Forward Visibility

[Tex EV]

Had a close call at this intersection today. This Prius had been sitting still for several seconds despite the light being green. Knowing it's a short light, I was ready to get into the right lane and fly across the intersection to get through it. Luckily, I leaned over to look to the right of the Prius before doing so... and discovered a red traffic light hiding behind the windshield frame, just as cross traffic flew by. These two lights are normally in sync, but an emergency vehicle had just come through the intersection, throwing them off. I'd guess that situations like this aren't uncommon in the Roadster due to the unusual shape of the windshield... are there any tricks or solutions to mitigating them? I've made it a habit to slouch down at intersections to see the lights, but in this case I assumed I was looking at the right one. :/

 

[hcsharp]

I've never had a forward vis problem but the blind spots to the rear sides are tricky. I nearly hit somebody while changing lanes 3 days ago. I have my mirrors set to see in the blind spots but somehow never saw the car coming up next to me.

 

[wiztecy]

I pulled my sun-visors off and installed the micro rear view mirror to give me more visibility. I keep a baseball cap in the car in case the sun is in my eyes. I still move my head back and forth as a double check in case the window frame still blocks out something important while at a redlight. I also run the cleartop in the winter when I don't have the top off, that offers way more visibility than the solid hardtop. And for the sides, with the regular mirrors things can sneak up and beside you it seems even if you have your mirrors properly set. I highly recommend the convex mirrors, where that bending out really gives you a better picture of what's going on along the side / beside the car.

Also, @Tex EV what's with that big honking sticker in your driver's side window?

 

[Tex EV]

Also, @Tex EV what's with that big honking sticker in your driver's side window?

Texas registration sticker. Goes on the windshield instead of the license plate like CA does it. It actually used to be worse... until recently, there was a separate inspection sticker that was required to be displayed next to it.

 

[wiztecy]

Texas registration sticker. Goes on the windshield instead of the license plate like CA does it. It actually used to be worse... until recently, there was a separate inspection sticker that was required to be displayed next to it.

So silly. I grew up in PA where we had annual inspections. A State safety inspection and state emissions, both where stickers were plopped in the same exact place as yours. However it was ILLEGAL for you to place any stickers on any of your windows including the front. They wouldn't pass you for your safety inspection saying it blocked a driver's visibility. Hippocrates in politics as usual and they stick theirs right in plain sight of the driver. Odd thing is that California does not have any safety inspections at all. And our emissions are done every 2 years. You'd think they'd jump on that for revenue. No stickers anywhere which is nice. Only for carpool access with the EV and that's placed on the rear bumper.

The biggest scam PA runs is that they require state safety and state emissions testing and stickers on brand new factory made cars. How the heck can a car manufacturer even sell a new car if it doesn't meet that mandate before it rolls off the factory floor? Money hungry system.

 

[supersnoop]

Texas registration sticker. Goes on the windshield instead of the license plate like CA does it. It actually used to be worse... until recently, there was a separate inspection sticker that was required to be displayed next to it.

I put my sticker much lower so it isn't blocking any view. What's under your sticker? You should be able to place it so it only blocks your view of the fender.

As for seeing the lights, there is some sort of device that you can put on your windshield to help with that. I believe it's some sort of convex reflector, but, for the life of me, I can't remember what it's called.

Found it!: Fresnel lens to see traffic lights

 

[RobsJester]

@wiztecy is right, both sunshades slide right off in a second, providing another inch of visibility, I'd start there.
You can check lotus groups for the micro-rearview mirror and side-mirrors.

 

[Tex EV]

What's under your sticker?

Some legalese that came with the car. Doesn't really bother me, and figure it adds character to it .

Found it!: Fresnel lens to see traffic lights

Thanks! I'll definitely be giving this a try.

 

[Roadrunner13]

@wiztecy is right, both sunshades slide right off in a second, providing another inch of visibility, I'd start there.
You can check lotus groups for the micro-rearview mirror and side-mirrors.

Like Wiztecy, I took out the sun visors and got the micro-mirror below:
microMIRROR™ Rear View Mirror for the Lotus Elise and Exige - Sector111

It sounds silly, but the big rear-view mirror is needlessly too wide as most of it is filled with a headrest 'view'.
The micro-mirror just shows you what's in between the headrests so you don't loose rear visibility but you gain front one.
Only drawback, it doesn't flip for night driving attenuation.

I also got 'stick-on' exterior convex mirrors made for the Elise that fitted perfectly the roadster, but I believe they don't exist anymore as 'stick-on'.
Now, you can only buy full convex exterior mirrors on Sector11 site.

 

[wiztecy]

Like Wiztecy, I took out the sun visors and got the micro-mirror below:
microMIRROR™ Rear View Mirror for the Lotus Elise and Exige - Sector111

It sounds silly, but the big rear-view mirror is needlessly too wide as most of it is filled with a headrest 'view'.
The micro-mirror just shows you what's in between the headrests so you don't loose rear visibility but you gain front one.
Only drawback, it doesn't flip for night driving attenuation.

I also got 'stick-on' exterior convex mirrors made for the Elise that fitted perfectly the roadster, but I believe they don't exist anymore as 'stick-on'.
Now, you can only buy full convex exterior mirrors on Sector11 site.

Exactly, the stock mirror looks like it should be on a 1968 Cadilac after putting on the MicroMirror. And I also can say the MicroMirror doesn't diminish the rear visibility since you only see headrests in the stock one where the micro begins cutting off the view.

I agree about the issue of night driving with the micro, I have to tilt it down by hand. No flip lever to filter headlights coming from the tail.... however I found a solution for that, same solution that my BOA micro side mirrors use. A blue tint that filters and cuts out that harsh reflection the standard mirror glass projects. Best way to do it is to remove the old glass in the MicroMirror then have a new blue glass cut, glued and inserted in its place. I bought the blue glass off Amazon, just need to make a template and have it cut with a water jet at some place. The glass came from a replacement side mirror, you can find different thickness, and it ran about $15. I could just piggy back or stick the glass onto the one that's there, but I don't like that look. Not clean. I looked at a tint film, but that causes distortion of your image and not the right way to do it. The blue tint on the blue glass is after the mirror but before the glass. Here's a link to the ones I bought. I bought two, a driver's side and passenger's side. Both have different magnifications and wanted to use the one that worked the best:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U1Q5PEO/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01110V768/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

As for the Convex side mirrors, there's a company called ReallyLightStuff who makes them for the Elise that Roadster owners use. They can be stuck on the original mirror. Again I'm not a big fan of that. What I'd suggest is to buy a new black mirror frame/insert from Lotus. Then stick that RRS mirror on that and replace the stock one with the upgraded one. That way you can always go back to the old one if you ever wanted to and it also looks very clean such as for the look.

ExtendView Mirrors (TM)

 

[wiztecy]

...just updating my comment above, I went with the driver's side magnification vs the passenger side. It was cheaper too at $10. The driver's side shows your view much like the magnification of the standard rear view. Passenger side puts objects further away and I sent that one back. Again, here's the one I ended up choosing which was the driver's:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01110V768/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Doug_G]

I've removed the visor, and have a micromirror. Both things help a lot.

I put a light tint on the mirror, and that solves the nighttime glare problem without affecting daytime visibility (use light tint because the light passes through it twice).

Even so it is sometimes difficult to see traffic lights behind the roof line. Just be aware of it - hold back a few feet so you can see better, or slouch if you have to!