PWC mirror as a replacement?

[Fr3AkAzOiD]

For some time now I have been thinking about doing some aero mods and I have the intention of doing a passenger side mirror delete and compensating with an internal mirror.

But then I legally need a drivers side mirror so I have been looking on eBay at mirrors from personal watercraft and was wondering if you guys think it's worth taking a shot at it?

I would still have an internal mirror to help but legally I need something on the drivers side outside. I figured they would probably be durable enough and there shouldn't be any issues with vibration distorting the reflection and it would certainly be a lot smaller.

Only problem I can see is it being something in which I would never make my money back doing. With the drivers side alone I can't see any more then maybe getting an extra 0.25 mpg with the downsizing and unless I get lucky I'm looking at $25 - $35 for a mirror.

I probably wouldn't do it unless I found a mirror on the cheap.


Opinions?

[RobertSmalls]

Sometimes you ecomod to save fuel, sometimes it's a hobby you spend money on. You're within reach of 50.0mpg; I say do it.

Maybe your state's legislators were less careful than mine. Maybe you can get away mounting one of those 1" round pivoting inspection mirrors and calling it an adjustable external mirror.

Bicycle mirrors are smaller and cheaper than PWC mirrors, and Target has them for something like $5 iirc.

[Christ]

Get a bike mirror. Else polish up some metal, and mount it fast to the outside.

[Fr3AkAzOiD]

If I remember correctly NC highway code doesn't allow for those little convex mirrors as the only external option. The external mirror has to be flat and able to see a certain distance.

Also my wife has a small say in it. She thinks it all fine to save money and gas but lets just say when I showed her Basjoos site and the Aerocivic as well as other examples she was less then pleased.
She would need it to look at least somewhat stock, which makes it harder due to cost involved in making it look professional.

Not sure a motorcycle or scooter mirror would work due to how most of them mount and they would actualy be larger then the PWC mirrors I have been looking at. Though I have found a motorcycle/scooter junkyard in the Raleigh area that I would check out if this doesn't pan out.

[Sulfuric]

Also consider getting a bigger rear view mirror. I have an 18" one now, and it's awesome. If you're down a side mirror (or two) it's increased safety, not to mention your wife will have a GIGANTIC mirror to do make up in (hopefully as a passenger >.>).

I believe I have a Broadway something mirror, made in Japan...

[3-Wheeler]

Actually, there is a way to reduce the drag of an externally mounted mirror, if your willing to perform some 'body work' on it.

20 years ago, there was an excellent article on aerodynamics in Cycle magazine. The article talked about the importance of reducing drag on most 'shapes' by making sure the length was about 4 times the width.

Now with this in mind, take a look at most automotive mirrors. Take a birds eye view of the mirror. Notice how 'short' the mirror is relative to it's width?

My son's 1999 Chevy Camaro has external mirror 'extenders' that effectively make the mirror much longer than it's width, and thus reduces the drag for a given frontal area.

Another 'tweak' to improve the situation, is to make sure that the trailing edge of the mirror body is smaller than the mid-section. This ensures that the contrails are closing in on each other as the air passes by the end of the mirror body.

I actually made a 'mirror body extender' many years ago. It was quite strange looking in appearance compared to our 'modern' mirrors...

Jim.

[cfg83]

Fr3AkAzOiD -

I like the snowmobile mirrors :

Arctic Cat Snowmobile Mirrors

If I didn't already have a bicycle mirror, I would probably get the "Arctic Cat Wing Mirror", but that's convex :



The "Arctic Cat Tear Drop Mirror" might fit your legal requirements :

Mounts on left or right side - universal.
Enlarged Ultra Clear Flat Lens provides a great rear view.
Rugged - Durable - Holds adjustment.
Lens - Flat 3.5 x 6.25 (EDIT: Maybe that's too big) -

The above website is $29 each (), but here is one for $16 :

SpankysParts.com > Snowmobile > Mirrors


CarloSW2

[Fr3AkAzOiD]

Hmmm.... Looks like I may want to take some measurements and then narrow down by what I think would be easiest to mount.