Factory Tint

driller

driller

El Presidente
Staff member
Well, the tint police have struck again.

The wife took the Mark VIII today to try and get an inspection. She was told(among other things) the tint was too dark. The state limit is 35%, which is what was installed, however mine registered 20% with a 'meter' they are required to use. They said putting the tint over the factory tinted glass was the cause.

So the question is: is the factory glass tinted? What level? BTW, what is the percentage number referring to?

I'm not overly concerned, I'll get an inspection regardless, but I'm not changing the tint. Heck, if anything, I'd like it darker. Apparently, they have been recently harassed by the state police for passing vehicles with illegal tint. I don't fault the garage, they do good work and have a business to run.
 
RE: Factory Tint

My 98 brochure just says "solar tint glass" but doesn't specify any more details that I can find.
 
RE: Factory Tint

I noticed when I bought my '97 Gen II in August last year that they "removed" the tint on my windows. It was a Pennsylvania purchased vehicle brought here to Maryland.

Of course, the dealer drove the car around for 2 years before they offered it for sale and the tint didn't get removed until they did the Maryland inspection just before I bought it. (August '02)

Now there is no tint at all.....or is there a factory glass tint already there????.... and they put on any extra tint film after they know which state the vehicle is being shipped to?
 
RE: Factory Tint

I think I still have the factory tint...... and its fading away like garbage under ground!!

Im gonna throw it out, and install some darker tint... does anyone know if i can just tint over the rear window instead of having to re-doing it again?
thanx
 
RE: Factory Tint

Ok, I'm trying to pull this out of my memory, I don't have the info in front of me... but...

I believe Solar Tint glass was an option on the marks. With the amount of sun light hitting the glass, the glass would automatically darken and lighten accordingly. As well as the tinting, the Solar Tint glass would block out harmful rays (such as UV) and prevent your interior from fadeing.
 
RE%3A Factory Tint

RE%3A Factory Tint

I have seen this solar tint glass on a lot of other older fords. It’s nothing but a slightly different shade of glass, which blocks harmful Rays. It won’t tint, or else would have been VERY expensive.
 
RE: RE%3A Factory Tint

RE: RE%3A Factory Tint

I disagree with you there. My car has the Solar Tint on it and if you just bring it out of the garage you can easily tell there is no tint at all on it. But if you leave it in the sun a while the windows always look darker. By no means is it close to an aftermarket tint, but they do darken up.
 
RE: Factory Tint

From what I can find, Carlite is the OEM supplier for FLM auto glass and apparently Solar Tint glass was/may be/is a factory option.

From http://www.acidistribution.com/aci-south/resources/terminology.htm#safe

Solar Glass: (or Solar Control Glass)

Manufacturers term for glass that has been treated or specially tinted during the production process to reduce the sun's rays to protect, and reduce heat buildup in the vehicle interior.

Transmittance:
The ability of the glass to transmit solar energy in the visible light, the ultraviolet, and the infrared ranges, centrally measured in percentages of each.

Total Solar Absorption:
The percent of incident solar radiation that is absorbed by a glazing system.

Total Solar Reflectance:
The percent of solar radiation that is reflected by a glazing system.

Total Solar Transmittance:
The percent of incident solar radiation that directly passes through a glazing system.

Tinted Glass:
Color has been added to "tint" the glass - usually green or blue, but also gray or bronze (brown), as opposed to clear which has no color added.

--------------------

Nowhere could I find a reference to the amount(%) of tint in the Carlite Solar Tint glass. This is the way I understand it(trying to remember physics class years ago):

The total transmittance(%) plus total absorption(%) plus total reflectance(%) = 100%. Therefore when the tint is the maximum state mandate of 35%, the tinting blocks 65%. For our purposes we don't care how much is reflected or absorbed as we're only interested in the total transmittance. Therefore if the transmittance meter currently shows 20% when I have certified 35% tint applied we can arrive at the original transmittance as follows.

(100%-35%)+20% = 65%+20% = 85%

Therefore I propose the OEM Solar Tint to be 85% total transmittance. It would be interesting to put the transmittance meter on OEM glass and see the results. But 85% seems logical for OEM glass. Now the question is what tint to apply to the OEM Solar Tint glass to arrive at the 35% state limit?

35%+X = 85%
X = 85%-35%
X = 50%

BTW, apparently there are also laws regarding maximum total reflectivity, most being mandated at 10%-20% from the outside. Just remember total transmittance equals 100% minus the sum of total absorption plus total reflectance.

Interesting reading: http://www.pcisys.net/~bpc/auto_law/tint/ (extra credit)... class dismissed!;)
 
RE: Factory Tint

I'd like to see what the meter says over clear glass.
In Iowa I believe the limit is that your windows allow 85% of the light. This basically means that you can't tint your window at all other than any factory tint that came with it (NOT talking about window film that someone has applied, that is NOT factory tint). If you could find tint that allowed 90-95% of the light through (what's the point), I bet that would pass inspection, but barely.

The window tint laws are insane. It's my car and if I don't want you looking at me I shouldn't have to put up with it. (or me looking at you for that matter).


