Like many, I have been struggling to find a decent way to mount my radar detector in my Model S and, like many I had used a BlendMount solution on all of my previous vehicles. I did speak with the technical support team at BlendMount to see what the issue was and inquire as to why they didn't offer one and they sent me the following response. (Note: My Model S is a 2016.5 P90DL with AP1 MCU2)
"We do not have a mount that will work on the model S to the best of our knowledge. The reason is that the stem is square and tapered (gets smaller as it goes towards the mirror) causing the mount to end up against the back of the mirror making the mirror not adjustable. We have heard that the new Model S Plaid has the same mirror as the 3 and have a couple of people testing that at the moment."
Fair enough. But then I saw a post on Instagram or Facebook where a Model S owner was using the BlendMount for the Model X and making it work. If you go to the BlendMount website and plug in your vehicle make, model and year, you will see that the Model X is the only selectable option for vehicles 2016 and earlier and Model X and 3 are the only options for 2017 to 2020. The post I saw said it wasn't a perfect fit but it works. At this point I was willing to settle for something less than perfect to get away from the suction cup or that Redenso XP visor clip mod where you clip it to the headliner.
So, I was going to order the BlendMount for the Model X for my Uniden R7 but when I tried to do so it wasn't available for my radar detector. So, I emailed the guys at BlendMount and told them what I was trying to do and they responded as follows:
"I can make one for you. I will add a couple to our sales platform so you can purchase one. If by chance it does not work out you can of course return it for a refund. If it does work out We would love some pictures of your install."
A few minutes later I received an email saying it was 3 available for purchase and I ordered one of them. The model # for the one for my Uniden R7 was BR7-2035 if that's what you have. If you use a different radar detector just go to their website and will in the info for your radar detector and they'll show you which model BlendMount to use.
When I went to install it they were obviously correct about the taper in the mirror arm being problematic. However, while it was in fact tapered, it was not square, it was still round, at least mine was. But, even with the taper it was still manageable.
What I did was trim the rubber padding material that was supplied all the way down to just fit on the narrow but consistent portion of the machined ID of the clamp allowing the tapered opening of the clap to essentially be wider to mimic the tapered OD of the mirror arm. (ref: Photos below)
Then when I slipped it over the arm and started tightening it, it slowly started to slide down the mirror arm toward the ball or mirror pivot point. I kept tightening gently and as it neared the bottom of the arm and ball/pivot point it stopped sliding (the rubber padding kicked in) and it allowed me to tighten firmly in place. I then slid the radar detector into place on the mount and made the adjustments to make it level and pointing in the appropriate direction, etc.
Since I was doing all of this from the passenger's side, once the detector was secured in place I went over to the driver's seat, to see how it impacted the range of motion of the rearview mirror. It did, but only @ 10% of the range but not outside of where it needs to be for me or my wife. I am 6'4" and my wife is 5'6" and we can both still adjust the mirror to suit us. Besides, she never drives my car anyway.
So, I am not sure what the mirror stem looks like on the 2017+ Model S (is it square?) but I was able to make this work on my Model S and I am much happier with this mounting application. The guys at BlendMount said they were glad I was able to make it work for me but they had gone through multiple designs and none worked flawlessly or consistently. I agree, it takes some playing with and understand why they can't offer it but I was glad I was able to make the one for the Model X work in my Model S.
Here are some photos from the install:
(BTW, if you are looking for info on how to make the wire tap for 12v switched power, be sure to read this whole thread here.)
"We do not have a mount that will work on the model S to the best of our knowledge. The reason is that the stem is square and tapered (gets smaller as it goes towards the mirror) causing the mount to end up against the back of the mirror making the mirror not adjustable. We have heard that the new Model S Plaid has the same mirror as the 3 and have a couple of people testing that at the moment."
Fair enough. But then I saw a post on Instagram or Facebook where a Model S owner was using the BlendMount for the Model X and making it work. If you go to the BlendMount website and plug in your vehicle make, model and year, you will see that the Model X is the only selectable option for vehicles 2016 and earlier and Model X and 3 are the only options for 2017 to 2020. The post I saw said it wasn't a perfect fit but it works. At this point I was willing to settle for something less than perfect to get away from the suction cup or that Redenso XP visor clip mod where you clip it to the headliner.
So, I was going to order the BlendMount for the Model X for my Uniden R7 but when I tried to do so it wasn't available for my radar detector. So, I emailed the guys at BlendMount and told them what I was trying to do and they responded as follows:
"I can make one for you. I will add a couple to our sales platform so you can purchase one. If by chance it does not work out you can of course return it for a refund. If it does work out We would love some pictures of your install."
A few minutes later I received an email saying it was 3 available for purchase and I ordered one of them. The model # for the one for my Uniden R7 was BR7-2035 if that's what you have. If you use a different radar detector just go to their website and will in the info for your radar detector and they'll show you which model BlendMount to use.
When I went to install it they were obviously correct about the taper in the mirror arm being problematic. However, while it was in fact tapered, it was not square, it was still round, at least mine was. But, even with the taper it was still manageable.
What I did was trim the rubber padding material that was supplied all the way down to just fit on the narrow but consistent portion of the machined ID of the clamp allowing the tapered opening of the clap to essentially be wider to mimic the tapered OD of the mirror arm. (ref: Photos below)
Then when I slipped it over the arm and started tightening it, it slowly started to slide down the mirror arm toward the ball or mirror pivot point. I kept tightening gently and as it neared the bottom of the arm and ball/pivot point it stopped sliding (the rubber padding kicked in) and it allowed me to tighten firmly in place. I then slid the radar detector into place on the mount and made the adjustments to make it level and pointing in the appropriate direction, etc.
Since I was doing all of this from the passenger's side, once the detector was secured in place I went over to the driver's seat, to see how it impacted the range of motion of the rearview mirror. It did, but only @ 10% of the range but not outside of where it needs to be for me or my wife. I am 6'4" and my wife is 5'6" and we can both still adjust the mirror to suit us. Besides, she never drives my car anyway.
So, I am not sure what the mirror stem looks like on the 2017+ Model S (is it square?) but I was able to make this work on my Model S and I am much happier with this mounting application. The guys at BlendMount said they were glad I was able to make it work for me but they had gone through multiple designs and none worked flawlessly or consistently. I agree, it takes some playing with and understand why they can't offer it but I was glad I was able to make the one for the Model X work in my Model S.
Here are some photos from the install:
(BTW, if you are looking for info on how to make the wire tap for 12v switched power, be sure to read this whole thread here.)
