Winter

anyone know the specifics on the window tint law?

last i knew it was 25% if both the right and left outside rear view mirrors and the interior rear view mirror were present while vehicles with only two mirrors, one outside and one interior rear view mirror could only go as low as 35%. is this true?

second, i'm putting harnesses in my xB soon with a functional roll cage. i'm wondering if since they are 6 point harnesses and are actualy safer then the factory seatbelt, can i use the harness in place of the factory seatbelts and remove the factory seatbelts completely?

i went to the state patrol office, they didn't know and sent me over to the vehicle inspection office. the guy there was such an a$$hole and wouldn't even answer a single question. mister "i don't have time for this crap, i have work to do" when there was NOTHING THERE! he was sitting there texting on his phone when i came in, i politely waited until he was done and asked nicely if he knew anything about it and all he did was get ____y with me so i just left. so is there anyone that could help me out here?

Kev_the_rev

last i heard.. 25% is the limit. It's rare that they pull you over for too dark though. that's just from my experience.

now with your roll cage..you shouldn't be using factory belts.. if you have new seats and a cage, you should be using something besides the stock belts. =)

Winter

exactly, thats what my thoughts are on it, i just don't want to be pulled over with my harnesses on and have them freak cause the factory belts arn't there anymore. then again, i've never been pulled over in my years of driving.

i just figure though, if i'm wearing a proper harness, then maybe they will just think "oh, well he's being smart" cause lest face it, harnesses are ALOT safer... and it's a big reminder to put it in cause you'll sit on it and be rather uncomfortable with a metal clip in your back.

plus... most cops i know are nascar fans, maybe they will have a good opinion to them selfs when they see SPARCO across my harnesses and seats they are track and street legal and are certified life safers.

ratcityrain

Technically the law in WA state is that all windows cannot be tinted more then 35%

That being said, the law also states that if its a passenger vehichle (Xb, mini van, SUV) then the front windows have to be 35% and the the reamining windows can be what ever you want them to be...

Any form of car, tC, Xd, Xa and so on, cannot be less then 35% to be legal.



As for the seat belt law - I'm not 100% certain on that, but if I remember correctly, any modification to a car other then stock is illegal so that meaning seatbelts, seats, tint, exhaust and so on are all technically illegal. I don't believe that most officers out there will stop and site for little items like that unless you are being a pain in the ****. I have a cage and 4 point in my car, but then again I haven't been pulled over at all since I added any of that. I have been pulled over since my windows were done and I have 15% all the way around and the state patrol didn't say anything.

Hope this helps

On a side note, if you ever go to SoCal with your car - just remember that tinted windows down there are illegal all together.. They want to make sure you aren't a thug ha ha ha, but if you have out of state plates you should be ok - I had no problem the 6 months I lived down there, but I did fear it everytime I saw a cop on if he was going to pull me over or not.

robbiej

Tint them as dark as you like, just roll down all windows before the officer gets up next to your car, thats what I have done, not that I am getting pulled over alot, just the one time, but he didn't say a thing, just looked around in the car.

ratcityrain

^

Ya, you could always do that too - it has worked for me in the past!!

Kev_the_rev

oh yea.. its 35% oops..

BZinn1

If the harness are DOT legal.........then no problem what soever........think there is only one that is.......perhaps Cynce knows.........I know she told me once what it was but I have cheese for a brain.........

bbszero

iTrader: (6)

I got pulled over in my jeep with a 4pt harness, the first thing the cop said when he approaced was "damn, now that's what I call a seatbelt".

scandalous

The only DOT-approved aftermarket harnesses are Schroth. I highly recommend them because they connect at the stock seat belt mounting points (easy to install) and you dont have to fiddle with latching them when you're in the seat.

Recommend: www.hmsmotorsports.com for the purchase of the harnesses.

scionchampion

Also sometimes it doesn't matter what the tint is the cops don't always know how to use the tint meter that they have. I have a customer who brought me a warning letter from Renton police because his tint was to dark and I know it wasnt' cause we installed it. We installed 35% and the cop said it was 20%.

