Better than folding in your mirrors
 

Hey I came up with a little idea, In my opinion it is probably really easy to make... I drew a really crappy sketch <just work with me here> maybe we can have super flat side view mirrors, like 1/2inch thick type of flat... then when we need to actually use the mirror, we can press a button, or even pull a cord and it make the mirror, that is flat inside of the mirror outer shell come up, making the mirror about 2 or 3 inches thick, then it collapses back to the 1/2inch when your done with it... I hope you can understand what I'm trying to say... :p Kink of like a Wink, its eyes are closed, you open it when you need it and the mirror slides out with a top hedge and when your done it slide back in and closes up.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1250147585

Usually, looking at your mirror is a glance that takes a fraction of a second while doing other things (shifting, steering, holding your tel, drinking coffee, etc.). It wouldn't be practical to think: "OK, I need to look at the mirror, so first I press this button, then wait for it to open, then look." Takes too much thinking and too much time. Won't fly, I'm afraid. Most people would have it in the open position all the time.

I like the idea for highway driving, where I don't usually use my mirrors anyway. In the city, however, it would need a way to be open all the time.

Then again, for the small fraction of frontal area that mirrors usually represent, I'm afraid that just going to a smaller mirror that you can always see out of would be a much simpler improvement.

This is not to say that you shouldn't build a prototype, though. You never know who will buy into something, and at the least, it gets you more fabricating experience, which is always helpful. And you get a new talk piece, for when your non-inventor friends come over.

But like you said, you might use it less on the highway, For me, It would probably be open less than 50% of the time, so that almost like just having the mirrors off 50% of the time, which would give a good improvement on the aerodynamics of them. I guess I use my rear view mirror way more than my side views though...

RandomFact314 -

I like it. I think the trick would be a reliable mechanism for open/close. Maybe find something that already exists and will fit into the space.

CarloSW2

I'd say a pair of electric folding mirrors would be a good way to achieve this end, with maybe individual control over each mirror.

Hi,

A while ago I saw what I think is a better idea: the front quarter window bulged out a few inches and the mirror was on the inside. The outside surface was smooth, and the mirror was not going to get wet or icy. And it doesn't need any active mechanisms.

You mean like the UK and JDM power folding mirror option that came on Honda Civic and CRX models?

Something that makes it harder to check your mirror will always reduce safety


Do you know how much energy a car crash wastes?

Hear, hear! Safety first.

I have a junkyard rear view mirror that I might glue to the windshield so as to have an interior, adjustable mirror to replace the passenger side wing mirror.

If you could boattail a mirror, you'd reduce its drag drastically. Alas, even a glass boattail would probably distort the image unacceptably. And if it costs more than $60, just get one of those back-up cameras with a 2.4" LCD screen.