Aspherical Mirrors - Check difference!
 

Hi,

just registered but been a regular reader since I bought my 2006 X5 3.0 about 2 months ago.
This forum is amazing and I thought I might as well contribute.

Being from Europe, the "flat" side mirrors were driving me crazy, so I ordered some from Ebay.

They were a pain to install (it was difficult to remove the original ones, and had to slightly cut the edges of the slots of the new ones for them to go in), but the end result is great.

Here is a picture showing both mirrors for comparison. The aspherical is the installed one.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/p19yko08gu...ison.JPG?raw=1

They were rather cheap ($25.85 for both left and right side mirrors), from Hong Kong, but as mentioned it was hell to get them in. Comparing with the original, the slots looked just minimally smaller, so it maybe just a problem of tolerances. The other potential issue is that the original ones have these "bands" in the back that I imagine to be the heating elements. On the ones I bought they are not visible, so not sure if these mirrors will heat. As I'm in Southern Florida, I'm not counting on this being a problem...

Nice picture! I'm like them, too.

I got similar ones on eBay but from E. Europe and those can be heated.

this comparison is incredible. I've seen other posts talking about how great they are and a pic of JUST the aspherical ones, but this comparison is super.
I want a set of heated auto-dimming ones now.

Found a used set of used OE gold mirrors... may look great on my beige X5.

I used seller "eurotrade777" shipping from Latvia. My only experience with this seller, but it went fine for me... Heated Aspherical mirrors were $60 for a pair. Shipping was 2-3 weeks.

OE Gold Mirrors ? That sounds more like the color you get when the auto-dim in the unit goes bad the electro goes bad.....FWIW Clockwork..

Jsoto, yeah I've seen bad mirrors where they turn a brown but I have also seen gold mirrors in the past too.
Blue and Gold options seemed to be sold in Euro optioned vehicles...

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...v-Blue-Mirrors

What was the main issue of getting them in? Did they not fit properly, or did the clips just not line up? Looking to upgrade to this too, ebay seller from HK as well.

The clips looked like they aligned. Just the gap into which the clip slides into seemed to be slightly smaller. I used a small sharp knife to cut the slots just a tiny bit and it eventually went in. I'm talking about fractions of a millimeter.

I have no issue snapping them in place.

+1

No one should have an issue if they use OE parts.

Big difference in price of aspherical heated mirrors the also auto-dim.

Ps: i bought them and installed them and have to say its one of nicest simple upgrsdes for funtionality!!
And the gold colored glass mstches my beige extremely well

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So can these be retrofitted if I have auto-dimming mirrors?

I don't mind losing auto-dimming rather have no blind spots.


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Fitment on non OE is a concern, but if they'll physically attach to the housing, you should be OK. You'll simply leave the auto dimming connection disconnected from the replacement mirror glass. If you chose OE dimming glass, the connections will be the same and the fitment should not be a concern.

I just checked for oe part numbers but even though it shows the drawing there is no part number.

I think I want OEM as it has a thick black trim around the mirror. The eBay after market ones don't.


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Aspherical Mirrors - Check difference!
 

I bought two pair of them knock off for like $24 a pair shipped from China so took a couple weeks. I was concerned about the thin material and if they were glass or plastic. Optically they are a B+ at best but the slight convex curve hides the imperfections well. Absolutely worth the trade off for the infinitely more useful reflection!

I literally have no blind spot. By the time a car is out of my driver mirror I can see the entire hood.

If you look at the shape of the mating parts you will see they aren't correct you'll need to trim a little plastic and they will snap right on.

My process was to pull the whole gimbal off the car (usually breaks the existing mirror) then reassemble the mirror into the gimbal and press the redone assembly into the ball. It takes a stupid amount of force: I put a big suction cup onto the face of the mirror and "hug" the suction cup from the opposite side of the motor body (I stand in front of the mirror and pull the mirror into the mirror body toward me using the suction cup)

So the passenger side mirror no longer says object may look closer warning?


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I'll check tomorrow but I think the OE DS/PS does not have said working. Just the ::: line

I don't have the moronic saying on either side of either car now.

