What Sunstrip Should I Get For My 205?

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

A transparent one defeats the whole point of having a sunstrip, it goes from something done purely for practicality to something done for the look.

You only really need a sunstrip if you have a cage, and if your car is serious enough to have a cage then being able to see traffic lights should be way down on your priorities.

 

If we are on semantics, then translucent may be a better choice of word. A translucent sunstrip reduces the the direct glare at the top of the screen whilst still allowing a certain degree of blurred visibility through it compared to an opaque one. Experience tells me that if you are on a road at the front of a queue at some some traffic lights, especially if strapped in to harneses, then just wait for the car behind to beep when they go green! Looking from the pics, I guess you drive to trackdays so this may be a consideration

 

If you go transparent / tint, then you can have it lower down the screen than an opaque strip. There is no harm in a combination though as a lot of BTCC cars had

 

However watch your MOT here as there are big restrictions on front screen imparement, irrespective of how low you sit in the car.

 

On track, a decent set of polarised sunglasses / visor can also assist as an alternative.

 

There are some opinions here http://www.policespecials.com/forum/index....showtopic=64216

You can have it lower on the passengers side than the drivers side by looks of things. It is all about Zone A!!

 

Hope this helps

[Atari Boy 11]

Thanks for the ideas and thoughts.

One question, in terms of MOT, is there a minimum amount of visable eindscreen I must have and does translucent count towards this - what I mean is, can I go lower with a tint ?

 

Thanks

 

Jonny

[205Rallee 59]

I found a brand new 1980's PTS original on ebay and use that on a caged LHD 205. If that's not enough I use coloured vinyl from Wilkinsons shops - £3 for loads and it can be removed quickly without leaving any sticky mess.

 

The big black duck tape idea is subtle and brilliant on track but a nightmare on the roads with traffic lights etc, combine that with zero over the shoulder vision due to big seats, harnesses and a cage and your all round vision can be very poor on the roads. Combine all that with left hand drive at acute junctions....

[dirtdog 4]

MOT wise I think you have to get your self a shorter wiper blade because if the blade wipes over the strip it can fail. Obstructing your field of vision or something along those lines.

 

Vauxhalls(well...older ones) have a translucent type fitted that kind of fade into the window

[Cameron 16]

I heard years ago that the limit is 10% of the wiped area. I don't know how true that is though.

[EdCherry 34 1 Cars]

If the sunstrip enters the swept area of your wipers its a fail.

[DaveW 6]

You should take a look at an irsh sunstrip...

[Jrod 7]

Cut some wipers down for mot.

[Cameron 16]

Well, it must depend on how anal your tester is as mine passed and the sunstrip is about 3" into the wiper area.

[Atari Boy 11]

I think I will check with my MOT station first.

[Cameron 16]

Right, this should clear things up for you.

 

 

Reasons for failure:

4b. a windscreen sticker or other obstruction encroaching more than 10mm. (in zone 'A')

4e. a windscreen sticker or other obstruction encroaching more than 40mm. (outside zone 'A')

Additional mirrors and tinting films are not subject to Reason for Rejection 4.

 

Taken from the MOT inspection manual.

 

So its down to the examiner's interpretation of the rules, as they could either regard the sunstrip as a sticker and fail it, or regard it as a tinting film and that there is no reason for failure. Also, its worth noting that zone A will be significantly smaller with a single wiper.

Edited March 2, 2009 by Cameron

[Atari Boy 11]

Cameron, great info thank you.

Don't hate me, but I am thinking of going down the tinting route. You seem to have a decent grasp of the rules, so if I tint, can I go upto 40cm into area A and still be okay? Is 35% tint the max permited?

 

Thanks

 

Jonny

[Tandoh 17]

I have/had a black sunstrip on my red 205. That was until someone picked it off OH well plain black sunstrips are only £4 at maccess!! =]

[Cameron 16]

To be honest, I had no idea of the rules until I had a little dig around on google and found that.

 

I can't tell you to be honest, if you want to be safe you should try and get one that doesn't come down more than 10mm into the wiper area, but that will be a very small sunstrip. That or you can make sure you arm yourself with that information above when you take it for it's MOT so that if they fail it you can point out that its actually perfectly legal. If it were me I would just fit whatever I wanted and then argue with the tester on the day.

[joe1joe 3]

wel basicaly if its in the swept area of the wipers it will fail, unless ur mot tester fair! and well im unsure on the tint tho may bee a gd idea.

[SurGie 54]

Whats wrong in getting a new screen with the top of screen already coloured

in the glass like mine, no bother sticking it on or off etc.

Iv tried to peel it off and found its part of the glass its self and with it being already

in the glass then it will be legal..

[paul205mi16 4]

Its not deep enough like that, it will and does still allow the sun to get in your eyes with that type of strip (i have same one on my car!) when you have lowered bucket seats that are on solid rails it is not low enough on the screen, i like the black one or the talbot sport ones.

[dave_gti 0]

I had the same problem, i just bought a plain black one from halfrauds, and it has passed two mots with it fitted. I hope this is of use.