Side view mirrors

GameboyRMH wrote:

81cpcamaro wrote: Yep you can get the 4-mirror setup http://pitstopusa.com/c-131900-cockpit-accessories-mirrors.html http://www.summitracing.com/search/Part-Type/Rearview-Mirrors/

Ah thanks it was the "Allstar Performance 4-panel race mirror"

I alwys knew them as Wink 4 and 5 panel mirrors

Wink mirror

vwcorvette wrote: When you learn to drive and position your car by using reference points, learn how wide or long your car is, and position your mirrors as the OP's daughter does you decrease risk by increasing your knowledge of where YOU and THE CAR are to your environment. You are in your car so you should know where it is without needing the mirrors. The mirrors are there to show us where other things are.

Exactly! I used to set my mirrors so I could see my car in them, but tried the "weird way" when I heard about it ~15 years ago. I hated it at first but quickly realized that I know where my car is so there's no reason to see it in the side views. If you adjust them right, a car passing you on either side goes from the rear view immediately into the side view then into your peripheral vision.

You adjust pretty quickly to what the view out the mirror should be, so you don't need the "reference point" of your car in order to know that the mirror has moved. If you don't adjust to that quickly then you're probably not using your mirrors anyway.

I had a "wink" in my first VW. until the plastic housing warped in the heat of the first summer I had it

I've always set them to see the back of the car too. I also use the little convex mirrors on the race car because the roll bar blocks my blind spot when I turn my head. But now I have to try this "new" position

I set me mirrors so I can just barely see the door handle If I lean over.

That way I dont need to turn my head more than 90* to be certain no one is beside me.

Also stops the mirror from aiming the car behind's headlights into my face.

Doesn't interfere with parking since you can still lean over to see the edge of the vehicle.

The falcon I just bought has no side mirrors, I don't see anywhere to put them either so I'm guessing they were optional in 1962. On the plus side it's got amazing visibility by modern car standards, but it's still annoying.

Chris_V wrote: In that split second you turn your head around to look over your shoulder, the guy in front of you that you are changing lanes to get around will hit his brakes. Do not take your tatntion off the road ahead of you. That's how rea end accidents occur. Properly aimed mirrors and use them is teh best way. Then again I'm used to trucks with caps, or trailers behind, and vans, and panel trucks, and the like, where looking over your shoulder is useless anyhow.

I've been driving for 36 years and never had an accident. Looked over my shoulder every time.

And the vast majority of my driving is in trucks with very limited visibility. The look over the shoulder is still useful. It has worked for me for several million miles.

I think rear end accidents occur from following too closely for the conditions, but whatever.

I'm glad some folks are happy with it. But saying it is "proper" is a little like saying a particular seat position is proper. It's a matter of personal preference.

For over 30 yrs I had car mirrors aimed just to catch the edge of the rear quarters. After reading some 'how to' online I aimed them to cover the full lane next to me, left or right. The rear view covers anything in between but if I feel the need I only tilt my head to catch the small gap to them qtrs. again. This really helps some days w/ the gravel in my neck. On ramps I still turn my head if any of the mirrors fail to cover. Also used the small convex mirrors, but must train the eye to look there first.

For trucks, the 3" or larger convex stick-on mirrors are the tits.

I have them adjusted so I can see the edge of the car with my head in the normal spot. The reference point is very helpful. Then I always buy one of those stick-on round blind spot mirrors for the left side, and I always turn my head quickly anyway.

They apparently teach you now that you shouldn't turn your head at all, because it increases the likelihood of a head-on collision. I've never almost been in a head-on collision, but I have certainly almost merged onto people that appeared out of nowhere in my blind spot, so I'm going to keep turning my head, damn what the experts say.

JohnyHachi6 wrote:

SkinnyG wrote: I set the side mirrors so that when the car leaves the rear view mirror's range, it's now in the side view mirror's range. Once it leaves the side view's, I can see it in the window.

This. It makes perfect sense. If you set up your mirrors this way you have full 360 degree view around your car without moving around. When I first strated driving I liked to have the very edge of the car in my side view mirror for reference and it was weird when I moved the mirrors out more to eliminate the blind spot, but I got used to it really quick and it's much better IMO.

This is exactly what I was going to say. SAE published a paper ~1990 that recommended this, and the mirrors are designed to be used this way. It gets rid of blind spots and makes driving much easier. With them adjusted the other way, there's a ton of overlap, and you're wasting mirror space with duplicate views.