its not dark, I don't think. Could be wrong though,

That's why they've started carrying light meters. Cumbria has 2 AFAIK.

Steve

so the chances of it being in the right place at the right time are pretty slim...

Pentagon is security window tinting its not dark, I don't think. Could be wrong though,

when I was at Honda they did do tinting as well as the protection glass, but as I said they seem expensive. They wanted

sorry about what i had, got it the wrong way round. i had either 10% or 15% on the back window, 35% on the rear sides and 65% on the front sides.

visibility was not affected by the tints at night, at least hardly anything and during the day as said already much improved. and it made the car look a lot better, in my opinion obviously

this pic of my focus when i had, look at how dark the rears look from the outside then look through the windscreen at the drivers side window. this is how clear it is from the inside

It wasn't the risk of being cought by the fuzz with tints that made me removem, it was the insurance side of it.

Steve

I dont think that tints affect your view as long as the fronts are light smoke,i can see perfectly well day or night and i think that police generally moan about tints when there fitted to a modified car and its usually because they cant find anything else wrong with your car so they have a go at you about the tints instead which is pathetic cos i dont see them pulling over people in X5s,MLs and the like and what i cant understand is that you will get told to remove your tints because there seen as a safety issue but you can wear the darkest sunglasses you like in your car and thats ok :confused: its the same as when i had my bike,i got ear ache off a copper for having a dark visor even though i was riding on a bright summers day and when i explained that it stopped a lot of glare and was better than my clear visor he said to put sun glasses on and that was legal

I don't actually know what percentages mine are, other than each one down the side is darker than the last... guess it's easier to do variations over 4 pieces than 2..

I wish you'd stop posting that pic - makes me want to get mine done right now!

the back windows always seem darker, the ones I saw at Motech they all had light smoke window tints but the back looked darker.