Adorian

Cynce is right, for a while Sparco outsourced some through schroth and those are the ones we have but Cynce is 100% correct, man this lady always knows what she's talking about.

It needs the spring loaded retainers (where it cynches up) on the belt to ensure it wont loosen up., also involves the grade of nylon, grade of bolts used to mount the belts, it has to use stock mounting holes, and if it attaches to the cage there are a bunch of other stipulations about the cage construction and how it is installed.

blah.

Dkfung88

the factory window already comes with a 13% tint in them... meaning if u added a 35% film, plus the 13% u will be at 22% tint on the windows... thats what happened to my car and i got pulled over for it. Never got the ticket on my record cause the cop didnt show up.. but yeah... rolling down windows doesnt always help cause he'll tell u to roll it back up once he sees tint in the back window.

Infamous425

yeah its 35%. i think darker tint is legal if you have a truck/SUV

kkawana

xB's have typicaly been given the SUV angle on window tint... unless the cop is being a real pain... but that just covers the back/rear windows not the front driver/passenger windows those still fall under the 35% rule

ibnboxin

ok instead of guessing here it is

http://www.tintcenter.com/laws/WA/


here is the seatbelt parts of it

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=46.37.510


ok here is one people need to read exhaust laws

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=46.37.390


people with Aftermarket hoods need to read this

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=46.37.517

DownhillSpec

Ok i gotta step in on the seatbelt part... cause regardless of what that legislation says you cant use any belt on the street that anyone will sell you... most of the parts sold to you in any aftermarket shop, online store, or autoshop is going to have this phrase printed on it "for off-road use only".

kkawana

^^ he lives

Kanchi

iTrader: (4)

^x2

Winter

the seatbelt law states a belt that must atleast have a lap-type belt crossing which a 4, 6 and 8pt harness covers. Sparco is a certified performance safety company and does follow all street and performance laws combined, there for a harness of atleast a 4pt used on a proper roll cage that is enforced correctly can be used in place of factory belts.

as for the exhaust thing. that is out of date now. Nopi tuner recently, as of about 2 years ago, helped re-organize that law so that any exhaust within the north-western area of Washington, Oregon and Idaho of aftermarket origin can not breach a 98db noise level within a 30 yard radious of the vehicle. the only reason why i know this is because i recently fought with my buddy and the court about his exhaust on his 240. we got pulled over and the cop said he got us for exhaust that was too loud. we went to court with the nopi reversion of the law and they instantly dismissed the ticket because the copy of the law they had was the outdated version.

as for the hood law thing, thats just saying you need a hood that fits clean and secure enough to match the quality of that of the sock hood. so if you have a CF hood or something, it's no big deal. as long as you don't have a piece of wood bungi tied to your inner fender supports as a engine hood, THAT isn't legal... but a CF hood, thats fine, it fit firmly and takes anchor at the stock points so it's not a problem.

for the windows, i found the actual law.

RCW 46.37.430 - states that all tinting film can not have more then a 35% mirror reflection +/-3% and a light transference of no lower then 24%. this goes for ALL vehicles in the state of washington. there for 25% is the about legal limit as long as the inner light transmission is no lower then 24% which leaves slight head room.

actual text here:"(1) No person may sell any new motor vehicle as specified in this title, nor may any new motor vehicle as specified in this title be registered unless such vehicle is equipped with safety glazing material of a type that meets or exceeds federal standards, or if there are none, standards approved by the Washington state patrol. The foregoing provisions apply to all passenger-type motor vehicles, including passenger buses and school buses, but in respect to trucks, including truck tractors, the requirements as to safety glazing material apply to all glazing material used in doors, windows, and windshields in the drivers' compartments of such vehicles except as provided by subsection (4) of this section.

(2) The term "safety glazing materials" means glazing materials so constructed, treated, or combined with other materials as to reduce substantially, in comparison with ordinary sheet glass or plate glass, the likelihood of injury to persons by objects from exterior sources or by these safety glazing materials when they may be cracked or broken.

