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.

What about a periscope-type set up?

Nice idea on the folding mirror but tricky to build.
 

Since we are on the subject of mirrors, on the 2004 - 2008 Ford F-150 (and I think the earlier models too), the sail panels on the door the mirror attaches to is flat. I have noticed the sail panels on the new 2009 F-150's have a bulge in the surface about a quarter inch in depth.

I'll bet this was done for better aerodynamics. Ford spent alot of wind tunnel time on the new 2009 F-150 and they must have found that a little curving of the sail panels by the mirrors is better than just a flat surfaced sail panel.

This would be an easy modification for any side view mirror with a sail panel, it will just take, you guessed it, a little bondo.

Bondo

it would help aero

it would be kinda a pain to use

but mod wise its pretty pimp


i could see it in a car show

cozx2 tried that, out of clear plastic. didn't report results.

i've been thinking if it wouldn't be possible to make someting with a periscope like mirror arrangement that dousn't require any external components, but still has the same field of vision.

the problem with mirrors is that they do a complex thing, so easy and cheaply. once mirror setups get to complex = expensive, new cheap camera+lcd setups will be much more interesting.

Frank -

I tried something similar(?) to that :

Side View Mirror Downsize
But the Easter egg had a lot of reflection and didn't perform well, so I retired it.

CarloSW2

I don't know what's more interesting- the egg or the farm on the dash! LOL

Aftermarket clear airfoil shapes
 

People have mentioned many times about cleaning & adding a boatail to OEM side mirrors or making an optimal mirror shape replacement.

I studied it w/ simple models & viewed the inevitable sun reflections that could hamper vision. The other concerns are snow/dirt buildup, internal/exterior fogging, material hazing, inherent design clearances. This could be aftermarket addition or OEM replacement.

Any thoughts & other concerns?

http://i429.photobucket.com/albums/q...eflections.jpg

botsapper -

Great pix. How about making the "inner clear portion that the driver looks at" flat so that there is (hopefully) less reflection?

CarloSW2

Frank -

Hee hee hee. I have a theory that when people get mad at me on the road, they get sidetracked by all the crapola on my dash and everywhere else in my car.

Why you gull-durned slow-pokin' piece of ... what ... huh ... is that a solar ?!?!?! ... Pokemon?

CarloSW2

cfg83

I thought of that too. The mirror plane becomes triangular & on one the sides, it has a flatten side that is towards the driver's line of sight. It would have better optic properties but a larger tapered tail shape. Different vehicles have so many different tumblehome angles. The singular study was just see the inherent problem of glare at different shapes & angles.

Flat side towards the driver.

http://i429.photobucket.com/albums/q...flections2.jpg

botsapper -

Ok, you're way ahead of the game.

CarloSW2

Why don't you just make yer mirror in a Kammback design? Isn't that a better compromise than just a flat cutoff? ;)

The funny thing about optics is...you have to use yer eyeballs fer that.

All of those designs would distort the light coming into the mirror from behind, so it won't matter that they are open toward the driver

I've been running The Clunker for a week with the passenger mirror folded. The view out the right side is great in that car, so I don't even miss it. I plan to delete that mirror and put in the interior mirror just to cover my bases. I also removed the passenger headrest when nobody is in the car, as it makes the view even better.