The sublime ignorance of the DOT to think that having a mirror with 1/8 of the field of view could in any way be better then one with no blind spot is amazing

That's a USA moronic thing most of the sane world didn't fall into that legalistic lawyer wording.

no verbiage on the OE asphe. Must be a 'merica thing

Only three countries on Earth require either planar (flat) mirrors or the moronic phrase that should say instead "this mirror is useful".

Combining the slight convex overall curve that is spherical with the outer edge being also likely spherical just a smaller radius gives you in-effect a bubble mirror with no frame that perfectly blends Into the main reflection.

As you overtake a car in the next lane you will see it "stretch" into view. The line in the mirror makes a perfect reference for safe passing. When the line in the mirror is in the center of the car in the next lane you have 2-3 car lengths between your cars it's a very comfortable buffer.

When the near headlamp makes it past the line I think you have a couple meters so you could fit in a tight spot. I've been meaning to measure but haven't had a chance yet.

Aspherical Mirrors - Check difference!
 

In summary the mirrors I will never not have there is no going back. It takes a little bit of cutting plastic to get the 90% cheaper eBay models to work but if you do like me and remove the holder from the car first to assemble you can figure out what you need to do.

I just levered out the whole mirror assembly then swapped over the replacement mirror and popped the assembly back on with the new mirror attached. It takes a fair amount of force. I think I took a video I'll see if I can find it.

I did make A photo album of the fix:

https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0SGAfJVYJqgUUL

Actually it is the Federal Motor Vehicle safety standards that requires the safety warning on mirrors. It is also a requirement in several other countries.

When I researched getting these mirrors what I found indication there were 3 countries with the moronic requirement. So maybe 5-8% of Earth's population is too stupid to understand how a mirror works the other 92-95% can figure it out without the notice.


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It is a requirement in US, Canada, Nepal, India and Saudi Arabia.

I won't guess at the percent that have found it worthwhile. My guess is there was research and history that proved it is beneficial or it would be gone by now.

Beg to differ it's entirely due to risk of lawsuits and CYA mentality. Nobody reads the notice those that do don't know why it's there and really don't know why it's not on the driver's side. It's clearly just so an idiot that crosses into another lane hits a car can't say that he thought the car was farther away and blame the car maker. It doesn't serve a helpful purpose from a driving safety or the other 190 countries would follow suit. One more bit of red tape that doesn't help the situation as a whole.

As mentioned the regulation was established by the Federal Motor vehicle standards org. not related to any concern by MFGs of lawsuits. It serves as a reminder not a CYA.

FYI, there are 201 countries that are at least partially recognized by the United Nations, the conclusion of any majority is not an indication of right or wrong and assumptions do not transfer to facts.

The reality that I conclude from the fact that the majority of drivers on Earth get by just fine without the moronic label is the is no legitimate claim for it's existence.

In addition using panoramic mirrors for a year after 35 years of not using them it only took one drive to realize they are infinitely more useful and incredibly safer in spite of the fact they don't have because there is no need for the moronic label.

Fact: the panoramic mirror is incredibly safer than the required by ignorant law flat mirrors on the driver's side. Go government at making things worse as usual.

My claim is 1) the notice on the convex mirror is completely unnecessary and is entirely based on ignorance. (Mostly the assumption which is likely true that the average person is too ignorant to judge distance in a convex mirror) and 2) most likely some "they" decided that when convex mirrors are used they must have the label because they can't trust the average person to get how a convex mirror works and 3) the benefits of a convex mirror especially one that has a variable radius to act as a bubble mirror greatly greatly outweighs ANY advantage of 3d vision through a planar mirror, in fact with the reference line on my panoramic mirrors, I have a distance reference for a car in the lane next to me that is 10 or 100x more reliable than stereoscopic vision: : when the near headlight is inside of the reference line on my mirror of the car behind me, it is 100% of the time behind me and it's safe for me to cross into that lane, there's no such safety factors with either the near useless planar mirror on the driver's side nor the "objects appear moronic" on the passenger side.

