# Blind Spot / Convex Mirrors?



## solsurfr (Oct 19, 2003)

I've had my new bimmer now for almost a week in the USA and the one thing I've always had on my cars were blind spot / convex mirrors. Does anyone have any experience with them on their bmw's? Since our cars have heated mirrors, is it a bad idea to add them? I'm guessing not? Any recommendations on which convex mirrors to get?

Thanks.


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## Elwood (Dec 20, 2002)

solsurfr said:


> I've had my new bimmer now for almost a week in the USA and the one thing I've always had on my cars were blind spot / convex mirrors. Does anyone have any experience with them on their bmw's? Since our cars have heated mirrors, is it a bad idea to add them? I'm guessing not? Any recommendations on which convex mirrors to get?
> 
> Thanks.


BMW makes a replacement mirror that is convex. Do a search here for "split mirror" There's a DIY somewhere for it. I have one for my coupe. It really does provides a FULL side view.

While it's not "necessary" if you adjust your mirrors properly, for me it removes all doubt. And that's a good thing (Hi Martha!)


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## OBS3SSION (Oct 1, 2002)

Don't waste your money on replacement mirrors. You can adjust them and eliminate the blind spot if you do it correctly.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53107


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## man02195 (Dec 1, 2003)

Yep, crank them out, it's a weird feeling at first, but you'll get used to it.


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## bavarian19 (May 11, 2003)

Is it that hard to look over your shoulder :dunno: 


That usually does the trick for me. ... and it usually only takes a second :thumbup:


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## solsurfr (Oct 19, 2003)

ajt819 said:


> Is it that hard to look over your shoulder :dunno:
> 
> That usually does the trick for me. ... and it usually only takes a second :thumbup:


It isn't hard but why do it when you don't have to? Plus, after playing football in college, I've had nothing but back and neck problems. It is almost a must for me.


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## tashi (Oct 11, 2003)

ajt819 said:


> Is it that hard to look over your shoulder :dunno:
> 
> That usually does the trick for me. ... and it usually only takes a second :thumbup:


In bumper to bumper traffic it only takes 1 second to look over your shoulder and crash into the car ahead and sit in the lap of the woman in the back seat...


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## Elwood (Dec 20, 2002)

tashi said:


> In bumper to bumper traffic it only takes 1 second to look over your shoulder and crash into the car ahead and sit in the lap of the woman in the back seat...


Consider the convex mirror similar to Chikadee hunting with shotgun as opposed to a 22 handgun. Same result just a matter of preference.

I've always had my mirrors set right and firmly belive in looking over your shoulder. Even then there is still a small margin of error. Considering this is my 1st 40k car, I'll take the shotgun.


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## drmwvr (Feb 21, 2003)

solsurfr said:


> I've had my new bimmer now for almost a week in the USA and the one thing I've always had on my cars were blind spot / convex mirrors. Does anyone have any experience with them on their bmw's? Since our cars have heated mirrors, is it a bad idea to add them? I'm guessing not? Any recommendations on which convex mirrors to get?
> 
> Thanks.


I added the BMW "split mirror" to my driver's side mirror and have really liked it. It was very easy to install and I was able to order it from my local BMW dealership. I also agree with setting your mirrors up like detailed above but enjoy the extra field of vision.


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## alee (Dec 19, 2001)

drmwvr said:


> I added the BMW "split mirror" to my driver's side mirror and have really liked it. It was very easy to install and I was able to order it from my local BMW dealership. I also agree with setting your mirrors up like detailed above but enjoy the extra field of vision.


Definitely a great investment, and completely eliminates the blind spot. :thumbup: No replacement for looking over your shoulder, but great for a quick perimeter check.


