[JoeMultihuller]

Sorry, a rather mundane low-tech topic: for over 40 years I've had slightly convex rear-view mirrors mounted way forward on the front fenders of all my cars. These were sold by Lucas in the 60's and I continue hoarding and using my few remaining originals. Reason: I simply have NO BLIND SPOTS, and with the mirrors straight in front of me I move my eyes, not my head. These mirrors have a large radius of curvature which allows complete coverage of the adjacent lanes yet with minimal distortion s.t. distances of adjacent cars can still be judged. BTW, these types of mirrors are standard equipment on London and Japanese taxis.

Recognizing that I don't want to affect the aerodynamics of my Insight (even though I still have a brand-new-in-the-box 40-year-old pair of beautiful streamlined convex Talbot mirrors that I should use before I die), I'll probably eventually install an inside camera/LCD monitoring system; however, I'm about to go on a 2000-mile trip in my two-week-old 2002 Insight and need a quick fix, because I've already had a bad experience with that port aft... uh, LEFT REAR blind spot. The right side mirror coverage seems ok, only marred by that (expletive) CYA warning about images being closer than they appear...

I already tried a clip-on convex inside mirror, but that blind spot remained.

I have found some small stick-on convex mirrors which might tide me over - they're not excessively convex and are even adjustable after they're stuck on, which is nice. They were cheap enough so I bought two sizes: 2"OD and 3"OD.

Now, for the really dumb question:

These mirrors are intended to stick onto the existing outside rear-view mirror. Ok, so where EXACTLY do I put them? Outboard top, bottom, or center, or inboard top, bottom, or center, and why?

I will welcome the experience and opinions of this illustrious group (if you can keep from barfing over the question).

JoeS.

 

[figgy]

My solution, which takes a bit of getting used to, is that I have stuck on each mirror large convex mirrors which fill virtually the entire mirror space leaving only a tiny bit on the edge.

They convex mirrors thus COMPLETELY cover the regular mirrors. They do not stick outside of the mirror housing at all.

They eliminate all blind spots.

The only downside is that they make things appear quite far away and if you ever let anyone else drive the car you'll have to smack them really hard as you tell them that to get them to believe you!

The positive side is that as soon as you are used to them, you will never ever again worry about anything sneaking up on you be it a child, toy poodle, or a big mac truck.

 

[Jim]

mirror/blind spot

Hi Joe,

a quick search of the site (there's a search button conveniently located at the top of every page) revealed this thread:

http://www.insightcentral.net/forum/vie ... ght=mirror

Whether you decide to simply adjust the stock mirrors, or add some kind of stick on mirror, the link above should be helpful.

 

[Insightful Trekker]

I merely adjust the mirrors such that they "see" the blind spots. Commonly mirrors are adjusted to see down the side of the car. If your able to steer it straight down the road the important parts of the back of your car must be there so why would you need to "see" them? <g>

Aim the mirrors such that the inner edge "sees" beginning about 12-24" off (right or left) the rear bumper. I also like to further trim the driver's mirror such that a _slight_ tilt of my head to the left gives the above perspective. This reduces headlight glare from approaching cars at night.

Just don't forget to look out the driver's or passengers _window_ for traffic along side before lane changes :!:

IMO (and by my eyes <g>) the "mini" convex mirrors are too small to "help" see anything.

HTH!

 

[joecvt]

In most cars, I adjust the mirrors so a very small portion of it reflects the
side of the car. I found that I did not want to do that on the Insight since
the car curves so much inward near the back. I just used the highway and
made it so I could just see the other lane. I think that is the goal anyway.

JoeCVT - Just your average CVT owner

 

[Guillermo]

Then adjusting the side mirrors the goal is not to duplicate what is visible in the rear view mirror. When a car is passing you on the left (for example) you should see the headlights in the rear mirror then as the first headlight is not visible anymore it should start to be visible in the left mirror. IF the same headlights are visible in in the rear view mirror and the side view mirror then the side mirrors are not adjusted outward enough.
With this adjustment there is no blindspot because all that is required is a shoulder check to look out the side door windows.

 

[Rick]

I'll second Guillermo's comments. I realize it can be difficult to change an old habbit, but if you point your mirrors correctly there is no blind spot.

Here's how to set them. Adjust your rear view mirror how you normally would, now lean left until your head touches the window, adjust your left side mirror out until you can just barely not see the side of the car (on a regular car you'd adjust it until you could just barely see the side of your car). Now lean about the same length to your right and adjust the mirror the same way. From here it's a matter of fine tuning to get it so there's almost no overlap between your rear view and side view mirrors.

 

[gonnamissit]

I third Guillermo's!

That is exactly how I was taught how to set the mirrors up when I did defensive driving school.

Their main goal was to stop people doing the "double dance", which is what learning drivers are thought. however the instructors at the course firmly believe that if you have no blind spots you have no need for the double dance and actually spend more time looking where you are going.

It takes a while to get used to NOT seen your own car in the side mirrors but it is much safer.

 

[JoeMultihuller]

Hi All. Thank you muchly for the feedback. Appreciate the suggestions.
Yes, this old dog will have to learn some new tricks.
The traditional way of aligning the rearview mirror (with a small portion of the car visible for reference) stems from needing the reassurance that the mirror has not been displaced - a minimal issue nowadays with the mirrors themselves protected by solid housings.
I'll be off on a 2K-mile trip next week, so will have plenty of opportunity to experiment with all your suggestions. Gosh, never owned a car with electric mirrors. Decadence.
JoeS.

 

[figgy]

It is 100% correct that your side mirrors are not for seeing what your rear view mirror sees.

However, depending upon your seat position and head position it is NOT always possible to adjust side mirrors properly. The folks designing cars these days don't seem to give much care to this.

I often find that even with the side mirrors adjusted to their maximum range outwards, it still is not far enough to remove all blind areas. This is because of my leg lenght, torso height, arm length all combined to place my head in the cockpit where the mirrors don't work within their allowed adjustments.

I would rather drive with my hands and feet (and body) placed correctly in the cockpit and add an aftermarket mirror than drive with my body contorted to have the stock mirrors with their limited adjustment availability yielding no blind spots.

Thus, YOU MAY FIND that even when you have DONE YOUR BEST the OEM mirrors do NOT allow you to eliminate all blind spots. Then go with adding on a mirror mod.

If you are one of the fortunate for whom the limited factory allowed adjustements let you set the OEMs for no blinds spots, then your car will look nicer, you won't spend the extra money and you are one of the folks Honda had in mind when they didn't go the extra mile to make the side mirrors more adjustable.

FYI apparently some Mercedes in Europe now have convex contours built into the outer part of the side mirrors and pretty much every driver can adjust them and does not need an add on mirror.

Follow all the above correct advice, and if you have made the OEMs hit their limits of motion and still have blind areas, then you have no choice but to do a mirror mod.

p.s. Don't adjust the mirrors wrong, and then blame Honda, however. You have to adjust them right, and find their limits before you should complain - but maybe Honda will do it better next time and make them for ALL drivers not just the 'average' or whatever their target was...