I kinda lost track of what exactly the debate was here. Were you trying to defend there is a valuable point to have the "label for uneducated people" or that "they" are correct to have a law restricting the use of 21st century mirrors over the 18th century tech that is currently the asinine requirement? My argument is that both are bad not required and in the long run do the opposite of what the law intended (the current law makes cars less safe by eliminating the use of safer mirrors that will absolutely residuce accidents.

I understand the concept for why in 1950 "they" decided it would be a good idea to mark mirrors not planar (because they were different and new) but that concept simply should be part of driving school curriculum. It would be perfectly acceptable to me to have a non-moronic label on a convex mirror such as "c o n v e x" or "p a n o r a m I c" across the bottom so the driver that switches between cars can be reminded of the angle of view, and not "dumb down" the label to the lowest possible IQ of likely driver.

It's like the asinine shift lock interface that makes it impossible to restart a stalled E53 in the middle of an intersection while coasting. Of the 20 or 30 cars I've driven only the E53 has a non intuitive restart procedure that prevented me from a simple shift to neutral, turn key from on to start. Every other car I've driven will let me go from on to start when in neutral coasting. What level of "dumb it down" was required to eliminate the most basic and critically important function from the basic user interface of a car (restart after a stall without stopping)!?

All because a bunch of people couldn't tell the difference between the gas and brake and slammed on the gas thinking it was the brake and claiming it was the engine computer not their own mistake. Pretty amazing that once the interlock was introduced suddenly no more cars had "unintended acceleration" because drivers now must have their foot on the brake to take a car out of gear.

That is a very ok safety feature until it's not (putting me in harms way because I've just stalled in cross traffic and now must stop the car and put the brakes on before I can attempt to restart the car).

The mirror situation is very similar: in an effort to make cars safer they don't. The driving world would have done better to teach me drivers what a convex mirror is, allow cars to have convex mirrors on either side or even require panoramic mirrors on both sides. Then you could put a sticker retrofitted into old shitty mirrors at the next safety inspection.

"This mirror is shitty you can't see cars in your blind spot, good luck with that" or the politically correct version: "this mirror has a 30° blind spot".

My original mirrors had about a 40° and 20° blind spot now the have about -15 and -10° blind spot (the angle of view shows 10° to 15° overlap into what used to be a blind spot: I can now see the entire hood of an overtaking car before I can't see him in my panoramic mirrors).

Don't take offense at my strong opinions "asinine labels" you didn't invent the label best of my knowledge. It's my opinion everyone is free to have their own. Clearly "they" think it's quite important to have made it law. I think it was pretty dumb waste of time and money that could have gone to better use, because it's entirely redundant from a thinking, educated persons frame of reference: it's common knowledge that the perception of things get smaller and farther away in a convex mirror I taught myself that lesson when I was 4 or 5 looking at a reflection in my spoon while eating cereal.

If 60-70% of 7 billion people don't need the notice the rest of us also clearly don't need the notice.

If there is some study that shows otherwise that fewer crashes happen due to the warning label on mirrors and that that ALSO is a better improvement over how many MORE crashes are prevented from mirrors absent of any blind spot I would be very interested in seeing such and If that is the case the other countries should follow suit and require a life saving safety feature that costs nearly nothing to add to a car.

No intention to debate. You have been clear that it is your opinion that the reminder is unnecessary and governmental overstepping.

I'm Just fact checking. As an example, the safety reminder started in 1971 for 1972 vehicles. The reason is that convex mirrors compress the image. We naturally judge distance by the size of the object so it is easy to resort to our 'programmed' way of calculating distance, especially in an emergency situation. It was deemed important to remind drivers that in the case of side mirrors the natural default calculation of our minds does not apply.

Convex mirrors can usually be adjusted to reduce the blind spot to a safe level if the mirrors are adjusted out to the point that to see the side of the vehicle it is necessary to lean significantly in that direction. I changed to European style mirrors many years ago so I can see the side of the vehicle in the mirrors and have no blind spot in a normal driving position.

In normal circumstances I use the rearview mirror, changing lanes when I can see the entire front end of the car in the passenger side lane.

