When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
If your mirrors are set correctly you never have to turn (rotate) your head to see the cars around you.
.
Great but if you read the right side and look at the view they show though the center mirror-the C7 does NOT provide that width!
Originally Posted by volvos80
I read all the comments in this forum about blind spot and mirror adjustments. The first thing I did (at the Museum delivery before I sat in the C7) was to replace the mirror glass on the driver side with a convex mirror glass - similar to you have on the passenger side. This
convex driver side morror
Great solution IF the US allowed manufacturers to use a convex mirror on the left side-but they don't!
Originally Posted by kevlem
This is a huge help, thanks so much! Tried it today and made all the difference
It Helps BUT does not provide all of what is needed! See this is an old Thread and did not have my latest pic so those just finding out how to adjust mirrors, that is NOT the full answer for a C7!
I modified the graphic that was based on the ~1995 SAE tech paper on defensive driving. It was many pages long and covered more than setting up the mirrors to see those cars in the "blind spot" just behind your rear fenders. It said you must be able to follow cars that are coming up and will soon be in your blind spot!
Never felt a need for 'blind spot mirrors' in my '88, '93 and C6 Vette coupes because they had a good view of the rear though the center mirror! Not the C7. I have used that "put your head on the window..'' suggested by the SAE tech paper from about the time it came out in '~95- but the C7 needs more, IMO.
C7 has poor visibility in the rear through the center mirror. With my Stage 2 aero spoiler extensions almost as bad as a Vert! Used this small convex mirror on my 2014 C7 and now the Grand Sport. Read the short message on the right-seams many do not. Took several pages in the ~1995 SAE paper to discuss why that is important. Bottom Line "You need to know where all cars are and will be around you all the time." With todays distracted drivers even more of an issue!
I contacted volvos80 and he sold me the last aspheric mirror he had (thanks volvos80). It improved visibility so well I haven't bothered to wire in the 2 side cameras I have to my Navtool.
Once you have driven a vehicle with aspheric mirrors going back to anything else just doesn't cut it.
I contacted volvos80 and he sold me the last aspheric mirror he had (thanks volvos80). It improved visibility so well I haven't bothered to wire in the 2 side cameras I have to my Navtool.
Once you have driven a vehicle with aspheric mirrors going back to anything else just doesn't cut it.
Lucky you!
I absolutely would have purchased one from volvos80 if I had known they were available. As it is, I have to settle for the cheap stick-on.
volvos80, if you ever have more available, hit me up!
I recently got a C7 Z06, which I love, but the blind spots (even with mirrors adjusted with what usually works well, aka none of your car in view) are pretty rough in the Corvette.
Is there an insert that I could get for the Corvette to have mirrors like this? Or a quality blind spot mirror from the aftermarket to plug on because the ones I've seen are all cheap and ugly...
Alex. I have a set that I bought from Amazon. They are borderless and are specific to each side. UTOPICAR Blind Spot Mirrors. Place them on the driver side upper left and the passenger side upper right. I have found them to be clear, and have eliminated almost all the blind spots except for a 3 foot section on the passenger side. They also look good, though not factory, they're pretty close. That being said the c7 should use the mirror package that the mustang has, which is a built in blind spot mirror.
Roll-up left window, place the left side of your head up against the side glass and adjust the driver side mirror inward until you can just see the side of your car.
Now move your head over your center console (right eye centered with rear view mirror) and adjust right mirror in just enough to see the side of the car.
Adjust the center rear view mirror to see squarely out the center of the rear glass.
Now drive out on a multi-lane road a little slower than the surrounding traffic and follow the cars in your mirrors as they go by on each side. You will find that you can follow the car in the rear view mirror, then to the side mirror and the just as the car starts to move out of the side mirror it will become visible in your side vision.
The mirrors will feel awkward for a while until you get use to having them adjusted this way. Once you get use to it, you will be amazed at the coverage.
Works well!
After trying and discarding blind spot mirrors, I have been using a similar setup, and was able to gain a bit more visible area by tweaking to this recommendation.
When changing lanes to the right, a conflicting car in the blind spot will appear in the RH mirror, and it will be safe to move into that lane after its front end is visible and falling behind in the rear view mirror... The RH mirror being convex makes it appear that that car is farther away than it is, making the rear view mirror helpful in being sure you'll clear the traffic.
Roll-up left window, place the left side of your head up against the side glass and adjust the driver side mirror inward until you can just see the side of your car.
Now move your head over your center console (right eye centered with rear view mirror) and adjust right mirror in just enough to see the side of the car.
Adjust the center rear view mirror to see squarely out the center of the rear glass.
Now drive out on a multi-lane road a little slower than the surrounding traffic and follow the cars in your mirrors as they go by on each side. You will find that you can follow the car in the rear view mirror, then to the side mirror and the just as the car starts to move out of the side mirror it will become visible in your side vision.
The mirrors will feel awkward for a while until you get use to having them adjusted this way. Once you get use to it, you will be amazed at the coverage.