Chad
Owner of a 1993 Deep Jewel Green with Mocha interior Mark VIII
IA Parrot, one of the most popular avian resources on the internet
http://aviary.info
 
RE: Factory Tint

I'd like to see what the meter says over clear glass.
Click to expand...

I had such an oppotunity today. I took the '93 to one of the very few garages open on Sunday around here for a state inspection.Like a wise guy I pulled up to the door with the windows down. After waiting a few minutes the mechanic comes by with a black box and pulls out a light meter and asks me to roll up the windows so he can check the tint.

Well, guess what? 27%! And no inspection! The state limit is (obviously) 35%. The official stickers between the tint and the glass say %35. We check and calibrate and check again to no avail. Out of curiousity I had him check the windshield(no tint) and it says 77%!! We check a couple other cars in the garage with "Solar Tint" windows and sure enough... 77%.

You know what? 0.35 x 0.77 = 0.2695 ! 27%:(
 
RE: Factory Tint

Well, well, well...

The LAW says:

§17C-15-36a.

Sun screening devices; penalty.

(a) No person may operate a motor vehicle that is registered or required to be registered in the state on any public highway, road or street that has a sun screening device on the windshield, the front side wings and side windows adjacent to the right and left of the driver and windows adjacent to the rear of the driver that do not meet the requirements of this section.
(b) A sun screening device when used in conjunction with the windshield must be nonreflective and may not be red, yellow or amber in color. A sun screening device may be used only along the top of the windshield and may not extend downward beyond the ASI line or more than five inches from the top of the windshield whichever is closer to the top of the windshield.
(c) A sun screening device when used in conjunction with the automotive safety glazing materials of the side wings or side windows located at the immediate right and left of the driver shall be a nonreflective type with reflectivity of not more than twenty percent and have a light transmission of not less than thirty-five percent. The side windows behind the driver and the rear most windows may have a sun screening device that is designed to be used on automotive safety glazing materials that has a light transmission of not less than thirty-five percent and a reflectivity of not more than twenty percent. If a sun screening device is used on glazing behind the driver, one right and one left outside rear view mirror is required.
(d) Each manufacturer shall:
(1) Certify to the West Virginia state police and division of motor vehicles that a sun screening device used by it is in compliance with the reflectivity and transmittance requirements of this section;
(2) Provide a label not to exceed one and one-half square inches in size, with a means for the permanent and legible installations between the sun screening material and each glazing surface to which it is applied that contains the manufacturer's name and its percentage of light transmission; and
(3) Include instructions with the product or material for proper installation, including the affixing of the label specified in this section. The labeling or marking must be placed in the left lower corner of each glazing surface when facing the vehicle from the outside.
---------------------------

Now, I have "certified" 35% tint applied to my windows and each has the manufacturers sticker as required. I ask you, am I in violation of the law(as written above)?

I am so so close to print the relevant code and drive down to the state police barracks in my illegal Mark VIII and talk to someone... is this a crazy idea or what?

And one more rambling question? If this OEM Solar Tint glass actually does get darker in sunlight, whadaya think of getting it inspected in the dark? ;)
 
RE: Factory Tint

I don't know about WV, but in some states vehicles can only be inspected during daylight hours. I'm guessing if you went to the state police barracks and tried to talk with them about, they'd just tell you it's not their problem, and to take it up with your elected representative who wrote the laws.

Don't get me wrong, I agree with you, I think it's stupid that they try to regulate every little small detail of your life.
 
RE: Factory Tint

I've been away for a while but returned home yesterday evening and this morning decided once again to try a THIRD inspection station.

I called ahead and was told to just bring it by anytime, they would try and fit me in. When I first went, I was asked to come back an hour later since the lift was occupied at the time. So an hour later, I rolled in... with the windows down. They put the Mark on the lift and proceeded to inspect the car while I waited and occupied myself reading a magazine.

A few minutes later, the mechanic comes out and says "I've got good news and bad news...". Geez, I'm thinking, not the tint again! Turns out all was well except a burnt out license plate lamp, but he also wanted to let me know the rear brakes would need pads sometime soon but would be ok for a while longer. I asked to look at it while on the lift and he obliged. He showed me the brakes, I checked out the underside and we(myself and two mechanics) changed the bulb(it took all 3 of us :) ). BTW the rear LP lamp holder is held in place with the same plastic screws that hold the headlamp cover trim under the hood.

A few minutes later the Mark had a new inspection sticker and the guys complimented me on a such a nice ride. After paying $14, I happily drove away... with the windows still down!:)
 
RE: Factory Tint

I plan on doing the windows down mod on inspection day when I go in May :) We took the Tracer in last week for inspection and in De. its pretty straight forward. The only visuals they do are all the lights and the wipers. They dont look under the car and the brakes are checked by stopping on a grate. The emissions are checked with a wand with no visual inspection for cats or anything. Delaware is very leniant compared to a lot of states around us. It took us all of three minutes to go through the lane.(no bs) This is the southern most DMV in the state so I cant say if they are so laid back up north.
 
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