window/light tinting

[David Rogers]

Few pointers for you,

ebay is an awesome source for all things cheap & crappy!

window tint film isn’t conformable beyond the curve of an average car window, as you own a wrapping company I’m surprised you’re not aware of the different properties of various products. The clue is in the name 🙂

tinting lights would render also them an MOT failure as you are reducing the function of both the reflective aspect & the light output from the type approval. Dodgy for the customers under law as you’ll be ‘rendering a vehicle or allowing a vehicle to be used in an unsafe condition’…same goes for over tinting windscreens & front windows.

[josh morris]

rear lights you can tint smoke black and still pass mot

window tint film is not designed to stretch it is designed to shrink, youtube window tint shrinking and you will see what i mean.

for fog lights and rear lights i use lamin-x, its quite expensive but it is good stuff, for front lights you can get away with a light smoke or fly eye tint is okay, makes the front lights look darker from a distance and is mot friendly but doesnt look great up close

[David Rogers]

quote josh morris:

rear lights you can tint smoke black and still pass mot

Some testers will pass anything – hell, I’ve seen a car with GREEN indicators pass – others use the letter of the law.

The aftermarket tinting of lights is not specifically covered in the Vehicle Lighting Regulations but it does state that all lighting must show red to rear including mandatory red reflectors (which thou shalt not modify…)

It may also invalidate the insurance if a picky insurance examiner has a peek and decides it’s not an authorised modification…personally I’m tired of being ran into by eejits who have ‘technically’ no insurance as they are using the vehicle otherwise than in accordance with their policy. (twice) 🙄

MOT revisions from 2012 – not sure if latest info: "Products on the lens or light source that obviously reduce the light’s intensity or change its colour will become a reason for failure – applies to front/rear position lamps, registration plate lamps, stop lamps, rear fog and direction indicators"

But hey…knock yourself out… 😉

[josh morris]

but if the light is shining through brightly and can be clearly seen in the day then its not reducing the light or changing the colour then its no reason to be failed. thats why a lot of Mot station will pass it. front fails as it can alter the beam pattern of the light which is a fail.

and if people declared it and the insurance know about it then they are fully covered 😉

[Adrian cliffe]

[quote="josh morris"]but if the light is shining through brightly and can be clearly seen in the day then its not reducing the light or changing the colour then its no reason to be failed. thats why a lot of Mot station will pass it. front fails as it can alter the beam pattern of the light which is a fail.

and if people declared it and the insurance know about it then they are fully covered ;)[/quote

Thanks Josh

Im going to order some si vision and luminx and give it a try. Do you have a supplier of the luminx? All the onces Ive found are in the US

[josh morris]

i buy direct from lamin-x uk website but it appears the website is down at the minute

[Kevin Flowers]

Thats fine for lights but reflectors do not reflect when covered with tint, so if the reflectors are built in to the rear lights then it is a MOT fail. Speak with VOSA they will tell you tinting lights is illegal. Tell your insurance company you have modified tinted lights and they will load up your premium and ask for an engineers report.

Kev

[John O'Sullivan]

im probley living in the wrong country 🙄 but is tinting car lights that big a business that you would offer these services that are bordering on legal/illegal like has been said some mot centers will pass it some wont so what do you do with the ones that fail?give them a refund :o?? a well its keeping those VOSA boys busy 😀 :lol1:

[josh morris]

i only tint lights with separate reflectors,

i have done many front, rear and fog lights and i only do so if the person knows the laws etc and understand some mot garages may fail them, i will only do it if they fully understand this.

i have done quite a few and have about 6 or 7 customers waiting for it to be done when lamin-x uk website is back up and running

[David Rogers]

quote josh morris:

…i have done many front, rear and fog lights and i only do so if the person knows the laws etc and understand some mot garages may fail them, i will only do it if they fully understand this.

i have done quite a few and have about 6 or 7 customers waiting for it to be done when lamin-x uk website is back up and running

So in other words: "This is probably against UK legislation but I’ll make a few quid as after all it’s not my problem…"

So when the person that’s had his headlights ‘done’ and it’s reduced their output just that bit too far and maybe he doesn’t see the kiddie / cyclist / granny step out in front of him will you accept that maybe it WAS your problem as you were complicit in the actual supply & installation of an unnecessary & potentially illegal product that reduced the effectiveness of a government certified component to an unacceptable, non-type approved level.

[josh morris]

you couldnt be further from the truth

it is not against the law to tint rear lights as long as the reflector is not tinted (hence why i only tint lights with out reflectors)

i am not talking about headlights here i am talking about rear lights,

for front lights i use a product called fly eye, which is road legal and mot friendly, it doesnt reduce light output by any significant amount (why its legal and an mot pass)

[Paul Seeley]

quote josh morris:

i only tint lights with separate reflectors,

i have done many front, rear and fog lights and i only do so if the person knows the laws etc and understand some mot garages may fail them, i will only do it if they fully understand this.

i have done quite a few and have about 6 or 7 customers waiting for it to be done when lamin-x uk website is back up and running

I’m with David on this one. The lights are there to serve a specific purpose (both front and rear) Tinting or applying fiilm alters their effectiveness and IMO should be flatly refused.
Consider that drivers and passengers in following vehicles may run the risk of injury or death because of ‘cosmetic improvements’ which reduced the lights effectiveness.
Plenty of work out there that isn’t potentially dangerous. I’d avoid ANY that I thought might be dangerous even if it means losing the customer.

