ThunderDent

Anyone have a good % to exact match Front windows and Pano roof to the factory tinted back ones?

I've never tinted a car before.

Going to darken out the front ambers as well.

snagitseven

Keep in mind WV tint laws require at least 35% transmission of light for the front side windows and rear window for all cars and SUVs. There is no minimum requirement for rear side windows in SUVs so the manf uses a darker tint, reported to be metered at close to 27%.

Also keep in mind that the factory tint of the front windows are at 93% light transmissionwhich would need to be factored to stay legal. A 40% tint would come in around 37% (40*.93). A 35% tint would end up at close to 32.5% (35*.93) or below the legal minimum in WV.

riceboy22

It's pretty hard to match exactly. You can get the % to match, but the factory tint is basically baked into the glass and has a slightly different color tone than most films. That being said, Pinnacle 30 matches pretty damn close if you're not touching the rears at all.

Check out this recent thread: Q5 Tint Questions (I searched a lot)

TJay74

Pano tint has not limit, you can tint it as dark as you like.

ThunderDent

Thanks guys. I'm pretty tiny illiterate. I've never really messed with them before.

I started considering just the pano roof because I have the baby in the back, but then thought about trying to match as close as I could the fronts.

I know there are laws in place, but didn't know for sure what was what.
So I appreciate you checking into that for me @snagitseven.

My custom tint/wrap shop is in WV, so I may just tell them to match as dark as they can get but still legal. And the Pano roof I may go darker.

Anyone tint out the ambers? (Don't really want to mess with the Ecodes, but they do look tempting). Thoughts on those?

Q5 Bob

Yes, checking with your tint shop is the place to start. They can help with %'s, matching, legality etc. s. They do it all of the time.

Redd

"Anyone tint out the ambers? "
Remember there are federal (DOT) rules regarding every marker light on a car. Mainly the rear lights and reflectors, but if you reduce the visibility of the front makers or turn lights, that may be problematic as well.

ThunderDent

WV Code Chapter 17C Article 15

According to WV State law, passenger vehicles only have to have Front Head Lamps (white) and Rear Tail lights (Red) lit from dusk until dawn. There are no side or any other marker requirements on passenger vehicles.
(Note: motorcycles, mopeds, etc have to have headlamps on at all times upon entering a highway.)

The only Amber side marker specifications in the code are for: passenger busses, trucks, truck tractors, and certain trailers, semitrailers, and pole trailers.

So turning off Side Amber Marker lights in VCDS, tinting them, or installing ECodes should be legal. At least in my state.

Redd

When I said "problematic" that would also include you sitting in a court, while the guy who ran into you said "Well, your honor, I couldn't see him in the fog because he disabled his marker lights" in a major lawsuit. Yes, these things happen. (In fact, a normal forensic workup tests to see if incandescent bulbs were on, off, or burned out during a situation like that.)

And of course, there are no "DOT cops" on the highways, but DOT regulations also apply in WV, even in the state laws don't require the same equipment. (Like the crash bars that are in the front doors of every US car.)

So there may be no WV code that applies, or there may be a more obscure WV code that applies to "disabling safety equipment", or it may be perfectly legal. I'd still call it problematic and a potential liability to disable safety markers.

Some states prohibit the use of emergency flashers on the highway, period. Others--and I think that includes the ICC regulating trucks--require all vehicles moving below the minimum speed limit to use their emergency flashers. So in heavy rain, many drivers, most truckers, some states, you put on the flashers to increase visibility for safety. In other states, they require you to be unsafe. Guess which I'd do, regardless of state laws? I'll opt for the safer solution every time. Although I'll argue that speed limits are NOT a safety rule. If they were, we'd all be driving at five or ten miles per hour, because that's SO much safer than 55.(G)

Just one man's opinion.