Hey...just out of curiosity how much tint is legal in the state of California? Is it legal to tint the driver and passenger side windows up to a certain point. I know you can black out the rear sides if you want...but I'm unure about the driver and passenger sides. I have the onyx interior and I bet it's gonna get hot during the summer...I'd like as much protection for the interior I can get away with...besides it looks nice :)

Only back and rear windows.

While you will see many cars with front tint in CA, I can tell you from personnal experience it's not worth taking the chance. I had what seemed like VERY light tint (50%) in front, and had no problems for several months, but just got stopped last month. And what a messy pain it is to remove. <p>My onyx interior made the tinting look very dark at times. With overcast skies and and other low-light situations the 50% tint often looked like 20%. Probably exacerbated by the greenish tint the windows already come with, which tends to create a mirrored look under gray skies. <p>Anyway, I was dreading having to remove the tint, but was pleasantly surprised - it actually looks just fine with no tint in front. Frankly I don't see much difference. I now just have 35% on rear side windows, 20% on rear window. The combination of the slightly tinted front factory glass, the dark interior, and the rear aftermarket tinting makes the front windows look tinted in a lot of light situations! As far as heat, I think the factory tint has some cooling effect, and tinting the rear windows should help quite a bit. <p>Anyway, don't tint the fronts. A bored cop will get you sooner or later. Especially one that's jealous of your shiney new car.

The window tinting regulations went into effect shortly after I moved to California in the mid 80's (or maybe it was the aggressive enforcement of an existing law?). Anyway, I was told by an L.A. native that there had been a rash of cop shootings when officers stopped gang banger types whose windows were tinted. Apparently, an approaching officer couldn't see the driver holding a weapon directly at the officer from behind a tinted window. It was noted that the window tinting phenomena was most popular with young males tricking out their cars and especially gang banger types trying to achieve that "bad boy" image with the dark tinted windows.<p>So, I guess I have a hard time understanding how someone would think that's a lame law?

From my conversation with a CHP, I met up with on my return trip from Las Vegas (CES Show) he told me that as of the first of the year a new law had passed that allowed tint on the driver/passanger windows, AS2 tint maxiumum. He looked at my windows and said it looked a little dark, but did not cite me for them, he was probably more concerned with my speed, 77mph in a 55mph zone (he wrote me up for 70mph).

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Since when did we have to start living our lives to make thing easier for the police?<br>Once we start changing our everyday lives to make law enforcement easier and safer, we stop living for ourselves and might as well be in a police state. Taken to its logical conclusion, we might as well prohibit any form of curtains or blinds in the windows of our homes because that way the police could just look in if they suspected criminal activity rather than having to potentially face someone with a gun.<p>My personal beef with this law is that it is absolute. My wife has a condition that makes her skin extremely sensitivei to ultra-violet light. So sensitive that normal glass is insufficient to block the UV, and even normal tinting materials are insufficient to protect her skin for any long period of time. We have a prescription from her dermatologist which has been sufficient to get the required tinting in all the other states we have lived in. The California tinting law does not allow for any sort of medical waiver. So, in moving to LA we now are reduced to being criminals in order to live our lives in a normal fashion.<p>BTW, I don't think it has been mentioned yet that this law applies to vehicles registered out of state too. So, if you come to Disney with your wife and family and your car has front side-window tinting, you could easily be ticketed too and would have no recourse but to pay up.

Police state? C'mon that's a little extreme.. especially in California, one of the most liberal and progressive states in America. Anyway, the state is free to enforce any number of limitations and regulations it sees fit and in the public interest. Protecting its law enforcement officers from a real danger is within its rights.<p>I believe the incidents I alluded to earlier were routine traffic stops not felony arrest situations with pistols drawn. As an officer approaches a car without tinted windows there is some opportunity for him to asses the occupants and certainly react if the driver or passengers are brandishing weapons.<p>I admit that I heard this anecdotally (sp?) but it seemed like a "rational" explanation to me. I'd like to hear from an actual police officer if this is accurate?<p>If your wife's condition is as extreme as you say, I can't believe that tinted windows are your only recourse? Aren't there effective sunscreens that can protect her in and out of the car?

Whether driving is a right or a privilege is a topic for another debate (one which I've witnessed innumerable times), suffice to say that it is not an open-and-shut case for either side. Your explanation about protecting the police force from concealed weapons is the standard explanation given, and clearly something that legislators could easily grab on to show how "tough on crime" they are.<p>Other than a zinc-oxide based cream, not even the SPF-55 stuff is good for much more than 10-15 minutes (SPF stands for sun protection factor, factor meaning multiplier, so when you have near zero tolerance for UV, near zero times 55 is still pretty near zero). Zinc-oxide is usually not an option because it is opaque and wouldn't allow her to interact with other people without drawing undue attention to her condition.

I'm sorry about your wife's condition but I guess with every law it's a matter of weighing the pros and cons and making difficult compromises that won't satisfy everyone. I don't happen to share your view that the tint laws are some cynical attempt by politicians to get tough on crime. From what I understand it was a practical response to a deadly problem. Instead of blaming the cops, however, maybe the blame lies with those who committ these atrocities? In the gun totin' U.S. where the NRA has used its constitutional argument to keep plenty of guns on the street -- people like you lose when it comes to simple things like tinted windows.

:-)

Anyone with a medical condition which would necessitate the need for tinted windows can obtain a special permit to do so. Still, it would not eliminate an officer from pulling you over.