First mods - Tint and LEDs

[Boourns]

These are relatively simple for most of you guys, but I am pretty happy with the results.

I got the tint done at a local place. The dealer threw it into the deal for an extra $50.
Before:

After:

And here are the LEDs for the dome light and cargo light. I am hooked. Licence plate lights are next.

Before:

After:

 

[greengate]

These are relatively simple for most of you guys, but I am pretty happy with the results.

I got the tint done at a local place. The dealer threw it into the deal for an extra $50.
Before:

After:

And here are the LEDs for the dome light and cargo light. I am hooked. Licence plate lights are next.

Before:

After:

I had mine done also..15 back and 35 front side windows. Looks great on my 13 SL black on black. I'd post a picture, but don't know how to do that, (I'm on a Mac.)

How do you like the tint? Looks lighter than what I put on mine.

I was disappointed though in they could not tint the top portion of the windshield though because of that "worthless" sun shade behind the rear view mirror. Said it would look strange from the outside..white dots..if he were to tint over it, so I told him no. Maybe sometime down the road if I ever need a windshield replacement, perhaps there will be one without the "sun shade!!"

 

[Boourns]

How do you like the tint? Looks lighter than what I put on mine.

The tint very much helps with the heat. Being in Texas, it's the first thing I do to every car I've had.

It's not as dark as other people go, but in Texas the maximum legal darkness is different for front and back windows. I hate it when the tint doesn't match all the way around, so I have them do it all windows at the same darkness. According to the guy who did my Leaf, with the newer type of tint they use, there isn't a difference in effectiveness between lighter and darker. That's the first time I've heard that, though, so I don't know if it's true.

 

[UBUYGAS]

In NJ I can't tint the front windows or i'll get pulled over. I think 15% is the max for the front.

Do you have the specs for the LEDs that they used in the dome and trunk lights?, I'd like to do that as well.

Thanks!

Sal

 

[rawhog]

When I had my tint installed I had the guy put a completely clear ceramic film on the windshield. No violation, and it has a very high heat and UV rejection rating.

 

[Boourns]

In NJ I can't tint the front windows or i'll get pulled over. I think 15% is the max for the front.

Do you have the specs for the LEDs that they used in the dome and trunk lights?, I'd like to do that as well.

Thanks!

Sal

I did the LEDs myself last night in about 15 minutes. It's really easy. I bought these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/11110217017...em=&sspagename=ADME:X:AAQ:MOTORS:1123&vxp=mtr

The dome light cover just pops off with a screwdriver, and you can replace the bulb. For the cargo light, the entire housing comes out of the plastic wall panel. You just remove a little plastic backing to expose the bulb. The manual kind of covers this on page 8-23, though the pictures were unintelligible to me.

Be careful because those tiny OEM bulbs get hot. If your LED doesn't work you might have to flip it so the connectors are reversed, like you would a AA battery because the positive and negative ends were backwards. For a couple seconds I thought my LEDs were faulty.

 

[GlennD]

Saw my first Fit EV. I did not think there was a more electric blue than the Leaf. Boy was I wrong!

 

[Boourns]

License plate lights done. This was super easy, and I am not all that handy. It's a simple mod, but I really love the way it looks. I am LED obsessed. Apologies for the dirty car; it rained yesterday.

I used these LEDs from Amazon

Before

After

 

[RicCTemple]

LEGAL WARNINGS (specifically for Pa):

Window Tint - Adding any amount of tint (sun screening/glazing) on your front side windows and/or on your front windshield can get you pulled over in every state (National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration, Standard 205 http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/fmvss/#SN205" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false. The reason is because it's a safety issue while driving at night. If you ride motorcycles you know exactly what I'm talking about, and probably have heard several time "I didn't see you next to me" after you got cut off by a car.

I'm in Pennsylvania and since the Leaf is listed as a sedan on our vehicle registration, we can't legally put any tint on them. SUVs, limos, buses, and trucks are permitted to have as much tint as they want on any windows behind the "B" pillar due to the size of the vehicles. There are also other types of vehicles that are exempt, but the don't apply to this forum. The laws that are used to enforce this in Pa are Pennsylvania Vehicle Code (Title 75) 4524(e) and Pennsylvania Inspection Code (Title 67) 175.263. The ticket cost is currently $127 per window in violation. Yes that does include the two littles windows in front of the side mirrors.

Lighting - Make sure you don't change the color of the lights you are modifying. If the registration plate light is anything but white you may get pulled over. Headlights must also be white, not blue, not yellow, just white. The law used to enforce this is Pennsylvania Inspection Code 175.66.

A vehicle from any state traveling in Pa can get pulled over for these violations.

Sorry to be that guy, but a lot of people love their cars on here. I know I would hate to get my car done up only to get hit with hundreds of dollars in tickets.

