So I just got tint this weekend, 20 rear 35 front. Now, I'm kinda scared of getting pulled over for it. I live in San Francisco, and it's illegal in California to have tints in the front. So I have a few questions. Is it only highway patrols that can pull me over, or can all cops? If I see a cop pull up right next to me, and I have my windows up, how likely are they to pull me over? Do highway patrols pull you over on freeways? Should I always have my front windows down while city driving? Any other advice you guys can give me?

 

Hey Lawrence,

What color is your tint? What color is your interior? If you have Tan, you can always open the sun roof shade so the lights shine in from the sun roof. This way, the tint is less visible.



Good luck!

I don't know the contrast btween 35/20.... I have 50/15 on my maxima.. and this is with Sun roof shade closed.... I have a tan interior.

 

I don't know how it is in California, but here in MA, state troopers (highway) won't usually pull you over for tint, though if they pull you over for speeding they may get you for the tint as well. I have seen local cops here pull people over for just the tint, though not very often as I know many people with illegal tint who have never been pulled over. I think it really depends on the cop.

Additionally, their case is only 100% substantial if they have a meter to measure the light going through the window. I have 35% all around on my car, but it is legal. You can definitely tell the windows are tinted so I doubt anyone won't notice it on your car. It's a little tougher to get by when the law is no tinting as opposed to a certain percent tinting.

I've heard of people carrying a razor and offering to strip the tint on their windows in front of the cop in exchange for no ticket. I don't know if many cops go for this, but in the event that they do its probably cheaper to have two windows tinted again (or left alone) than it is to pay the ticket.

 

if i am not mistaken, tint is a secondary violation in california. they can only ticket you when they have already pull you over. thats not to say that you will not get pulled over for it anyway (some cops are ****** and will pull you over and try finding something else to ticket yuo with or just follow you til you mess up)

 

Bingo. Hit the nail on the head.

 

ding ding ding ding ding! I have 20% tint all around and I do the same trick. In day light and at night with the sun visor open, my tint looks really light kind of in between 27-35% depending on lighting.

 

move to Georgia, theres no tint law here!!
I have 20% allaround
I was gonna get 5% tint but that limits the visibility of my Valentine 1

 

Thanks for the tips guys. I have a 99 Silver Limited with tan interior. I always have the sun roof open anyway, and it still seems visible from the outside. The tint is black, I don't know any other way to describe it. I'll post some pictures up soon.

As for tint being a secondary violation, I highly doubt that matters. I got two friends that got pulled over within a year of them getting tint, and they don't drive like ****s either. One had a P11 G20 and the other a 97 I30.

I now also have questions about the ticket if I were to get one. I think in California you get a fix-it ticket, which I think is only $10 when you get a cop to write it off after proving that you fixed the problem. Is that accurate? Also, if you do fix the problem, and then go ahead and get the front windows tinted again, what's the penalty if I were to get pulled over again? I'm assuming it'll be a bigger ticket or something.

 

Another thing, I noticed that there are very tiny air bubbles near the edges on a few of the windows. I got this "professionally" done from a shop for $184.45 after taxes. A friend of mine told me I should take it back because it should be perfect, with no bubbles of any size whatsoever. Now the store has lifetime warrenty workmanship, but they'll probably be out of business within the lifetime. So, is the tint supposed to be perfect?

 

trust me, it being a secondary violation does matter. if there is anything they want to get you on, they will; you dont have to drive like a d**k. in california, it is a fix-it. you need to have the tint removed in order for an officer to sign it off though; and yes it is a $10 fine once signed off. i think they double the penalty if you do it again, although im not absolutely sure about this.

your tint may have a few bubbles, give it a week or so. if they are not gone by then, you should take it back.

 

I have 20% all the way around. Whenever I get pulled over I just roll the windows all the way down. Out of sight, out of mind. They really just want to be able to see inside your car anyway.

Wow, $184.45 is alot. I paid like 135.00 for a house call and some kind of good 3M tint. There are absolutely not supposed to be any kind of imperfections whatsoever, especially after spending 180.00 + dollars. (I know, cali is expensive)
Take that Sh!^ back!!!

 

So air bubbles may go away in a week? I don't see how that's possible, but I guess I will wait until then. I'll also call the shop today to see what they think, though I'll doubt they'll be of much help.

