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Mirrors Interior and Exterior

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vfx

Well-Known Member
Aug 18, 2006
14,790
52
CA CA
From this thread where mirrors came up.

ChadS
I had the same thought, and contacted Sector111. But they said that their Elise hardtops definitely do not fit the Tesla. (They do have wheels that fit, and a replacement rear view mirror).

vfx
I want a smaller rear view mirror. In right hand uphill turns the stock mirror blocks far too much vista. Very disconcerting.

ChadS
Here's a link to the smaller mirror:
microMIRRORâ„¢ Rear View Mirror for the Lotus Elise and Exige - Sector111
vfx
Thanks Chad, I was looking at a small racing rectangle mirror but I notice this one has a nice testimonial from Martin Eberhard.
Quote:
Testimonial:

The short answer is that the Sector 111 MicroMirror is a total success - greatly improved forward visibility, no significant degradation of rear visibility. I thought I would miss the day/night feature, but I don't at all. I recommend this as an upgrade to every single Tesla (and every single Elise for that matter).
-Martin Eberhard, Founder and former CEO of Tesla Motors
 
Side mirrors in Carbon Fiber Sector 111 offers these:

Craftsquare
craftsquare_mirrorMED.jpg




Raceview
raceview_medium.jpg



Fixed links -per TEG
 
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Multivex

Here is a Lotus mirror with a multiivex mirror attached to it.
11904d1116726532-multivex-mirror-review-elise2005_0521ac.jpg




This review is rather positive and the whole 2005 thread is pretty good coverage of the stick on product.
11905d1116726553-multivex-mirror-review-elise2005_0521ad.jpg

11903d1116726519-multivex-mirror-review-elise2005_0521ab.jpg


But Martin Eberhard thought the way they stuck out was rather cheesy.

11912d1116729398-multivex-mirror-review-mirrors2005_0521ab.jpg

This short tells the story well.
 
If you are interested in a Multivex then the thread on the Lotus page is worth persuing

11936d1116794550-multivex-mirror-review-rightmirror.jpg

11937d1116794743-multivex-mirror-review-rightmirrornew.jpg


These befoe and after shots make it look like the multivex has inferior optics but since the tape is sharp the auto focus in the camera focused on the wrong plane.
 
I'm glad you found those pics. I was tempted to try them despite Martin's thoughts. After seeing the pics though, I'm less inclined to do so. I'd unfortunately have to agree with Martin :(
It's too bad because I'd love a non/minimal distortion wider angle mirror. If anyone comes across something that looks better, please post.
 
When I was in Europe I went to a Lotus dealer and bought a euro-spec, driver side, rear view mirror replacement for an Elise 2. It's the exact same plastic mount as the US-spec flat mirror on the Roadster and it snaps right in after you unsnap the original. The mirror is convex and has excellent optics. Once installed it looks exactly like the passenger side mirror except that it does not have the silly "objects in the mirror..." label on it. (Hmm, makes me want to order a passenger side one now and get rid of that silly label!)

The service people at the Menlo Park Tesla store installed it in about 15mn (guess I could have done it myself but I was afraid to scratch the paint of the housing.)

Grand total of about 40euro (if you discount the plane ticket to Europe :) ).

I guess it should be possible to call Lotus stores in the UK and have them ship you a mirror.

I'll post a pic when I'm home.
 
If you follow the Mulivex thread at the Lotus Forum
Multivex Mirror review - LotusTalk - The Lotus Cars Community
there are those who love and swear by it and a few that won't even try it. Did not see any trying and removing even though it's a non destructive mod. One said seeing the edge of the glass became no big deal after a while and some others painted or put plastic around the mirror. Some decent solutions actually. (with pictures)

I have only been through the first three pages where there was talk about the UK mirrors but no one had bought them yet (by page 3). There are dozens of aftermarket sellers for Lotus many in the UK. Check this page:
http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f172/shops-sell-lotus-parts-online-otherwise-36414/
I want to try this first. Am am interested in CF same-shape mirrors.
 
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I installed the microMirror last night, haven't gotten a chance to drive with it yet.

