PART 12 - Dual Convex Side Mirrors
WARNING: I would never want anyone to damage their vehicle, or God forbid get hurt, therefore everything anyone sees me post should NOT be considered safe, approved by Tesla or the NHTSA. All the mods are done at the owner's risk, and some may even void the warranty. Check with Tesla or an authority if you have doubts, and before attempting any modifications. All my posts are for instructional purposes only.
Before we begin, just a quick update: Following ELECTRA’s rough encounter with a sidewall (
see Intermission here), the bumper is looking like new again. All thanks to the 3M PPF layer that ended up sacrificing itself while protecting the paint. The old & damaged PPF film was removed, the surface cleaned, and new PPF was applied across the entire front bumper, with no need to repaint. Now the car is back on the modding table
OK, back to the mirrors: So I stumbled upon a post by Suma Performance for a set of dual Convex Side Mirrors on this forum, and was intrigued. From factory and on all US cars the OEM driver-side mirror is flat (planar), because of
NHTSA regulations, while the passenger-side OEM mirror is slightly convex, and has the notice "Objects in Mirror are Closer Than They Appear" etched on it. That etched text is meant for newer drivers. The planar driver-side OEM mirror has a narrower field of view, and thus creates blind spots. For me as an experienced driver, having a wider field of view without having to move my head, is more important than worrying about my brain not quickly adjusting to judge distances. Note that the Suma driver-side mirror is also convex, and while the Suma convex passenger-side mirror does NOT have the etched distance warning, it is slightly more curved for an even wider field of view.
Again, the main disadvantage of convex mirrors in general is that they show a slightly distorted picture of what is behind you, so distances to objects are not seen as they are in reality. Convex mirrors show objects and cars approximately twice as far away as they actually are, so you think you have a lot of room to maneuver, when in reality the objects are almost twice as close to you. This can be stressful when you are merging into heavy traffic, however your brain will quickly get used to calculating the proper distance in any mirror correctly. Be advised that some people have posted that they got a headache after 1st installing them, but that went away a few days later as they got used to the wider angle of view.
I was initially thinking to install a larger rear-view mirror, but that would take up too much space, and interfere with my other mods for the Radar Detector & Dashcam, therefore upgrading the side mirrors was a much better option. The Suma Performance mirrors pair is expensive at ~$177 shipped for the “base” model, but worth it in my opinion. The “base” Suma model includes the defrosting feature, just like the OEM mirror, and they even have a more expensive ~$200 version which includes an embedded Turn-Signal indicator. That version requires one to access and splice the directional wire harness on each side of the car where the camera module is located. I decided against it, mostly because I thought the indicator will be distracting when blinking, creating glare and reducing my visibility at night.
The only feature missing from these mirrors as compared with OEM is auto-dimming. However for me that is actually a good thing since I have 70% 3M Tint installed, and at night the OEM mirrors dimming caused me to loose visibility almost completely, rendering the OEM side mirrors useless. Also, as you’ll note from the pictures, there is a blue tint to the new mirrors that makes them look like BMW or Audi mirrors. Suma claims the mirror is clear but the glass in the manufacturing process is designed to absorb other wavelengths, and the blue tint is a perceived result. The blue tint is not as pronounced as the pictures show, and is meant to compensate for the lack of auto-dimming. While I would have preferred an OEM “silver/gray” color look, you get used to the blue quickly and it grows on you. Supposedly the mirrors are also hydrophobic, meaning that water beads and runs off them easier.
Installation is very quick & simple, and since mid-August 2019 Suma has included a set of cable extensions in order to make the connection easy.
To remove the originals, all you do is angle the mirrors down as much as possible, place your fingers behind the top of the mirror glass and pull hard towards to back of the car. It takes quite a bit of force and the OEM glass will not come out easy, but once you do the 1st one the other is easier. Install the Sump in reverse fashion, after connecting the cables for the defroster.
The cable extensions for the defroster are easy to connect, and if you want to keep them from being loose, just use a hot glue gun to secure them to the back of the mirror, since there are no wire channels like on the OEM. Overall the install is very easy, takes only a few minutes, but takes guts to pry off the OEM mirrors hard
Remember that you can always put the OEM mirrors back if you are unhappy with the Suma Performance ones, and return them, but do act within their return window if you want a refund.
Here is what the Before & After view is with these mirrors from the driver’s seat in my car:
If you want to buy a pair for your car here is the info:
Cost:
$169.95 (w/ defroster & cables) + shipping (as of October 2019)
or
$199.95 (w/ defroster, cables & Turn Signal) + shipping (as of October 2019)
Suma Performance: Vendor - Blind Spot/ Convex Mirrors
Let me know your thoughts, ask questions and come back for more "ELECTRA" mods and upgrades...