I agree with you all the way. There are virtually no blind spots using your method. My dad taught me that when I was a kid. It has worked for me on every car I have ever had.
The SAE posted a YT video on adjusting rear view mirrors. Adjusted mine to this spec a couple of weeks ago and found it works better than the small images on the dedicated blind spot mirrors.
^^^
Yep, read that multipage SAE paper when it came out in the 1990's! However it was much more than setting the side mirrors correctly, which I have done since then. It was all about being aware of all cars around you and those CARS THAT WILL SOON BE IN YOUR BLIND SPOT! It taked about defensive driving and following cars from the center mirror to the side mirrors. BUT you need good vision though the rear. Never felt a need for a small blind spot mirror to do that with my '88, '93, 2008 C6 BUT the view out the the rear C7 coupe is limited. In fact with my Grand Sport with spoiler side extensions iit's almost as bad as a Vert with the top up.
This graphic is often used to show how to use the 1990'S SAE suggestion. However few appear to read the right side. I highlighted to show what MUST ALSO be done. The view out the rear of a C7 coupe is limiting and more is needed, and a small blind spot mirror is useful to accomplish what the SAE article stated.
I use these I found on Amazon for about $10 for the pair and are glass not cheap plastic. Fully adjustable. Not that good looking but works well.
JTDEAL Blind Spot Mirror Slender HD Rimless Glass
Spring Mountain, in 2014 they showed us how to adjust mirrors on a C7. Basically sit in the drivers seat, get the level you like set on both side mirrors. Then adjust the left out until you can no longer see the car in the mirror. Stop going out with it the instant you can no longer see the car, or even move it back so you can barely see the rear of the car. Do the same with the right mirror. Then set the center mirror to center.
You should now be able to follow a car in the center, and as it is leaving the center pick it up in the side. Been working great for me for four years now.
You should now be able to follow a car in the center, and as it is leaving the center pick it up in the side. Been working great for me for four years now.
I have been following that multipage SAE Tech paper since in came out in the mid 1990's! It essentially says what you have been doing for 4. However your statement that you should be able to follow a car through the center mirror worked fine for my '88, '93, 2008 Vette coupes does not work well for a C7 with it's restricted view on the rear. I added a small blind spot mirror to my 2014 C7 and now my Grand Sport. It's especially important with my Stage 2 aero on my Grand Sport with it's side spoiler extensions. Makes following cars from what is visible in the center as bad as Vert with the top up! Using one makes it more to look at and integrate in your subconscious BUT with all the distracted drivers today I think it's essential to maintain my accident free driving record! Your Car Your Choice.
Details & Luck
I understand that my ~60 year driving record of not having an accident with another car was partly due to luck (looking for wood.) But I attribute some to always knowing where all the cars are around me. Be great if we had NASCAR "spotters" but we don't. And it's not that I am a slow driver, slower and smarter now but recall an incident in the mid '70s when radar detectors were not very good and police in Ohio got radar that could clock you while they were coming in the opposite direction.
On a 4 lane highway at about 10 PM a trooper pulled me over ~1 mile from the highway I just exited. He said he clocked me over the speed limit on the highway just before I exited and has been chasing me to give me a ticket! I said I didn't see him behind me. He said he had to turn around on the highway. I had my 260Z, there was no traffic and a clear night. I took that off ramp at a "fun high speed" and was traveling "at least" 10 over the limit for that mile from the highway. He would have had to be going over twice the limit. Went to court with a lawyer saying he must have clocked another car! The trooper said I was trying to get away, which was BS! The prosecutor asked if I saw him and I said no way as I always look in my mirrors! He said why, looking for police? I was tempted to say yes, one reason, as at that time few cars were passing me on the highway in that rural area! But smart enough to say no for defensive driving! The lawyer got me out of points on a technicality!
In fact, knowing where all cars are around me has always been my MO. Unfortunately today it's different. Knowing where cars are was all that was needed as you assumed they would be doing something logical or when they might not. While driving her car, my wife, when I come to a green street light and slowing down, will say, "why are you slowing you have the right of way?" Today I have learned that distracted drivers looking to see who sent that last trivial text message may look down to see who it is and go thorough red lights! I remind her I have the right of way but that does not prevent an accident. In fact I have always done that at an intersection where there is a stop sign for the other road. All folks don't always stop for whatever reason!
Yesterday, on the narrow twisty 2 mile street I live on to the highway, a pick-up was coming the other way, was not following the road and was in my lane. I hit the brakes and turned as far as possible on our no shoulder road. The driver finally turned. Where they looking at their phone? Don't know, and the AH had blacked out windows so could not see!
Perhaps with all of the detection devices being developed, manufacturers can look behind further than current "blind spot detection" and warn what AH is barreling (by measuring the speed) in the left lane on an Interstate the will soon be in your Blind Spot. Until then, were I have restricted rear visibility, I'll use that small blind spot mirror! I don't use one in the wife's BMW SUV as it has great rear visibility but I don't fine that "blind spot" detector signal is all that good as it only defines who is right behind your fenders. Need to be looking in the center mirror as well to see who might be there soon!
