Tinting 101

Re: Tinting 101 - SMALL HATCHBACK WINDOW

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 = YES

 

Re: Tinting 101 - WINDSHIELDS - AS-1 LINE

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.

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.

 

I really wish someone would list the factory glass VLT values for the windshield and side windows. FWIW a cheap $10 light meter from amazon will help you figure out a general percentage but it's super inaccurate.

I bought a used Prius several years ago and a used Leaf this year. I was suprised how much less tint the Leaf had so I took a meter to both and realized my Prius was heavily tinted. Front side windows around 35 to 45%, rear side windows darker than that even. (state limit here is 35%). I don't have an accurate enough tool to measure it to be sure.

Tried checking the Leaf and sunlight vs clouds and such meant variable source and I couldn't tell what my windows were. I'll guess somewhere between 80% and 90% but the readings varied way too much for me to have any confidence in them. For the sake of my upcoming tinting I'll assume 90% for now and let the tint shop give me a more accurate number.

Went back and checked again later when the sun was higher and got more stable readings closer to 70% than 80%. I guess I'll use 80% in my mental math for now until I get a more accurate reading by one of the tint shops.