 

15% here, and no problems. It is even illegal in CO, but even when I get pulled over it has never been an issue. I was told 1 week for the bubbles as well. I was patient and waited about several weeks, and by that time all bubbles were gone.

 

give it a week, and it should go away,,,i had the same concerns when my tint man said "dont worry, it'll clear up"....but it did!,,,,i was pulled over in maryland by a state trooper for tint violation only. but,,,,,,i have a waiver...so i got out of it..there is no way for the cop to know i have a waiver, and he said point blank, i pulled you over for your tint. issued a repair order, giggled, and left....,, btw my shiat is around 12% when they tested it at the dmv..lol..to answer the waiver question in advance,,,go see your eye doctor, complain about headaches and pain from the brightness of the sun..tell em your really sensitive and ask if he will give you a note so you can tint your windows...if you happen to have blonde hair and blue eyes, its even easier to convince the doc, since genetically speaking, there is not a lot of 'pigment' in our eyes, and light hypersensitivity is very common. worked for me..now i can tint however dark i want,, i can put a strip on the front as low as i want, and the man cant do shiat about it...

 

dont do the crime if you cant do the time.

that said, i have 5% all around, 35% on the windshield.

 

windshield sounds like a horrible idea =\.

 

i have 5% all around, 28% on windshield. just roll down the windows and open the sunroof if you get pulled over. i have done this 3 times and not a single cop has said anything.

 

Well i was just gonna go back to my tint shop tomorrow and *****. its been about three weeks and i got bubbles and **** still there. Plus i got little cuts in the back windows ( i think they cut out air bubbles???) Anyways i paid 250 and am expecting professional work, PERFECT WORK. This shop has done some of Kevin Garnets stuff and some twins and what not, and i know this **** wouildnt fly with them. Btw i think the sun takes care of the bubbles so park in the sun as often as possible.

 

Well i was just gonna go back to my tint shop tomorrow and *****. its been about three weeks and i got bubbles and **** still there. Plus i got little cuts in the back windows ( i think they cut out air bubbles???) Anyways i paid 250 and am expecting professional work, PERFECT WORK. This shop has done some of Kevin Garnets stuff and some twins and what not, and i know this **** wouildnt fly with them. Btw i think the sun takes care of the bubbles so park in the sun as often as possible.

haha, cuts? damn that's some cruddy job done on your car. doing work for celebraties means nothing. you know they spent the whole day on it making it perfect, so that they have bragging rights, and then go about doing their normal crappy job on consumers like you.

btw, another question, the shop i brought it to says don't open the windows for 7 days. i'm thinking they're just overestimating it for their own benefit. do you guys know when i should be able to roll down my windows without problems?

 

NO really 7 days. the tint manufacurer says 3 to 5 but id go 7. Actually i went ten. ANd yeah i know its bragging rights, i coulda went to some import place arouind here and had some asian kids slap it on for like 170. So much for you get what ya pay for. AAAAAAAAAAHhhhhhhhh Im P!SSED!!!!!!!!!!

 

$170, that's exactly what i did. it was 170 +14.45 tax.

 

hmm i have very light tint.. the lightest they make as a matter of fact.. and there just a dark color.. not that bluish shade.. or anything..

and i have tan interior so when u come up close you can see in pretty clear.. speically with the sunroof open.. well the little cover open..

and at night.. its a bit harder but it can still be seen if you walk rite up next to the car.. but the tan makes it look alot lighter during the day.. the tan intereior.. heheh no the car doesnt have a tan

P.S. hey SYCEFIRO do u have the light that goes in the middle of ur trunk (one that says inifniti on it) after u did... "that" to the car... looks sweet by the way... and is that the stillenkit ont eh back after the rear wheel..?

 

I paid $140 in Ga and i had water bubbles for bout 5 days, (yes the ones that go away are water bubbles not air bubbles if its air then it wont go away) I've found already like 3 tiny air bubbles and i got lifetime warranty but what the heck its just 3 tiny bubbles...

 

20% all around ...no tint law whatsoever paid $140

 

i have 5% in back, 15% in front. paid 200 but included removal of all old tint. (just tint would be like 160). to answer original question of how not to get caught. obey traffic laws (including speed limits). i've never actually gotten a ticket for tint (had it on the i30 for 6 months and on my old car for 2 years) the only time i was even told anything was when i was pulled over for an illegal left turn and another time while going a lil fast.