If you have any questions please feel free to PM me.

 

[Devin]

LEGAL WARNINGS (specifically for Pa):

OP is from Texas. In many states tinting cars is legal. Here in California you can tint the rear windows of any car to any level. If the authorities pull you over in PA, yet your car is legal according to the state of registration (and you are legally operating your car as a visitor to/through PA) then they wouldn't be able to issue a citation due to the "full faith and credit" clause of the U.S. Constitution. It would be no different than a Florida car being ticketed for lack of front license plate in California.

 

[RicCTemple]

LEGAL WARNINGS (specifically for Pa):

OP is from Texas. In many states tinting cars is legal.

Pennsylvania Vehicle Code 6308 disagrees with you (and me). They can, will, and have ticketed out of state vehicles for this. I'm not here to argue with anyone, I was just saying to be careful. I speak from experience and I can only speak for what happens in Pa.

 

[Devin]

Pennsylvania Vehicle Code 6308 disagrees with you (and me). They can, will, and have ticketed out of state vehicles for this. I'm not here to argue with anyone, I was just saying to be careful. I speak from experience and I can only speak for what happens in Pa.

Just trying to prevent misinformation. Pennsylvania Vehicle Code 1303 and 6149 indicate that non-resident vehicles would not be subject to equipment laws so long as the equipment is legal in the registered state. 6308 concerns only inspection, not citation.

 

[RicCTemple]

Pennsylvania Vehicle Code 6308 disagrees with you (and me). They can, will, and have ticketed out of state vehicles for this. I'm not here to argue with anyone, I was just saying to be careful. I speak from experience and I can only speak for what happens in Pa.

Just trying to prevent misinformation. Pennsylvania Vehicle Code 1303 and 6149 indicate that non-resident vehicles would not be subject to equipment laws so long as the equipment is legal in the registered state. 6308 concerns only inspection, not citation.

1303 is for foreign vehicles, for example a Leaf from London that's being driven in the USA.

6149 is only helpful if the state the vehicle is registered in permits the equipment. So if you are entering Pa with a vehicle from a state where tint is legal, then yes you have a legal right to operate the vehicle in Pa.

6308 authorize police to enforce (cite for) any violation of the vehicle code. It does not just authorizes them to inspect a vehicle.

I like where your head is, but us Pa drivers are still not legally allowed to tint our cars.

 

[Devin]

1303 is for foreign vehicles, for example a Leaf from London that's being driven in the USA.

6149 is only helpful if the state the vehicle is registered in permits the equipment. So if you are entering Pa with a vehicle from a state where tint is legal, then yes you have a legal right to operate the vehicle in Pa.

[...]

I like where your head is, but us Pa drivers are still not legally allowed to tint our cars.

1303 concerns non-resident vehicles and considers foreign as outside the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Note that the word foreign does not mean "from another country" for the purposes of law, only outside of the jurisdiction in question. If this were a federal law then the word "foreign" would indicate "outside-the-U.S."

My original point which you agree with is that a California, Texas, Florida, or otherwise registered car cannot receive a valid citation from Pennsylvania authorities for equipment that is legal in the state of registration while traveling in or through Pennsylvania.

I agree that PA-registered vehicles may not have tinted windows, but those traveling through are not subject to the same requirements as your original post claimed.

 

[RicCTemple]

Thanks for the knowledge and the good debating. It's not often that I see someone actually use true facts and not profanity to prove their point.

 

[Devin]

Thanks for the knowledge and the good debating. It's not often that I see someone actually use true facts and not profanity to prove their point.

Cheers to that! I had a really good logic professor in college who helped spark my passion for well-informed debate.

 

[KillaWhat]

I have vehicles registered in both Delaware and PA.

I have a Tint waiver for the Delaware vehicles, and I'm here to tell you, Local Yokle (Yokel?) Barney Fife (Bethel Township as an angry example) couldn't care less about my Delaware Vehicle's Legal tint status while it is in PA.

This guy even had a tint-o-meter with him to "document" my flagrant lawlessness and wanton disregard for restricted transparency.

Ironically, My Leaf is a PA Car, with reasonably tinted front side windows , and I've never had a problem in either state.

In Delaware, MV Inspection is conducted entirely by the State, and is surprisingly corruption free.
No tint waiver; you will be pulling the tint off.

Good news in Delaware though is a new car can pre-pay registration (as in no inspection) for up to 5 years, so you only have to pull it off after 5 years.

In PA, the whole inspection thing is such a completely corrupt racket, run entirely by independents, and you can quickly find a guy who knows a guy who went to high school with a guy... well, you get the picture.

Anyway... Not sure what my point is any longer, but I tint my cars, It helps with the heat, and here is a picture;