(3) The director of licensing shall not register any motor vehicle which is subject to the provisions of this section unless it is equipped with an approved type of safety glazing material, and he or she shall suspend the registration of any motor vehicle so subject to this section which the director finds is not so equipped until it is made to conform to the requirements of this section.

(4) No person may sell or offer for sale, nor may any person operate a motor vehicle registered in this state which is equipped with, any camper manufactured after May 23, 1969, unless such camper is equipped with safety glazing material of a type conforming to rules adopted by the state patrol wherever glazing materials are used in outside windows and doors.

(5) No film sunscreening or coloring material that reduces light transmittance to any degree may be applied to the surface of the safety glazing material in a motor vehicle unless it meets the following standards for such material:

(a) The maximum level of film sunscreening material to be applied to any window, except the windshield, shall have a total reflectance of thirty-five percent or less, plus or minus three percent, and a light transmission of thirty-five percent or more, plus or minus three percent, when measured against clear glass resulting in a minimum of twenty-four percent light transmission on AS-2 glazing where the vehicle is equipped with outside rearview mirrors on both the right and left. Installation of more than a single sheet of film sunscreening material to any window is prohibited. The same maximum levels of film sunscreen material may be applied to windows to the immediate right and left of the driver on limousines and passenger buses used to transport persons for compensation and vehicles identified by the manufacturer as multi-use, multipurpose, or other similar designation. All windows to the rear of the driver on such vehicles may have film sunscreening material applied that has less than thirty-five percent light transmittance, if the light reflectance is thirty-five percent or less and the vehicle is equipped with outside rearview mirrors on both the right and left. A person or business tinting windows for profit who tints windows within restricted areas of the glazing system shall supply a sticker to be affixed to the driver's door post, in the area adjacent to the manufacturer's identification tag. Installation of this sticker certifies that the glazing application meets this chapter's standards for light transmission, reflectance, and placement requirements. Stickers must be no smaller than three-quarters of an inch by one and one-half inches, and no larger than two inches by two and one-half inches. The stickers must be of sufficient quality to endure exposure to harsh climate conditions. The business name and state tax identification number of the installer must be clearly visible on the sticker.

(b) A greater degree of light reduction is permitted on all windows and the top six inches of windshields of a vehicle operated by or carrying as a passenger a person who possesses a written verification from a licensed physician that the operator or passenger must be protected from exposure to sunlight for physical or medical reasons.

(c) Windshield application. A greater degree of light reduction is permitted on the top six-inch area of a vehicle's windshield. Clear film sunscreening material that reduces or eliminates ultraviolet light may be applied to windshields.

(d) When film sunscreening material is applied to any window except the windshield, outside mirrors on both the left and right sides shall be located so as to reflect to the driver a view of the roadway, through each mirror, a distance of at least two hundred feet to the rear of the vehicle.

(e) The following types of film sunscreening material are not permitted:

(i) Mirror finish products;

(ii) Red, gold, yellow, or black material; or

(iii) Film sunscreening material that is in liquid preapplication form and brushed or sprayed on.

Nothing in this section prohibits the use of shaded or heat-absorbing safety glazing material in which the shading or heat-absorbing characteristics have been applied at the time of manufacture of the safety glazing material and which meet federal standards and the standards of the state patrol for such safety glazing materials.

(6) It is a traffic infraction for any person to operate a vehicle for use on the public highways of this state, if the vehicle is equipped with film sunscreening or coloring material in violation of this section.

(7) Owners of vehicles with film sunscreening material applied to windows to the rear of the driver, prior to June 7, 1990, must comply with the requirements of this section and RCW 46.37.435 by July 1, 1993.

( The side and rear windows of law enforcement vehicles are exempt from the requirements of subsection (5) of this section. However, when law enforcement vehicles are sold to private individuals the film sunscreening or coloring material must comply with the requirements of subsection (5) of this section or documentation must be provided to the buyer stating that the vehicle windows must comply with the requirements of subsection (5) of this section before operation of the vehicle."