 

Thy're thinking on putting it back on jan or july but its just rumors, and if they put it I dont think cops will be to bad with it. We had the tint law back in 2002 and the cops didnt bug you that much...

 

The tiny air bubbles are usually caused by the water and solution stuck between the tint and the window. They nearly always go away in a couple of days with a little warmth or sunlight, its perfectly normal. HOWEVER, you need to understand that no tint job, especially on cars as old as some of ours (i.e. mine, a 96), will be perfect. There may be lines, dust, or tint imperfections here or there because of the age of the glass. Futhermore, some glass may have pitting caused by frame welding from an accident. In my car, some welding was done in the door jamb of a rear door and the shop that did it didn't cover the rear windshield properly. There are almost microscopic pits in the rear windshield that I only noticed once the window was tinted, though I'm the only one who has noticed them. They're really tiny - sand grain sized even.

Finally, if its any consolation to you, I have a car detailing company and we charge in the vicinity $250 for window tinting on a sedan like the I30/Maxima. We have tinters that come with the tint (3M or SunTek, both very good quality) and do the cars on-site. Our cost is $175 for a seamless back window, or $150 for a 2 piece back window (we adjust our prices accordingly based on what the customer chooses). Our prices are 100% standard compared to other shops around here, as most charge $250 or more as well. There are very few places around here that do it as a specialty shop.

 

Can a 2-piece rear be easily noticed? I don't wanna ask for a 1-piece rear and have them try and bull**** me because I don't know where to look for the seam whther up top or bottom, horizontally or vertically, etc.

 

I'm not sure actually, no one has ever chosen to go with that option hahah... I've always imagined the pieces to be vertically down the middle, but I don't really know. I would imagine you'd be able to see some sort of a line.

Not all places offer two piece back windows anyway, I don't think.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful!

 

If they know what they are doing, the seam should be on one of the rear defogger horizontal strip. You should not be able to notice it.

 

good thinking!

 

Just remember to quickly roll down all (if not the front two) windows. Also remember to wear you seat belt (if not worn already) and to turn on the "dome light"! They just want to be able to see you so they feel more safe. Don't forget to mind your manners with both of your hands on the 10 and 2 position and if it need be claim you bought the car with the tint and aren't familiar with tint laws.

Not sure about your area, but a friend of mine got tint ticket in philly but he can remove it after getting the ticket and took pictures of his car without the tint to traffic court and the ticket is removed. Or you can be smart and take pictures of your car before you have tint for safe keeping. Generally cops don't care unless you drive aggressive or have 5% tint.

 

Statey pulled me over the day before thanksgiving for my tint! and mine is legal 35%... so what if i was speeding, my tints legal! i got 35% smoke all around.. i love not being seen while im driving, but now i keep my sun roof cover open all the time so sun would make my tint look lighter.

 

If my tint is legal (and it is, same as yours, 35% smoke), I don't see the point in taking steps to make it look lighter. If it is legal, they can't do anything but waste a little of your time and personally, I'd rather get pulled over just for my tint only to see the look on the guys face when he finds out he's wrong, than make my tint look lighter than it is. 35% on my car isn't very dark as it is anyway.

I'm really surprised a state trooper pulled you over for it though, troopers in our state are usually pretty lax.

 

maybe because im young and he decides to screw me over. so i have to appeal that. and my speeding ticket is a whole another story

 

i do like georgia's none existing tint law, since it used to be 35%!

but now i've got 20% around w/ 35% on the windshield and it reads 16% on a cops' little meter thing (since i got pulled over, but the ticket was dismissed in court)

and also having the windshield tinted is awesome

 

I wish it was legal to have your windshield tinted here. Luckily most of our cops don't have meters though.

 

my a*shole cop actually did =\ damm im badd luck

 

how kunty. i got pulled over and got a ticket on friday, but the tard said nothing about my tint.

 

I wouldn't worry about it. My brother lived in SF for a year and his car has 5% all around. He was never bothered. Wanna trade living locations? I promise here in Knoxville TN they won't mess with you. LOL......nah man you should be fine