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## RoyE46 (Jan 31, 2004)

Here's a very nice DIY for the split mirror:

*edit: * duh... just noticed that the very nice DIY is by the previous poster -- thanks, Alee, I'm usin' it myself, ordering the part tomorrow!

http://bimmer.roadfly.org/bmw/forums/e46/136385-1.html


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## drmwvr (Feb 21, 2003)

drmwvr said:


> I added the BMW "split mirror" to my driver's side mirror and have really liked it. It was very easy to install and I was able to order it from my local BMW dealership. I also agree with setting your mirrors up like detailed above but enjoy the extra field of vision.


I just checked my car records, the mirror cost me $113.87 using my BMWCCA discount at my local dealer. You can probably get it cheaper but I like to support my dealer (call me crazy)


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## Elwood (Dec 20, 2002)

drmwvr said:


> I just checked my car records, the mirror cost me $113.87 using my BMWCCA discount at my local dealer. You can probably get it cheaper but I like to support my dealer (call me crazy)


$114 ! wow I don't remember what exactly I payed but even with the cca discount it was somewhere closer to $50


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## drmwvr (Feb 21, 2003)

Elwood said:


> $114 ! wow I don't remember what exactly I payed but even with the cca discount it was somewhere closer to $50


 Maybe the price went up :dunno:


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## SergioK (Aug 14, 2002)

solsurfr said:


> I've had my new bimmer now for almost a week in the USA and the one thing I've always had on my cars were blind spot / convex mirrors. Does anyone have any experience with them on their bmw's? Since our cars have heated mirrors, is it a bad idea to add them? I'm guessing not? Any recommendations on which convex mirrors to get?
> 
> Thanks.


How about properly adjusting your side mirrors?










Or


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## Terry Kennedy (Sep 21, 2002)

sergiok said:


> How about properly adjusting your side mirrors?


I have my side mirrors adjusted so I can _just_ see the tips of my door handles if I lean a little to the left or right, which is pretty close to your "correct" position. Yet I still have to deal with idiots who like to sit in the lane to my left in my blind spot. Rather than bobbing and weaving to see if they're still there (which takes my attention away from the idiots in front of me), I got the split mirror for the driver's side. Here is a picture which shows how wonderful it is in expanding the field of view. Note how "squished" the bricks on the left side appear, and how many of them there are. In this shot, if you count the bricks, there are about 12 visible to the left of the "split" - the same number as are visible in the main field of the mirror. This picture was taken to illustrate the split mirror and wasn't taken from the driver's seat of the car, which is why it looks like the mirror is mis-adjusted and showing too much of the side of the car.


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## gfeiner (Jun 27, 2003)

drmwvr said:


> Maybe the price went up :dunno:


BMW of Houston North can get it for about $60 with BMW CCA discount. I just went down there. They say they have one in stock, but it is mislabeled. It's actually a ....439 part number which is a passenger side convex mirror. I had to put in a special order for it. It's actually labeled as a right side mirror in the ETK parts catalog, but the right and left mirrors are the same size and shape on a sedan, so it can just be rotated 180 degress.


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## drmwvr (Feb 21, 2003)

gfeiner said:


> BMW of Houston North can get it for about $60 with BMW CCA discount. I just went down there. They say they have one in stock, but it is mislabeled. It's actually a ....439 part number which is a passenger side convex mirror. I had to put in a special order for it. It's actually labeled as a right side mirror in the ETK parts catalog, but the right and left mirrors are the same size and shape on a sedan, so it can just be rotated 180 degress.


So in other words.....I got hosed 

Oh well. FWIW, mine had the following part number: 51-16-8-250-438


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## gfeiner (Jun 27, 2003)

drmwvr said:


> So in other words.....I got hosed
> 
> Oh well. FWIW, mine had the following part number: 51-16-8-250-438


When did you buy yours and from what dealership? If it was a long time ago, I guess the price has dropped since then.


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## rwg (May 10, 2002)

I sat in Doeboy's car with the mirrors and didn't see what the big deal was. Then he went and stood behind the car that was parked next to him and I realized they add a significant field of view to the side without distorting things a whole lot. The proper positioning works just as well though. It just takes awhile to get used to it.


