Side View Mirror Downsize

[cfg83]

Hello -

Now I'm just having fun :



I mounted a chrome motorcycle light housing through the hole that used to have the joystick for the manual side view mirror. Since the motorcycle light is metal, I can mount the fisheye with a magnet and have very discreet control over the fisheye mirror angle. The other fisheye on a stock is for fun and will be removed after I switch to a larger fisheye.

I am used to the mini side-mirror now. With all the other mirrors I have, I am very safe. Cops have passed me by and haven't messed with me (knock on wood).

CarloSW2

[cfg83]

}{ead$hot Zod -

Originally Posted by }{ead$hot Zod

My truck still has vent windows. I have an extra set, I should drill them out and attach a small mirror to it.

Sounds like a cool idea. I wish more cars had the vent windows. They are literally cool and practical. The Prius has a perfect place for one.

CarloSW2

[Chris D.]

Originally Posted by cfg83

ZERO Blind Spots

One thing I hate about those are that my sun visors get in the way of those mirrors and you loose the flip up and down feature for those annyoing high beamers..

Pikacho?

[Sandy]

My driver side mirror got bashed this winter by a car door in a parking lot.
I did your inside mirror mod.
Using a squared off fisheye mirror, it's about 2-1/2" square,
I've found it is perfect for the highway driving.
NO blindspots.
The only drawback is I can't use it to back up as I can't see the ground near the car.
But on the highway,
I like this better than the original side mirror with the small fisheye on it.

[cfg83]

Sandy -

Originally Posted by Sandy

My driver side mirror got bashed this winter by a car door in a parking lot.
I did your inside mirror mod.
Using a squared off fisheye mirror, it's about 2-1/2" square,
I've found it is perfect for the highway driving.
NO blindspots.
The only drawback is I can't use it to back up as I can't see the ground near the car.
But on the highway,
I like this better than the original side mirror with the small fisheye on it.

My panoramic rear-view mirror solves any backup problem, but I miss seeing the ground too because I like to check that I am "centered" when I park in the really narrow spaces. I may put a "tiny fisheye" in the side view mirror at some point.

CarloSW2

[cfg83]

Chris -

Originally Posted by Chris D.

One thing I hate about those are that my sun visors get in the way of those mirrors and you loose the flip up and down feature for those annyoing high beamers..

Pikacho?

Yeah, that happened the other day when my wife flipped her sun visor, so it can be a pain.

I still have the flip down feature. Since I became a long distance commuter about 2 years ago, I started fiddling with my mirrors constantly at night or when the sun is reflecting into my face. Sometimes I feel like I am flying an airplane with all the adjustments I am making.

I started the Pikachu thing for my niece back in the 1990's and left it in place in my car ever since. They're like barnacles in my car. I am pretty sure it short-circuits some of the people that would otherwise be messing with me on the freeway. I'll bet some of them go "That @#Q$(*&@#($*@# slow poke, I'm gonna give them a piece of my .... what the hell is all that stuff?!?!?!?!?".

CarloSW2

[cfg83]

Hello -

Here is an update on my side-view mirror delete. Since I have learned that a rain drop is the perfect "aero-shape", I started looking for a ready-made shape that would suit as a side view mirror. During Easter I found some Easter Eggs at Target that had clear "pointy ends". I used those as a base to fabricate a passenger side-view fish-eye mirror :

Easter Egg Mirror :


It is zip-tie-attached to metal hinge painted white.

Front View :


Comparison test with stock side view mirror :


Notice the internal mirror. This is a JC-Whitney motorcycle mirror that can slide on a metal stalk. It's not ideal, so it also may get a fish-eye down the road. The main thing is that the stalk allows for *any* setup I want, even a Pirate Parrot!

Current State :


Benefits :

- (As always) 100% reversible. The original passenger side-view mirror is in a box in my garage. The side-view mirror cover is an OEM replacement. The cover looked so nice, I didn't have the heart to mount the egg on it. Instead, I zip-tied the egg to the window air-deflectors. The air-deflector is pre-MPG because Saturns get water on you in the rain and I like to crack the window open during rain and instead of using AC.

- Perfect aero shape (right?!?!?!)

- Fish-eye is all I need with other mirrors in place. Technically, I don't need it at all, but I like to use it to pull up to curbs and stuff.

- Cheap. $1 egg, $1.50 metal hinge, $2 fish-eye mirror that I already had lying around. I used white paint that I already had for paint-matching.

Problems :

- Clear plastic is not optical quality. It is a bit cloudy (see comparison picture). But, it serves my purpose in the context of using my other mirrors.

- Fragile. It's 100% stable on the freeway, but I could break it off with a swipe of my hand. Probably need to un-zip-tie it if I go to a car wash.


I have one more egg if I decide to do the same for the driver's side. But, I probably won't do that because I think a "driver's egg" would be more likely to attract the legal ire of the cops.

CarloSW2

[gascort]

Originally Posted by }{ead$hot Zod

My truck still has vent windows. I have an extra set, I should drill them out and attach a small mirror to it.

My brother and I used to flip those all the way around, shooting air inside the truck at an angle, on the road at 40-60 mph. We called that "air conditioning!!!!" It's as refreshing when it's 95F outside as the a/c is. Not as efficient though.

[mobilerik]

Funny, we think alike. Without ever seeing this thread, I've been searching for a plastic egg to make a mirror shell. No luck.

Meanwhile, I'm wondering how your little bike mirror is working out. I'm thinking to pick one up this week and boat-tail it.

[cfg83]

akashic -

Originally Posted by akashic

Funny, we think alike. Without ever seeing this thread, I've been searching for a plastic egg to make a mirror shell. No luck.

Meanwhile, I'm wondering how your little bike mirror is working out. I'm thinking to pick one up this week and boat-tail it.

I got my egg-mirror at Easter in Target. It was a "Disney toy egg" for $1. I don't have it on anymore because the clear plastic didn't stay very clear and I wanted to try a different shape for parallel parking. Maybe I should try some Rain-X.

I did find this, but it costs too much $ to justify and there's no guarantee that the cover would have better c-thru visibility characteristics (it's for a turn signal, after all) :

Bullet Turn Signal Lenses : JC Whitney: Motorcycle Parts & Accessories


It's also not a pure egg shape, but at least it's more durable than a plastic Easter egg.

A friend gave me the idea of getting a cheap wine glass from a $1 store for the clear glass. It would be fragile, but who cares if it was only a $1?

To answer your original question, the bike mirror works fine during the day, but it's not very helpful at night. It's main purpose is to satisfy legal requirements. Here is my current configuration, which gives me more feedback than stock (the 17" convex rear-view mirror is the key) :

Originally Posted by cfg83

Sulfuric -

I have let people borrow my convex mirrors and gotten similar feedback. From my POV, every mirror change for me has required an "acclimatization period". I like the convex shape because I now have more information than I could have had otherwise. But, the smaller and/or convex mirrors require a "distance adjustment" for me. Also, depending on the context, I still turn my head to verify my lane changes.

The part I don't like is not being able to see the curb when I parallel park. I used to have that when I had a fish-eye mirror on my old side views.

Here's my current Configuration. This is my driver's side mirror mounted on a motorcycle stock (outside mirror for legal purposes) :



Here is my complete mirror configuration :



The 17" convex rear-view mirror is my rear-view HQ, and the interior side-view mirrors are my "just before lane change" confirmation mirrors.

...

CarloSW2