Good quality blind spot mirrors

[pepatrick]

I have done this for years. There is no other way to drive a car. Unfortunately some cars will allow you to ange the mirror out that far. But it does work great on the X5.

Philip

Originally Posted by hayaku

bmw has the euro side mirror lenses that have an angle in them for many other cars. not sure i've seen one for the e53x5 but i know they exist for the e39m5 and e46m3.

on the other hand, you can eliminate your blindspots by correctly setting the side mirrors. 95+% of the driving population have thier side mirrors set incorrectly. side mirrors are meant to view the side, not the rear of the car. once set correct to view the blind spots, it takes a little getting used to but it is 100% effective and thats how I drive. this is one of the things that are taught on track, how to set your mirrors.

to do this:
+ Driver side first.
- lean against the window
- adjust the mirror so you can barely see the side of your car.
- adjust the viewing hieght as normal

+ Passenger side
- lean to the center of the car.
- adjust the mirror again to barely be able to see the side of the car
- adjust the viewing hieght as normal

once set like this, you will see cars move from the main rear view mirror to the side mirror then to your peripheral vision. there is no blind spot if you set this correctly.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by hayaku

don't mean any insult, but i would think that is dangerous to set your side mirrors to also view part of your vehicle, especially if its a big heavy truck with no rear mirror.

No insult taken. I don't understand how you can see behind you (in the same lane you are in) without seeing the rear corner of your vehicle in the side mirror. I didn't mean set the mirror to look at your own vehicle, just that it will appear along the edge of the mirror, and I use it as a reference point.

your blind spots are more important then your ability to park the vehicle since cars on the street will always be in them.

Agreed, maybe I confused the discussion, as the parking issue is a separate point. The blind spots are addressed by a shoulder check in a car, by a minimum of 2 convex mirrors on a truck, and sometimes by convex mirrors on a car. But if you set the side mirrors to only cover the two traditional blind spots, you are left with only one mirror to see what is behind you, and it is sometimes blocked (passengers, cargo, trailer). It seems like just trading blind spots. Your side mirrors will show what is in other lanes, but not what is behind you in your lane.

on track, you can't turn around and look over your shoulder. if there is a car in your blind spot, which there always will be when you race wheel to wheel, you have to be able to spot them with your side mirrors. the helmet, HANS device, harness, and head protectors on the seat limit your viewing to about 90 degrees of forward vision only. plus having window nets make it impossible to look over your shoulder. this is the only way possible in race cars and is 100% effective when set correctly.

Sounds very logical, and I readily take your word for it. My track driving has been timed, without other cars close by. I just wonder if it is the same on the street.

[Comanche]

Yea, THat why I see so many wrecks on race day!!! LOL.....

[rocketir]

But if you set the side mirrors to only cover the two traditional blind spots, you are left with only one mirror to see what is behind you, and it is sometimes blocked (passengers, cargo, trailer). It seems like just trading blind spots. Your side mirrors will show what is in other lanes, but not what is behind you in your lane.

Setting the mirrors this way, you need all three mirrors. An object will come into one mirror and seemlessly transition to another mirror. But you do need all three for this to work.
HTH
Jesse

[Quicksilver]

Originally Posted by rocketir

Setting the mirrors this way, you need all three mirrors. An object will come into one mirror and seemlessly transition to another mirror. But you do need all three for this to work.
HTH
Jesse

I started this so let me just say that I tried hayaku's adjustment and I found that all three mirrors did come into play with this set up. It is a bit different though not having the rear of the car reference. Having said that my conclusion leads me to believe that in the final analysis a combination of the solutions from hayaku and JCL may be the best way to go.
Cheap mirrors on my X? I believe I will pass on that. So I'm still searching for some quality mirrors.