Spring Mountain, in 2014 they showed us how to adjust mirrors on a C7. Basically sit in the drivers seat, get the level you like set on both side mirrors. Then adjust the left out until you can no longer see the car in the mirror. Stop going out with it the instant you can no longer see the car, or even move it back so you can barely see the rear of the car. Do the same with the right mirror. Then set the center mirror to center.
You should now be able to follow a car in the center, and as it is leaving the center pick it up in the side. Been working great for me for four years now.
I have only had one accident with another vehicle, Sunday after Thanksgiving 1987. Drunk Driver hit me head on on the interstate in CT. I was in bumper to bumper traffic moving about 15 mph on I-95 south when this guy in an Izuzu Trooper came down the off ramp. They estimate he was doing 70 when he hit me. I tried to get out of the way, but could not. He broke my windshield with his face. He hit so hard the spare mounted on his back tail gate entered his vehicle and hit his Daughters car seat. Yes, he has a 8 month old baby in the car.
I have also unfortunately had two deer hit me. When a deer runs into the back wheel of your pick up, he hit you. Had that twice in the last 10 years. I hit one 4 years ago in my 14 Stingray when it was a month old. I live in a very deer infested area. I have come home to 21 standing in my yard. I see a deer hit every day on hwy 304 which is the only way in or out of my home.
Being I have been an avid motorcycle rider for all my life I am very aware of what is around me. I average 24,000 miles a year on a motorcycle.. Been riding since 79 on the street. I have gone off the road twice to keep a car from hitting me. I did hit a deer on a motorcycle, We saw each other at the same time. I did not go down, it only bent my front fender into the wheel. Bent it out and rode home.
Some is luck, lots is situational awareness and know everything around you.
I have also unfortunately had two deer hit me. When a deer runs into the back wheel of your pick up, he hit you. Had that twice in the last 10 years. I hit one 4 years ago in my 14 Stingray when it was a month old. I live in a very deer infested area. I have come home to 21 standing in my yard. I see a deer hit every day on hwy 304 which is the only way in or out of my home.
Some is luck, lots is situational awareness and know everything around you.
I always add Luck as part of the reason for my record!
RE Deer, I live on a twisty narrow road 2 miles from a highway. Woods on much of one side and a lake with homes on much of the other. The deer come out of the woods to eat our plants! I try to convince the wife that we should only plant "stuff" they won't eat- but there are a few she makes me try all types of deer deterrents! Some appear to work like a radio, and light that come on with a motion detector. Of interest, we have a recently planted weeping cheer tree behind our 11 water fall rock feature in the back yard. When the tree leaves started to come out she saw they were eaten. Put my game camera on the tree and sure enough it captured a deer next to the tree at night. Added that motion detecting "light and radio" and the camera picked up no more deer! Also have a motion detector spray head where there is a water line!
However deer are dumber than squirrels. At least a squirrel will try to run back, although they sometimes run back under the car, deer go in one direction and follow the others. As you note, they will run into the car! It's scary with the Vette as you are so low that they can come on the hood, break the window and into the cabin with you! I usually ride in the right hand lane on the highway near the house accept at peak deer times when I drive in the left to give me one more lane's worth of time to react.
I know some think it's foolish but I add deer wistles to the Vette and wife's SUV! My research showed they might be effective and for $10 cheap insurance! This is a PDF of what I found: http://netwelding.com/Deer_Whistle.pdf
DETAILS:
For those who prefer to listen to the academics, who I call "deer psychologist " in the PDF, who say why they don't work or troopers from their "observations," all quoted to present both sides of the debate, the following is one that makes me say they may well work! This summarizes the multi-page report you can google:
A 2003 report by Modac County California was most compelling. First it was paid for by the California Office of Traffic Safety (not a Deer Whistle Company!!). Second it involved a real world tests in a county with lots of deer and a previous record of deer/vehicle collisions. Their method was simple. They advertised to give free deer whistles to as many who would install them until they hit ½ the cars in the county.
They only reached 1648 out of the 8300 registered vehicles in the county but that was enough to reach statistically sound results. Summarizing the results: In a two year period from January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2002 the cars without the Deer Whistles hit 29 Deer. Those with the Deer whistles hit none! Since there were more folks without whistles you would expect them to hit more. But statistically using the ratio of cars with and without to deer hit by those without yields 1648/6652 x 29 there should have been 7 Deer Hit by cars with whistles if they were not effective.
For statisticians, they used a chi square test which defines the probability that the whistles were effective versus the probability the results found were just a random occurrence. It says there is a 99.6% probability the whistles were effective and the results are not a random occurrence!
The whistles tested were 418 electronic and 1230 air powered. The air powered were two types. I have the small "Save -A-Deer on the Grand Sport.
Bottom Line: I don't care if folks think they don't work and it's foolish to use them. Your car and your choice. For the cost of one Starbucks Latte worth it to me, just in case they work!
06-04-2018, 09:21 AM
Great solution IF the US allowed manufacturers to use a convex mirror on the left side-but they don't!
