jeffreyfox

Ha, well, I've gone to several local shops. In Los Angeles, everyone who tints their windows gets illegal tints. It's just assumed that's what you want. If you ask about legality, the shop guys all say "70% is the minimum" for the front, and I see there's some reason to it as you explained, but then they offer darker tints for the front windows anyway as if we didn't talk about what we just did, and all the cars on their lot have dark front windows. One guy was different. He said (before I even asked anything), "You can't legally tint your front windows, so whatever we do here will be illegal. Okay?" I guess it's like speeding or rolling through Stop signs. We all do it, and hope not to get caught. Since this tinting is for my wife's car, I would prefer not to set her up with anything she has to worry about. As far as enforcement, some police officers have a small tool they use to measure the VLT. I have no idea how common it is, but the tool exists. And you're supposed to carry a document from the installer with the film maker's specs on it (for front windows). I found one shop in the state that mentioned they'll give you the cert, but they're two hours away. Everyone local looked at me like I was nuts if I mentioned that.

Thanks for your reply. But, there is no "or". The film itself has to be 88% VLT or above. The window must be above 70% VLT after adding the film. Both conditions must be met. Ask a California police officer, and he'll plainly tell you you're not allowed to add darkening tint to your front side windows, even if they're completely clear from the factory, and this is why. A clear window is typically 88% VLT, so if I added an 87% VLT film (Llumar AU 85), that would reduce it to 76.6%. This is way above federal standards for visibility, and certainly not unsafe, but not in compliance with the letter of California law. If I got asked for papers on my tinting when pulled over and showed him 87%, a cop could write me up for it not being 88%. You mentioned shops that carry 80% or 90%. Do you know of a film product by name that's 90%? EDIT: I just found out the front windows on my car are already 80% VLT! So if I added 87%, that would put me below 70% total. Thanks for your input.

Hello, To add clear UV protection to driver side windows, California requires the film to have 88% VLT. That doesn't seem to exist. I checked the specs for all manufacturers. Llumar has UV Protection Clear Window Film at 87%, and 3M has CR90 at 86%. That's pretty much clear, but if the issue ever came up with an officer checking on our film, 87% < 88% and I could technically be ticketed. Is it even possible to add UV protection film to front windows in California? Does 88% VLT film exist?