[ericbecky]

We bought our used Insight from a private party in Illinois about two weeks ago. Since the Insight provides a different perspective of traffic than my previous car I wanted to be sure that I was adjusting my mirrors appropriately.

I searched the forums here and found previous threads where others alluded to setting mirrors toward "outward vision". This was helpful, but I needed a bit more detail. Then, coincidently I found an article on the web that expanded nicely on what people meant.

The article explains in detail how to adjust your mirrors to remove huge blind spots.

We have set the mirrors as they suggest and it works beautifully! I feel it has eliminated most of the blind spots. As they note in the article, I really can see the cars around me "slip" from one mirror to the other without ever losing track of them.

Enjoy!

***TEXT***
Setting Your Car Mirrors
Tom and Ray Magliozzi

We've discovered that it's possible to set your three mirrors (rearview and both side views) so that they eliminate almost any possible blind spots.

For years, we'd been setting our side-view mirrors so they gave us a view of the back corner of our cars. This is the way it's been passed down from grandfather to father to us. But we finally discovered something very interesting. The back corner of the car never moves. It always stays in the same exact place. So there's really no reason to keep an eye on it. And by moving the side mirrors farther out, you can line up all three of your mirrors so they have minimal overlap -- and you can see everything behind you and beside you.


Step 1: Start by setting your rear-view mirror as you normally would.

Then, lean your head all the way to the left so it touches the driver's window. From that position, set your left side-view mirror so you can see the back corner of your car. Now lean the same distance the other way, and set your right side-view mirror the same way.

Now, here's what happens. When a car comes up behind you, you should first see it in your rear-view mirror. But as it passes you (let's say on your left), you'll see it move to the left side of your rear-view mirror. And as its left headlight disappears from your rear-view mirror, it should instantly show up in your left side-view mirror. There should be no delay. It should slip from one to the other, so you can always see it.

Step 2 - Left-Side Mirror Alignment: Set your left-side mirror so that as soon as the passing car's left, front headlight disappears from your rear-view mirror, it appears in your left-side mirror.

You might need to make some slight adjustments to your side-view mirrors to make everything line up perfectly. And pulling up next to a line of parked cars (to simulate another lane of traffic next to you) is a good way to do that.

Step 3 - Right-Side Mirror Alignment: Then do the same thing on the right.

Step 4: End result? No huge blind spots.

Driving with the mirrors this way takes some getting used to. You have to learn to rely on your rear-view mirror first. And you'll have to get used to what your side-view mirrors are now looking at. But, the good news is that your blind spot should now be gone!
***

If you need some diagrams, here's a web link:
http://cartalk.cars.com/Columns/Archive/2002/November/07.html


Eric
New Formula Red 02 #1902
5 spd, Cruise

 

[Sparky5501]

Click and Clack are great!! Too bad they turn their noses up at the Insight.

Driving with the mirrors this way takes some getting used to. You have to learn to rely on your rear-view mirror first. And you'll have to get used to what your side-view mirrors are now looking at. But, the good news is that your blind spot should now be gone!

Setting your mirrors this way is crutial in road racing. With a helmet on it is very hard to turn your head around, so you must rely on your mirrors.
While driving you should never have to be in a position where you are moving your head and/or body out of the straight ahead driving position. It's uncomfortable, diverts your attention from the road and dangerous for yourself and others around you.

Another trick with mirrors is usefull when parallel parking. Adjust your right side mirror to look at the curb. You will get a great view of what's happening down there and prevent curb rash to your tire and rim.

 

[cakley]

:idea: Just spend a few dollars and buy some stick on concave circle mirrors.

 

[Guillermo]

Stay away from the concave circle mirrors.
When you adjust your mirrors properly like explained no extra mirrors are needed.
I bought my Insight used and the previous owner obviously didn't know how to adjust his mirrors because he had those concave circle mirrors on the side mirrors. After trying them out for 1 week I took them off. They were IMPARING my visibility.

 

[Motty82]

I find that convex mirrors help a great deal to limit the blind spot... BTW, I don't think you mean concave, that's the type that bends inward like a bowl.

 

[Guest]

I find that convex mirrors help a great deal to limit the blind spot... BTW, I don't think you mean concave, that's the type that bends inward like a bowl.

right.

 

[flunkysama]

With the, IMHO, horrible view you get out the windshield mounted rearview mirror, I would not want to give up the double coverage I get with the outside rearview mirrors.
I stuck a little rectangular convex mirror on lower left of the driver's side mirror. Works nice for me.

 

[enders]

euro mirrors

all cars sold in Europe have driver and passenger curved outside mirrors. The ones on the Insight are terrific with no blind spots at all. In fact I find them better than those on some other cars I've had. There's a slight transition time between getting used to the flat US mirrors and the curved Euro mirrors but I suspect it's not long with those on the Insight. Ordering these from Honda I would imagine is possible but maybe not.

 

[gomarlins3]

:idea: Just spend a few dollars and buy some stick on concave circle mirrors.

Exactly.

 

[SeanW]

I didn't want to give up any of the outside mirror area so I got a little wedge mirror and stuck it on the dash with velcro. Adjust, push down; It hasn't moved yet!

Observe the view:
Mirror 1
Mirror 2