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## Kaz (Dec 21, 2001)

In many other cars I was perfectly happy with the standard mirrors, just set way out. But one of the first things I noticed (when I was driving home from picking it up) was that the driver's mirror with the standard flat glass was WAY too small for me to be comfortable with it. Didn't take me that long to get one for that side. I have no problems with the RH one, so it's stock.

Anyone remember when MB used to put completely different mirrors on the two sides to account for the fact they're used differently? So much for engineering these days.


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## brkf (May 26, 2003)

ajt819 said:


> Is it that hard to look over your shoulder :dunno:
> 
> That usually does the trick for me. ... and it usually only takes a second :thumbup:


I look over my left shoulder in my BMW and all I see is that fat b pillar. The rear view mirror is useless too as the back window's so small. Additionally, I've set up my mirrors as that one link mentions (it's how I've always done my mirrors) and the BMW has by far the worst vision of any car I've ever owned.

I'm not alone in this. Several friends and family members with 3 series cars complain of poor visibility.


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## doeboy (Sep 20, 2002)

Kaz said:


> In many other cars I was perfectly happy with the standard mirrors, just set way out. But one of the first things I noticed (when I was driving home from picking it up) was that the driver's mirror with the standard flat glass was WAY too small for me to be comfortable with it. Didn't take me that long to get one for that side. I have no problems with the RH one, so it's stock.
> 
> Anyone remember when MB used to put completely different mirrors on the two sides to account for the fact they're used differently? So much for engineering these days.


What car manufacturer is it that still does that? I think it's Audi? I was riding in a coworker's A8 and noticed the passenger mirror is tiny compared to the driver side... :dunno:


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## gfeiner (Jun 27, 2003)

Just did this mod. Cost of the mirror from my local dealer (BMW of North Houston) was $57.80 plus tax with BMW CCA Discount. Just a note: I found it easier to tilt the mirror all the way up and to the right/inward rather than tilting the mirror down and too the right as the DIY suggested. This way gave me more access to one of the clips. The TIS actually says to tilt the mirror up and use a wooden wedge to pop the mirror out at the bottom. Don't do it that way. I tried it and the mirror wouldn't budge. It felt like the mirror was going to break. Also, for the sedan, there are two versions of the split mirror. One is heated, the other is not.

Heated split mirror for sedan: 51-16-8-250-438
Unheated split mirror for sedan: 51-16-8-250-441


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## Kaz (Dec 21, 2001)

gfeiner said:


> Also, for the sedan, there are two versions of the split mirror. One is heated, the other is not.
> 
> Heated split mirror for sedan: 51-16-8-250-438
> Unheated split mirror for sedan: 51-16-8-250-441


Considering all US E46s have heated mirrors, you really should only be using the heated one. There are actually even more versions, but I won't go into that here.


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## Frank Rizzo (Aug 2, 2003)

I got 'em for both sides, about $53 each. They kick arse. If you need to make a split-second lane change - - you can see almost two lanes over!!

BTW: I thought the two little wires were because the side mirrors were electrochromatic also.......


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## Terry Kennedy (Sep 21, 2002)

Frank Rizzo said:


> I thought the two little wires were because the side mirrors were electrochromatic also.......


No, though the E39 apparently has those. I think Kaz is collecting info to retrofit those onto an E46.


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## AndDown (Jun 17, 2003)

Is a similar split mirror available for the X5's? I would post on that board but this board is much more active! The X5 driver's side "B" post is much larger than in the 3'er and with my seat positioned best for me, the post hides my side vision even when turning my head.

This is the first I've heard about a split mirror available for BMW.


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## doeboy (Sep 20, 2002)

AndDown said:


> Is a similar split mirror available for the X5's?
> 
> This is the first I've heard about a split mirror available for BMW.


Yes.

51 16 7 039 597 (Mirror Glass, Heated, Wide Angle, Left)
51 16 7 039 598 (Same as above, Right)


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