I agree with the premise that put the reminder there is my contention that the red tape that got it there is greatly hampering future improvement hence my harsh terms like asinine.

There for sure was a transition in time where a warning could have been necessary when "all the cars" that even had the OPTIONAL passenger side mirror went from planar to convex but that time in history passed roughly 50 years ago.

Maybe it's just being not average intelligence but things like that message are a constant reminder to me that *somebody* must be pretty not smart to keep an obvious as the sun is in the sky duh like things are smaller in a convex mirror.

In my opinion: that you do or don't already know that before you sit behind a steering wheel is a disqualifying test of ability and understanding. This is the engine that drives my discontent.

Don't get me started on people that don't instinctively KNOW that you don't put a baby seat backwards behind an air bag and now every car gets defaced with a "some people are idiots so now all cars get to be defaced with a horribly ugly sticker". It's a similar line of reasoning that bothers me about the "are you clueless" messages on the mirrors.

Which until I've gotten my panoramic mirrors that's exactly what I used to do, but with the reference line on the panoramic mirrors I can do the same with the reference line while looking in the same direction I'm going so I can check my blind spot directly and also verify there is nobody two lanes over wanting to come into the same lane I was about to go into.

That whole car front in the review mirror should also be a disqualifying test question in drivers tests. One of the best driving rules there are. Gives a really decent cushion and works every time.

If you didn't see any part nbrs listed...then you were either looking at the wrong mirror diagrams (the one for regular mirror glass) or you were using a part database that was USA based and doesn't list the electrochromatic (aka auto-dimming) mirror glass.

To get the correct 11 digit BMW part number for the auto dimming/aspherical/wide angle mirror...then use the EURO side of the database...make selection exactly like the model/model year you have but select EURO instead of USA. :)

The Euro side of the part database will list the part nbrs for mirror #1 seen in the diagram below:


And ditto...the aspherical/wide angle mirrors are one of the best upgrades (for safety) that you can do...you can see in the pics below how many lanes of traffic that are visible...which helps not just for the blind spot next to the vehicle, but includes what vehicles in other lanes may be doing in regards to changing lanes that you may wanting to merge into:

http://www.bimmerboard.com/members/q...03%20Lanes.jpg

http://www.bimmerboard.com/members/q...03%20Lanes.jpg

I just upgraded my f06 GC's side mirror this fall...you can see the comparison of the old US mirrors vs the Euro aspherical mirrors similar to the OPs post...the car was parked in the same parking lot space for both mirrors:

https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#...F-1B881E75B7AB

Just took this video. Shows in action how the mirror works to eliminate the blind spot. Probably better than the airbag to reduce the risk of injury from driving. (By stopping the crash before it happens)

+1 on the Euro mirrors! :) This is a good reminder to actually get me off my butt and install the ones I got off E-pay about 2 years ago! Heated and antiglare, but one of the heating elements needs to be changed out.

What do you mean about heat element? It's built into mirror.

No, it's pasted on to the back. Takes some patience to peel off and glue back on but do-able. I felt a little bad (and would not do it again) when I figured out (after the fact) that these people seemingly go out and steal the mirrors to order, but glad I got heated and anti-glare factory Euro mirrors.

Oh wow I didn't realize. Well I paid $12.50 for each, I would get a new one maybe vs peel n stick. What happened to the heater?

I think I paid about a $100 including shipping for the used OE pair (glass only) and thought I was getting a bargain compared to the OE price. Heater is not available separately. I could only tell that the resistance was off on one heater and it would barely warm up. I found a damaged trace when I took the plastic back off. I did try to fix it but the element won't take solder and my fix did not look like it would hold so I peeled an element off of another mirror.

Bump on this thread. People need to know about the panoramic mirrors. One of the best upgrades possible. Way safer to drive a car that doesn't have blind spots.

If you set your mirrors properly you don't need to spend the money.

Lean over with your head by the drivers window. Adjust the mirror so you can just see the door handles in the edge of the mirror.

Lean over to the center of the car and adjust your passenger mirror so you can just see the door handles in the edge of the mirror.

