Do blind spot mirrors work?

[razorcobra]

My dad's new car has them. I was thinking of getting some aftermarket ones. Do they work?

[Vivek]

Yeah, but so does turning your head and looking. Even with my minuscule mirrors I have almost no blind spots, and I just check every time when changing lanes. Only ones I'd put on an e30 are the mirrors that curve out in the last ~1" to show your blind spot.

[Holland]

Wide angle mirrors were an E30 option. You can still get them through guys like blunt. I think spot mirrors work well on larger vehicles, but turning my head in the E30 does fine.

[ravenlord89]

In my Fiesta I love them. Of course in the Fiesta you are essentially driving a blind spot. In the E30 I think they are unnecessary. You can see everything and anything out of the E30's massive amount of glass.

[thealbert]

They work well on newer cars that have massive pillars that block your view whenever you turn your head, but on the E30, I wouldn't think it's necessary. But then again, having them on your car with the added safety never hurt any one.

[Exodus_2pt0]

I had them on my 88 and loved them. However they came already on the car and I enjoyed them too much to remove. I don't think I'd buy a set, but I certainly wouldn't complain if I stumbled onto a free pair.

[bmwstudent]

Great on my service truck, the utility body is wider than the truck and the rear window is full of air compressor and welder. Unnecessary on a car.

[jlevie]

If the side mirrors are correctly adjusted there will be no blind spots. In an E30, or most any other car, the mirrors are adjusted correctly when:

For the left mirror, put your head against the widow and adjust the mirror until the edge of the left side of the car is just in the field of view.

For the right side put you head over the tunnel and adjust the mirror to just glimpse the right side of the car.

The side mirrors are not meant to be used to see behind the car, that is what the rear view mirror is for. The side mirrors are to be used only to see what is in the blind spot on either side of the car.

[dnguyen1963]

^ This. It is amazing how many people do not know the placement of the side mirrors. It will take a bit of time to get used to the new placement. You'll be happy to have no more blind spots after the adjustment.

[MC Hammered]

Yeah, but so does turning your head and looking. Even with my minuscule mirrors I have almost no blind spots, and I just check every time when changing lanes. Only ones I'd put on an e30 are the mirrors that curve out in the last ~1" to show your blind spot.

I had these Euro blind spot mirrors on my Audi and loved them, so much better than the crap DOT wide angle mirror.

If the car image is on inside of the black line its behind you, if it is in the outside of the black line the car is in your blind spot. Made it so easy to change lanes at speed with just a glance at the mirrors without the need to shoulder check.

[dnguyen1963]

Here is the detailed instruction...

http://www.cartalk.com/content/avoiding-blind-spot-1