Tinting 101

[tag]

[b]Originally posted by RadMarv



Before making a snap decision to just quickly go to your nearest local tint shop to have your car tinted, I suggest that you do some research and decide which type/brand of tint you want to use.

Most tint dealers/installers carry only very specific brands, not all of them.

Some brands of tint are difficult to find locally and may not be found in many states.

Every brand of tint has different colors, compositions, characteristics, heat rejection, reflectiveness and visable light transmission(VLT=DARKNESS). Nearly all give 99% UV protection.

Warranties differ greatly too. And watch out for those! You may get one with a lifetime warranty against FADING but not COLOR CHANGE.

Every state has its own tint law regarding how every window can or cannot be tinted. Most state laws limit the amount of reflectiveness and VLT allowed on the front side windows, the back side windows and the rear window.

Solar Gard has a very nice State Tint Law chart(Adobe Acrobat Reader required).

View State Tint Law chart

To find out more about tinting check out these links...

Tintcenter

Tintdude Forum

to learn about the different tint film manufacturers check out these links...

Llumar
FormulaOne
Madico
3M
HuperOptik
Johnson
Sungard
Solar Gard
Suntek
V-Kool

There are some others. Some are cheap and some are expensive.

You should also go and check out your dealers/installers and actually view the tints and their work.

Finally, Enjoy your research! Have fun! And enjoy your newly tinted Prius!

[RadMarv]

There have been reports from members here that some tinters will not tint the rear lower small hatchback window claiming that it is plastic.

Here is my research so far.

The side door windows and the front triangles are stickered...

"TOYOTA TEMPERLITE"

and the small hatch window is stickered "TOYOTA TEMPERLITE" so there should be no problem.

The back triangles are sitckered "TOYOTA DOT 23"

The large liftback window is stickered "TOYOTA TEMPERLITE-T"

#1

I seriously doubt that plastic would hold up to defogger temperatures. NOTE there are defogger lines in the GLASS!

#2

The quote below is directly from the manufacturer and owner of the TEMPERLITE registered branding.

Asahi India

Tempered Automotive Glass : TEMPERLITE-LT - This is the registered brand of Asahi India’s fully tempered safety glass for use as side and back glass.

This site listed below shows the business workings of Asahi India

Asahi India Business Line

QUOTE
Asahi manufactures two types of automotive safety glass – laminated and tempered. Laminated windshields have high resistance to penetration, thus ensuring safety. Their distinct advantage lies in the fact that it suffers localized breakage at the point of impact without hampering visibility. Laminated windshield does not break spontaneously and, thus, the chances of injury are minimized. Tempered safety glass has high tensile stress, which enables it to withstand stress, vibrations and thermal shock better than ordinary glass. Asahi’s present product range includes laminated windscreens, full tempered glass, zone tempered glass, silver printed defogger glass and black ceramic printed flush fitting glass. The product range is available under the brand names of Lamisafe (laminated windshield), Temperlite (tempered safety glass), Zonelite (centrally tempered glass) and Heatlite (electrically heated glass).

#3

Follow the thread I started on the Tintdude Forum

Prius small Hatchback Window?

#4

Is the Prius small Hatchback Window Glass???

According to the research I've read..... answer = [u][b]YES

[RadMarv]

[u][b]Here is my research and opinion on AS-1 Windshield Window Tint Laws

I have been asked, "What does "AS-1" mean regarding the windshield tinting laws."

Here's what I've learned regarding the windshield AS-1 line.

This line is not relative to window tinting at all. It is related to the eyes visibility through the windshield.

Originally posted by QUOTING PART OF NHTSA Standard No. 205
 
Fortunately, an industry standard exists, SAE J100 ``Class ``A'' Vehicle Glazing Shade Bands.'' That standard is based on the eyellipse of a 95th percentile male. The eyellipse is a statistical representation of the 95th percentile male driver's eye positions in a vehicle. That eyellipse is specified because it is the highest eyellipse, and therefore is the eyellipse most likely to be blocked by the shade band.

Some cars have an AS-1 windshield line depicted on them and there is a Standard required of Automobile manufactures to have this area depicted on the windshield if it exists.

I do not find one on the 2005 Prius Windshield. However, my 1998 Mazda 626 windshield does have one. Here is a photo of the Mazda AS-1 line it's found on both sides of the windshield.



If your vehicle does NOT have an AS-1 line denoted on the windshield, your vehicle's windshield is considered not to have one.

If your vehicle doesn't have an AS-1 line and your state tinting law depicts tinting to the AS-1 line only, it is illegal to put tinting anywhere on the uppermost portion of your Windshield.

If your state law does NOT state the AS-1 line and only inches from the top most portion of the glass you can tint below the AS-1 line to that limit.

There are states that have laws that list both the AS-1 line and inches. If your AS-1 line is farther down than the let us say the 5 inches also stated, then you can have the tint lower than 5 inches from the top of the windshield to the AS-1 line. If your AS-1 line is shorter than the 5 inches stated you cannot tint below the AS-1 line.

HOWEVER, I am not sure how tinting below the AS-1 line can be legal as an AS-1 line is mandated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and with The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards regarding window glazing and limits visible light transmission to 70% in the area below the AS-1 line. If the car doesn't have one then no windshield tinting is allowed by the manufacturer.

Also, windshields are usually "Laminated Glass" which is a safety glass which breaks differently than the other windows in your vehicle when impacted. Adding tinting to laminated glass will also change the breaking characteristic required by regulations.