I have just bought a Landcruiser D4D which unfortunately has had all the windows tinted (except the windscreen). The rear tints are quite dark and are useful in the sense that it is difficult to see what is in the load area. The front tints are lighter and you can see through from one side to the other. They do not appear to hinder my driving vision. I am aware that new legislation requires 75% visible light transmission on the front windows and just to be on the safe side I will probably have the front tints removed. My problem is that nobody seems to know where I can have them removed or how much it costs. Even my local Toyota dealer has no method of measuring the light transmission or can give me any idea where to go for help. Surely this is not a unique problem? Can anyone help? I am in Lancashire.
Thanks.
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It's awful to get off, you would need to remove the whole glass, peel off, and put in a bath of solvent to remove the glue.
I did my house door glass, and decided to change from black to a warmer goldy silver mirror effect, and it left very hard to shift glue behined.
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"legislation requires 75% visible light transmission"
So who's fault is it if it isn't? Is the vehicle new, or just new to you?
If you can see right through, it doesn't sound too restrictive, and even if it's borderline, I can't see the police making a big fuss. We've had noise limits for years, but they never seem to get enforced, presumably because it is similarly difficult to measure without special equipment.
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"So who's fault is it if it isn't? Is the vehicle new, or just new to you?"
It's an April 2002 (02 reg) and only new to me. The police in Blackpool unfortunately have so little to do that they are having a bit of a blitz on motorists. I appreciate that common sense says they shouldn't make a fuss but when did you last meet a traffic policeman with that sort of outlook? I just don't want to give them the chance to releive me of some of my hard earned cash.
Many thanks for your reply.
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"when did you last meet a traffic policeman with that sort of outlook"
They're not too bad round here, but I take your point! What I was driving at was that whoever added the tint is really responsible, especially if that was the manufacturer.
If you bought it from a garage, can they not check the light transmission for you (and rectify it if it's illegal)? They must be aware of the regulations.
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I have just bought a Landcruiser D4D which unfortunately has had all the windows tinted
if you had some doubt over legality, why did you buy it?
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"if you had some doubt over legality, why did you buy it?"
Well that's helpful. I ask a question and you have no answers. So why post?
Obviously I only became aware of the possible problem after buying it.
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Well that's helpful. I ask a question and you have no answers. So why post?
whole point of backroom, it's a discussion.. welcome aboard..;-)
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Avenue,
Do you have an SLR camera?
You should be able to get a reasonable approximation using the camera's lightmeter.
Kevin...
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What a brilliant thought! I do have a digital SLR (Canon EOS10D)but I am not sure how I would go about using it to measure light transmission in percentage terms. Any Idea?
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If you can fix the aperture (aperture priority) it should indicate the shutter speed. If that reduces by more than 25% (e.g. 1/400 to 1/300 of a second), then you might have a problem.
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If you can fix the aperture (aperture priority) it should indicate the shutter speed. If that reduces by more than 25% (e.g. 1/400 to 1/300 of a second), then you might have a problem.
Yes, that's what I thought. I will be out there first thing in the morning to try it.
Many thanks.
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Hello Avenue,
If the camera trick doesn't work, why not give the local police station a call, explain to them the problem and ask where to get it checked and what the limits are, i assume they have some sort of leaflet or information they could send you clarifiying things?
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I was discussing this last week with my mechanic. He said that if you got to a HGV MoT Testing station or a Local Authortity HGV testing centre then they can do a light transmission thing.. Its the same place you would take a car to for the SVA I think
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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You will first have to measure the light loss trough a plain windscreen then measure the amount the tint attenuates the light. This is due to the light source being isotropic unlight the meter the police have which is a pin point light source and receiver I suspect that it will be more like 35% loss is what you might measure via this method. Alternatively use a 30cm round disk of cardboard with a 5cm hole in it and tape that onto the windscreen and measure the light coming through the hole with the lense only 10cm from the hole, then step out of the car and get someone to hold the disc facing the same direction, same angle and measure the light again, best to use a cloudy ( Dull )day and measre the light 10cm away again. Good Luck. Regards Peter
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The simple way to measure if a tint is over the 75% transmission, is that if the glass is tinted from the factory (which yours is) it will be at the 30% tint limit already, so any tinting film applied will send it over the limit.
If you live in the Leicester area you could pop down and see me as I have a light transmission meter.
(Glass-Tech)
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Thanks to all who replied. I am now sure that my tints are illegal and I'm afraid it's back to my original question. Does anyone know anywhere within sensible distance of Blackpool where I can have the front tints removed and what is the approximate cost. I cannot blame anyone else as I should have checked the regs before buying (privately). Just as amatter of interest; if the manufacturer tints at 30% and the legal limit is now 25% then half the cars on the road must be dodgy. A real dogs dinner of unneccessary regulations caused by a few idiots who completely blanked our their windows. How typical of this Government to react by introducing a blanket ban which criminalises everybody rather than sort out the real culprits. Still, must'nt rant, it's bad for my blood pressure.
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I presume that this is the stick on tinting ?
Cannot it not then be addressed as per any other sticker - i.e. alternating solvents and hair-dryers ?
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It might be worth asking the people who apply these things. They must get it wrong occasionally...
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"..half the cars on the road must be dodgy"
Which is probably why it will only get enforced in extreme cases. After all, if the chairman of the magistrates has a similar vehicle...
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