We've been thinking of ideas for paint/vinyl schemes for our car. One of the ideas we've come up with incorporates some window tinting.

Now, NHRA rule 7:8 states that "Windshields and/or windows must be clear, without tinting or coloring, except factory tinted safety glass.".

but I'm looking at pictures of Norris' car, and the L'Natural CRX, and they have colored tinting on thier cars... Probably not ALL the cars pictures below race NHRA, but I know Norris does..

What's the deal? Is this just an unenforced rule or something?

some examples of tinted windows:






[Modified by martini, 11:11 AM 1/22/2003]

 

I am glad someone has brought this up. I have been wanting to do this too but was not sure what the rules were on the situation.

 

I'm hoping more people will read this when it's at the top..

 

i don't think people really care too much (racers). they rather bling bling at the track. i think the import racers care more about the image than the actual sport. i'm glade you posted this as well. how important is it if you have tint or no tint??? not very but how important is it to follow rules??? very.

for nhra... they need to enforce all the rules more. something as simple as this one just makes people think you guys don't care. i mean you guys messed up last year and let jojo slide and get a championship even though he raced almost the entire season without a license but nhra still let him keep his points even when they caught him without one and there are some other shady things about them but that would take days for everything to come out so... yes, i think nhra needs to do a better job enforcing their rules.

go by the rule book and protest all the rest that aren't playing by the rules.


[Modified by concept1352, 10:38 PM 1/22/2003]


[Modified by concept1352, 10:40 PM 1/22/2003]

 

I tend to agree with you that rules should be enforced--however I'm not the type that is going to protest over window tint. If it isn't giving them an advantage, then it isn't worth protesting.

Plus all it would really accomplish is having the competitor remove the tint, which kind of sucks. Plus you'd have to foot the protest fee (not sure what it is, the lowest listed in the rules book is $300, but its not clear if that is the technical inspection cost or what).

ANd the reason Martini and I want to put tint on the lexan is so that we can implement the overall design of the car. Don't knock image too much, its a major part of the sport. You gots to pay to play, and having a professional, unique, and eye-catching 'image' is critical to gain legitimacy and get sponsors. Perhaps we'll come up with some static cling tint that we can remove for the actual races.

 

I don't necessarily want it for the bling bling factor. My street car is my race car and I want to lexan the back windows to make it lighter but at the same time tint it to keep it cooler (no A/C, its a race car) in the summer along with hiding the fact that the rear is completely stripped out.

 

First, the windows. At NHRA Sport Compact events tinting is accepted along most DOT guidelines, usually around 15%. The big concern is being able to see inside the car. In most of the pictures linked by Martini, the windows look darker than they are because of the sun, etc. FYI, Paul Efantis was asked to lighten up his windows after that race (blue Supra). Any "one way" banners or something that presents an image on the outside of the window (like public buses use) would be prohibited, because you can't see inside the car from the outside. Excessive tinting of any color, that inhibits view into the driver compartment is prohibited, and several people have been told to remove/lighten their tint. Keep the tinitng on the light side, with clear vision from the outside, and you shouldn't have any problems. Admittedly, the rulebook language needs to be a little more clear on this.

As for rules enforcement, I think anyone racing in the heads up classes of NHRA will attest that NHRA has far better overall enforcement than any of the other sanctioning bodies. No one is perfect, but I'm confident that rules enforcement in the NHRA series is more thorough, and consistent, than any other series. Ask JoJo, Bruce, Kenny, Lance, etc. how often the tech guys come through the pits, just snooping and looking. In 2001, JoJo never ran a 9 sec e.t. at an NHRA event until he had his competition license, so there was nothing to "catch", and no reason to take away any points. Anything someone allegedly does or does not do at a non-NHRA race, is not NHRA's matter.

 

Thanks Jim,

That's most helpful.