[Kevin Flowers]

Well this is getting interesting, below is a link to MOT rule changes 2012, i would draw attention to Modification to lights:

Products on the lens or light source that reduce the light’s intensity or change its colour are now a reason for failure – this applies to front/rear position lamps, registration plate lamps, stop lamps, rear fog and direction indicators

Headlight requirements are updated to take account of the particular characteristics of High Intensity Discharge (HID) lamps. HID headlights can cause dazzle if they are dirty or aimed too high, so they are generally (if light output exceeds 2000 lumens) fitted in conjunction with headlamp cleaning and levelling systems. Where HID or LED dipped beam headlamps are fitted the tester will switch on the headlamps and check the operation of any headlamp levelling and cleaning devices fitted.

The car will fail if a headlamp levelling or cleaning device is inoperative or otherwise obviously defective. If a headlamp bulb is not seated correctly the resulting beam pattern will be indistinct and this will result in a test fail

So it would seem that it is illegal to to cover headlights

Kev

[josh morris]

quote Kevin Flowers:

Products on the lens or light source that reduce the light’s intensity or change its colour are now a reason for failure

so what if they do not reduce the light intensity or change the lights colour? i have fly eyes tint on my head lights, do any of you know what fly eyes actually is? it does not reduce my light output whatsoever and does not change the colour of my lights

[Kevin Flowers]

Josh
you posted about tinting lights with tint from Ebay, not what you say you have in your car. Fly eyes say that their tints meet the 2012 regulations but then warn about using light colours on the rear lights because of not being able to see the rear lights working in bright sunlight, bit of a contradiction in that they meet the regs. At the end of the day VOSA are the only people who can say what meets the said requirements but i would have thought if you have an accident and who hits you says I could not see the brake lights because of the covering on the lights they are going to win the argument.

Everyone will have their own opinion on this and the post could go on and on i myself am now going to now bow out as i have expressed my opinion

Kev

[David Rogers]

quote josh morris:

quote Kevin Flowers:

Products on the lens or light source that reduce the light’s intensity or change its colour are now a reason for failure

so what if they do not reduce the light intensity or change the lights colour? i have fly eyes tint on my head lights, do any of you know what fly eyes actually is? it does not reduce my light output whatsoever and does not change the colour of my lights

flyeye is basically contra -vision film that 99% of us are familiar with and many use on a daily basis to fit to shop and office windows and commercial vehicles…it’s been repurposed by the car modders.

It reduces light transmission to around 40-50% as it’s simply a matter of what is solid and what is hole…that’s not an opinion, that’s basic physics and a quick check on the manufacture website including accounting for light wave diffraction.

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Attachments:

[Chris Wool]

wow now i know what to do with my off cuts 😉

[John O'Sullivan]

quote josh morris:

quote Kevin Flowers:

Products on the lens or light source that reduce the light’s intensity or change its colour are now a reason for failure

so what if they do not reduce the light intensity or change the lights colour? i have fly eyes tint on my head lights, do any of you know what fly eyes actually is? it does not reduce my light output whatsoever and does not change the colour of my lights[/quote

come on josh if you put fly eyes on the lamps it has to reduce reduce light output youre covering part of the lamp maybe not to mot failure level but it is reduced,you are sold on this subject and idea and making a few quid from it fair enough but you thinking on the concept is wrong and un- supported.sorry 🙁 🙁

[John Dorling]

Basically it’s illegal and it looks sh!t. No wonder it sells!

[Adrian cliffe]

Lol I love the debate this has caused. Maybe I’ll stick to what I know and leave lights along 🙂 moving away from the lights can anyone recommend a good brand of tinting film for the windows?

[josh morris]

i use SunTek, just make sure you dont tint the rear windows too dark as the visibility is reduced and they may reverse over someone.. :hung:

[josh morris]

wonder what people on here will have to say about this one I did a while back, oh and it passed MOT by a reputable MOT station that does everything by the book

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[John O'Sullivan]

quote josh morris:

wonder what people on here will have to say about this one I did a while back, oh and it passed MOT by a reputable MOT station that does everything by the book

thought it would need a reg plate to pass the mot 😀 :D,as for reputable mot stations do they not all have to work to the same rules/standard :o….. :lol1: :lol1:

[David Rogers]

quote josh morris:

wonder what people on here will have to say about this one I did a while back, oh and it passed MOT by a reputable MOT station that does everything by the book

…pretty much gave up caring 2 weeks ago…

[josh morris]

ive blanked the number plate out :lol1: and yes they do, but as David said that Some testers will pass anything I thought best to clarify