The surprising thing was that the Roadster's mirror (at least in #383) uninstalled completely differently than the instructions for the Lotus - it simply slipped towards the rear. It has no locking clips, or anything - it's just one big plastic piece that slides into the plinth. Took me a second to just try moving the mirror and figure that one out. I have pictures, but can't get at them right now (the home server didn't pick up on the new images).

I still need to get better LockTite for the bolt (I had blue, they recommend red - the blue doesn't quite hold if trying to adjust counter clock wise).

I'm pretty sure I'm going to be really happy with it. It sure looks better in the car.
 
I read the *whole* thread. Long. The approach that looked best to me was the couple of folks that disassembled the factory mirror, made a plastic backing plate for it, and basically replaced the stock mirror glass with it. Even then though, the glass cut wasn't perfect and there were some gaps. Looked like it still may have stuck out a bit at the middle top too. Still, looked pretty good, and a lot better than the stick-on pics. The second best looking installs were by the guys that wet sanded the mirror edges, then trimmed them with either paint (best choice I'd think) or electrical tape (sounds hokey, but looked good actually, just would worry about lifespan).

The thread was very positive overall, and I admit I'm almost convinced to try it :)
 
Hey vfx. I saw your post over on LT and thought I'd drop by here to add my $0.02 to your thread.

Anyone knows if this carbon fiber side mirrors are street legal?
I dont think so, although I dont know why ...
Yes, the carbon fiber mirrors are indeed street legal.

When I was in Europe I went to a Lotus dealer and bought a euro-spec, driver side, rear view mirror replacement for an Elise 2. It's the exact same plastic mount as the US-spec flat mirror on the Roadster and it snaps right in after you unsnap the original. The mirror is convex and has excellent optics....

Grand total of about 40euro...
This ^ is an excellent option and obviously appears the most OEM.

I installed the microMirror last night, haven't gotten a chance to drive with it yet.

The surprising thing was that the Roadster's mirror (at least in #383) uninstalled completely differently than the instructions for the Lotus - it simply slipped towards the rear. It has no locking clips, or anything - it's just one big plastic piece that slides into the plinth. Took me a second to just try moving the mirror and figure that one out. I have pictures, but can't get at them right now (the home server didn't pick up on the new images).

I still need to get better LockTite for the bolt (I had blue, they recommend red - the blue doesn't quite hold if trying to adjust counter clock wise).

I'm pretty sure I'm going to be really happy with it. It sure looks better in the car.
The Lotus rear view mirror plinth changed in '07 from the "hard to remove, easy to crack your windshield, requires complex instructions and finesse" plinth to a "slide it backwards and slightly up to remove" rear view mirror plinth just like the ones in the Tesla. It seems as though your were reading the '05-'06 Lotus instructions.

If you use red locktite on the bolt, first be sure you never want to remove that mirror as you will either need to apply too much torque (and possibly crack your windscreen) or too much heat (and melt things) to get it loose.

One thing to keep in mind as you first start looking backwards with the Micromirror is that you can typically only see with one eye through that mirror due to the narrow width (unless of course you are very beady eyed :tongue:). It can be difficult and even a little unnerving at first but with time becomes much less of a problem for most (not all, so stick with the blue locktite for a little bit :wink:).

David's installation ^ is by far the most aesthetically pleasing and slickest installation of the Multivex mirrors and the one that I recommend if one is going to use them. I would, however, recommend using a temporary solution (i.e., the supplied double stick tape) for a week or so to see if you want them long term prior to smashing your glass, etc.

The Multivex do take some getting used to initially as the optics aren't great and the curvature distorts the picture a bit. Most users are either used to them in about 1 week or decide to go a different route and remove them. You will also have to get used to the change in depth of field. Remember that dumb little "objects are closer than they appear" on your passenger side mirror? That now applies to a greater degree and on both sides.

Cheers,
RoadDad
 
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Another mirror worth mentioning;

Zoom CF Mirror

fits the
'05-'06 Elise
'06 Exige

don't know if it will fit a Tesla but it does have carbon fiber finish that would match the rollbar nicely.

Sorry I missed this one the first time around.

The Zoom CF Mirror will unfortunately not fit the mirror plinth in the Tesla (same as the '07 Lotus) as it is not the same as the '05-'06 Lotus plinth.