If you do this you will find that as a vehicle in an adjacent lane leaves your rear view mirror it appears in one of your side view mirrors.

I've used that method for 30 years. No comparison to my new mirrors.

I've always wondered why people adjusted their mirrors where 1/3 of the view is your own car!

It is not possible to adjust the US driver's mirror to cover what an aspherical mirror can cover. The X5 mirror is large enough that you can adjust it so that it's not actively unsafe (unlike, say, the E36 M3, where the US driver's mirror is too small to do much of anything), but it still kind of sucks.

And the mirror glass is cheap as long as you don't want auto-dimming.

With the convex lens, auto dim not really needed. I never feel blinded by lights in my side mirrors.

Agreed.

I have euro mirrors installed in every BMW except the X5 (because the asphericals I ordered immediately after I bought it got lost in the mail, and I haven't had a chance to reorder). I personally don't like auto-dimming mirrors, but some people do, so it's worth mentioning.

I've always wondered the same thing. And a lot of people do it. Seems like every time I get in someone elses' car to drive I have to make major adjustments to the mirrors so I'm not looking at the side of the car.

Interesting to know the aspheric mirrors are that much better.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...217f206020.jpg
No trick photography. You literally see 5x the view. In this pic it's showing too much of the car. When properly adjusted would prob see to the hood ornament.

Huge safety improvement. They should be required like 3rd brake light.

Wow!

I've never had a blind spot with regular mirrors. I wonder if that has to do with my height and needing to utilize the "gangsta lean" in most vehicles.

That said, those aspherical ones do look very functional. If I could find a set on the cheap I could see swapping the glass out.

If you set your side mirrors so that you have to lean toward the mirror to see the side of the vehicle that minimizes the blind spot. That said, I installed the aspherical mirrors for the broader view and am glad I did.

If you have to move you have a blind spot.

It was $25 a pair for mine. One of mine has a crack (somebody got too close to my parked car. The mirror folded forward it actually knocked the outer plastic off but also started a hairline crack in the mirror that over a couple months worked across).

So: I'll be getting another set. Since the cheap copies need a tweak I will show in more detail what's needed.

The main trade off is the lens is plastic vs. glass so it's not quite as sharp as OE but having 5-8x the view is very much worth it.

I don't have to move. By "gangsta lean," I meant my seat is all the way back and very reclined. As bcredliner mentioned, I do adjust my mirrors way out. They give me no view of my own vehicle at any point. Though because I was taught it 25+ years back... I still do the shoulder check.

Not saying it isn't a worthwhile mod. If I could find some OE ones on the cheap. I'd probably swap them in as well.

That is an interesting thought about all the way back. Mathematically I think you are onto something, the father back the wider you'll be able to see.

Gangster lean around here would mean lean to the center of the car.

I still have to check over my shoulder especially on multi lane highways. Bringing me to the one drawback; you will see cars two lanes over that line up with the blind spot. The distortion will make it unclear if one lane or two lanes over. It's worth the trade off but can be annoying in busy traffic

That's what I was wondering. My head is at least a foot further back (I'd guess, maybe further) than typical drivers due to being 6'8". Couple that with my adjusting the mirrors wider than most and I think that's why I've never had blind spot issues.

Except in camaros... lol, but a camaro is one big blind spot. :rofl:

My Camaro was convertible. The view out the back window could see the windshield of the car behind you not much more and the wing mirrors mostly saw your rear fender with the car being much wider at the back. (the positive trade off being that you couldn't be blinded from high beams from a car behind you as the trunk blocked the view).

In DFW area if you look over your shoulder as part of safely changing lanes the car in next lane will speed up and close the hole. More often then not I use the rearview and side mirrors only. Sometimes I take a quick over the shoulder look and then change lanes quickly so the gap is still there. The safest thing to do is get in the fast lane and stay there.

Similar Chicago. Also when I was navigator for a driver near San Francisco, learned they have a little more patience: they would actually let you in if you signal, but they only give you literally 2-3 seconds.

My driver would take too long and the "slightly patient" driver would close the gap.