Tinting Dilemma!

[james_and_his_vp]

hey guys, i just booked my car in to be tinted next wednesday, and its gonna cost me $250(mates rates). Trouble is, i dont know whether to go to 5% all round or 15% all round. either way its still gonna cost me the same. but he said it will be a little difficult to see through the 5% at night time, etc. but i would love the look of having it that dark!!!! i wont be defected, so im not worried about that.... but does any one have any suggestions which will help me make up my mind?
cheers, james

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

I thought 35% was the legal limit? What do you mean you won't be defected? Do you have compromising pictures of the minister for police?

[james_and_his_vp]

haha no no... technically, any car which was first registered before 1994 cant be defected for window tinting. its on the rta website..... http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/registrati...vsi03_rev3.pdf go to page 3

[Emackulation]

Mate, I dunno about you but the darker the tint, the more of a pain in the arse it is to drive. Mainly at night and reversing. Yeah its looks great to have pitch black windows but to me its not worth compromising the vision. I would go 15% ATLEAST.

[james_and_his_vp]

yeh seems to make sense... but its a wagon, so reversing is simple... will 15% still look heaps dark during the daytime?

[scoots]

According to that RTA regulation. "before 1 Aug 1994 minimum 35% unless a darker tint is already fitted" The reg came out in 3 July 2003 so they normally judge that it must have had darker tint prior to that date (2003)
I'd double check before spending the bucks. IMHO dark tint really is a pain in the arse at night.
Scoots

[james_and_his_vp]

yeh the guy doing the tint told me the cops wont do anything if u prove that ur car is from before 1994, and the windows were tinted before the regulation came in...
So every1 seems to think that 5% would be too dark for driving at nite time, etc? would 15% still giv the car a nice look

[Emackulation]

I say yes, I do believe that 15% will give the best look and not compromise your vision as much as 5%.

[mulligan-can]

How are you going to prove that the tint was added before 1994 may I ask? Your not going to have a receipt for it obviously. And the tint won't have bubbled or faded or look "aged". I'm pretty sure the onus would be on you to prove it if you got defected and if you can't prove beyond a doubt that it was indeed tinted pre-1994 then your screwed.

I don't think it would matter if you could or couldn't prove it to the copper defecting you either, as far as I know a defection just have to be a coppers opinion (and if he don't like you darker then legal windows would be a brilliant reason :P)

[james_and_his_vp]

well if i do get defected i suppose i will appeal the defect, stating that i bought the car with the windows already tinted, accompanied by the link from the rta website. and proving the car is infact a 1992 model means that they have no proof whatsoever, therfore how could they possible defect me

[Linchpin]

well if i do get defected i suppose i will appeal the defect, stating that i bought the car with the windows already tinted, accompanied by the link from the rta website. and proving the car is infact a 1992 model means that they have no proof whatsoever, therfore how could they possible defect me

The trouble is it probably won't be as easy as that, they will most likely want a receipt stating the date it was put on, or maybe even a declaration from the previous owner that it was done on such and such a date. Maybe they could even check the tint for age, but who knows.

Anyway, I personally think 15% would look great, I've got 20% on mine and I'm very happy with it. I knew the risks before I got it done, so I won't be surprised if it ever gets a defect.

[hakhawk]

if it was as simple as saying "the tint got done before 94", there would be heaps more people driving around with 5% tint and not getting done for it and having to rip it off. i dont think it would be too hard to prove the tint is reasonably new, and if they wanted to get serious, they would rip some of the tint off and go test it i suppose, surely tint has changed a bit over the years. is the car in mint condition? is the paint faded at all? it would have to be like near new for them to even think about believing that the tint is that old.

for my wagon, im going 35% front door windows, 20% rear door windows, 5% on all 3 cargo area windows.

[ferral21]

I have 5% on my car all i do is put the 2 front windowa down

[mulligan-can]

well if i do get defected i suppose i will appeal the defect, stating that i bought the car with the windows already tinted, accompanied by the link from the rta website. and proving the car is infact a 1992 model means that they have no proof whatsoever, therfore how could they possible defect me

Basically THEY don't need any proof whatsoever. YOU do. The law ain't fair mate. And quite frankly there is a very good reason it's not fair. If it was people would take advantage of every loophole possible (like your trying to )

Oh and don't forget.... Doing this will most definetly void your insurance

[woteva]

for my wagon, im going 35% front door windows, 20% rear door windows, 5% on all 3 cargo area windows.

Will it look OK, i mean will it look patchy with the different tint's ??
I'm getting my wagon done before next summer, will be waiting to see how your's turns out.

[james_and_his_vp]

as for the cars condition, the new tint wont look out of place as the paint is practically perfect, and the car has been garaged all its life.. i will also be getting a closed door respray in a few months just to get the plastic bumpers in exactly the same colour (we all know how they fade)... anyways, im sure ill be happy with 15% and hopefully i wont have too much trouble with the cops, ill try to be friendly!! haha thanks for all the help guys

[james_and_his_vp]

oh and welcome feral21!!! hoping to see some pics of ur vq very soon!!!!

[Burt_vn]

i have 5% all round and 20% on my front doors, i want the fronts changed to 5% as well.. i've never had any trouble seeing and yeah the fact my windows are tinted never even crosses my mind. having 5%, to 20% then 35% in the front will be easily noticeable, i can tell the 20% on the fronts easy. If you want a really dark look, go the 5% for sure. Ive been pulled over a fair few times and never had a mention from the cops. Also, they cant defect you without a UV meter, so unless they request you come to the station to test the windows dont worry about a defect, and they'll only do that if your a smartass or if theyve had a shocker of a day dealing with other commodore drivers :P

show us the results either way, but yeah id recommend 5%, looks great + privacy

[hakhawk]

Will it look OK, i mean will it look patchy with the different tint's ??
I'm getting my wagon done before next summer, will be waiting to see how your's turns out.

well, an-D has that on his MMMLOW wagon, and its hot, i saw it in the flesh and wanted that tint right away.

MMMLOW - VX Wagon on 20z

[james_and_his_vp]

thanks burt_vn... i really do want the darkest look possible, without being too dark, its just that every1 says its too hard to see out of.. i am starting to want to go the 5% and just have the front windows down when needed... ill dwell on it a little more !!

[Burt_vn]

well you say you dont want it to be too dark.. do you want them to be dark or not? id say go the 5% coz as you said, you can wind the windows down if need be. if you go the 20% and want them darker... youll have to get curtains..

[hakhawk]

wind the windows down in pissing rain and crazy wind? fun fun!!

[james_and_his_vp]

haha wat do u mean "if you go the 20% and want them darker... youll have to get curtains.."????

[ferral21]

You only need the windows down when reversing thats the only time i do it.

[mulligan-can]

haha wat do u mean "if you go the 20% and want them darker... youll have to get curtains.."????

By that he means that with 5% you can wind the window down to let more light in. However with 20% if you want less light then your going to have to throw some curtains up.

Basically referring to the fact that tinting is a pretty much permanent thing. You choose 35% your stuck with 35%. So go as dark as you want to start with (or maybe darker as you can always wind the windows down ).

It just works out cheaper to go darker to start with rather then find it too light and have/want to re-tint it