[Rapidfire7]

I have a 2007 BMW 325i E92. I have had this car for a few years and absolutely love it.

My one gripe is that when I try to do head check over my shoulder, my view of the blind spot on the driver’s side is largely obstructed due to the angle and the head rest. I can hardly see out of the rear side window or the rear window at all.

This coupled with convex mirrors (which may help to reduce the blind spot, but also make it difficult to judge how close cars in other lanes are to you) makes it very difficult to change lanes on busy highways etc.

This is my experience anyway and I do not know if there is a real solution, but it certainly makes me feel quite restricted when driving compared to other cars I have driven in the past. Has anyone had these issues and if so, what did you do?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Efthreeoh]

Do you have the mirrors positioned correctly? Here's the trick I learned long ago. Sitting in the drivers seat... lean all the way to the left until your head touches the door glass. Adjust the driver's mirror so that you can just see the edge of the left side of the car on the very inner part of the mirror.

For the passenger side mirror... lean over to the right the same amount you previously leaned left. Adjust the passenger side mirror in a similar fashion as the driver's mirror so that you see just the edge of the right side of the car on the very inner part of the passenger mirror.

Most people were never taught to position mirrors correctly and leave them not wide enough to cover blind spots. My other advice is to constantly scan all three mirrors so you keep track of traffic behind you.

[Biginboca]

I agree, your mirrors are not positioned properly. I am able to adjust my mirrors to get a full sweep of the side and rear of car no problem.

With your mirrors properly adjusted there should be a point of overlap at each view. I adjust my mirrors in whatever car I’m in at redlights in traffic. First adjust rear view to center the view out the back. Then adjust side mirrors so you can just see some overlap of the cars at the outer edge of the from the rear view mirror.

Now you should find that there is enough side view in each doors mirror to show the blind spot clearly.

I can see the car to my side out the side window and also at the outer edge of my door mirror. The car at the inner edge of my door mirror is also shown in the outer edge of my rear view mirror. There are no unseen areas.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

I agree, your mirrors are not positioned properly. I am able to adjust my mirrors to get a full sweep of the side and rear of car no problem.

With your mirrors properly adjusted there should be a point of overlap at each view. I adjust my mirrors in whatever car I’m in at redlights in traffic. First adjust rear view to center the view out the back. Then adjust side mirrors so you can just see some overlap of the cars at the outer edge of the from the rear view mirror.

Now you should find that there is enough side view in each doors mirror to show the blind spot clearly.

I'm sure the mirror adjust-ability is based on the 95-percentile rule relative to driver sizes. But based on my positioning in the car I can adjust the mirrors to the point where I can see partials of the car to the right-rear in the inside rear-view mirror and the rest of the car in the passenger mirror. It just takes some experimentation, but what I posted is the proper procedure to baseline the mirror positions, then fine tune as necessary.

[jt335i]

You need to physically turn your upper body so that it is easier for you to do your head check over your shoulders. This will allow you to better see your driver side blind spot and when looking through the rear window.

[ptpending]

Originally Posted by Rapidfire7

I have a 2007 BMW 325i E92. I have had this car for a few years and absolutely love it.

My one gripe is that when I try to do head check over my shoulder, my view of the blind spot on the driver’s side is largely obstructed due to the angle and the head rest. I can hardly see out of the rear side window or the rear window at all.

This coupled with convex mirrors (which may help to reduce the blind spot, but also make it difficult to judge how close cars in other lanes are to you) makes it very difficult to change lanes on busy highways etc.

This is my experience anyway and I do not know if there is a real solution, but it certainly makes me feel quite restricted when driving compared to other cars I have driven in the past. Has anyone had these issues and if so, what did you do?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

what do you mean under convex mirrors - mirror glasses with wider angle or genuine bmw mirrors with blind spot area separated by line ? do you have them in Australia ?

[Hoody007]

Originally Posted by ptpending

what do you mean under convex mirrors - mirror glasses with wider angle or genuine bmw mirrors with blind spot area separated by line ? do you have them in Australia ?

I believe Australian cars are EU spec, and EU spec means they have the mirrors with the lines in them. I could be wrong though...

I agree with others; the method of leaning until your head touches the glass should give you a good view of the cars around you.

[e90yyc]

Like many drivers, I had my mirrors adjusted incorrectly for many years... It's just how I was taught unfortunately.

I couldn't tell you whether a car was in my blind spot, but I could spot where every little dent was on the side of my vehicle.

It took a good a solid week or more for me to get accustomed to the wider view provided by newly-adjusted side mirrors. For me, the biggest change was that I no longer effectively had three "rear-view mirrors," so it forced me to use my actual rear-view mirror in ways that I hadn't before.

When changing lanes, I now check my rear-view mirror AND my side mirrors. Prior to adjusting them, I wouldn't really use my rear-view when lane changing.

[djh2]

To further reiterate the point - if you don’t set up your mirrors this way you should definitely try it for a week. I bet you’ll keep them this way, especially if you drive on busy highways.

For those who are visual learners, Car & Driver have a nice diagram on this article https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...id-blind-spots

[Efthreeoh]

The only reason I appreciate stuck-on convex mirrors is it tells me the driver of the car has spatial-awareness issues and should be avoided at all costs. This comes in very handy when riding a motorcycle.

[atmosphericM]

Flame-suit on but I don't quite do what is recommended here. I position mine so that I can just see the edge of my car in either side mirror, but I don't do so while leaning to the side, I do so from my normal driving position.

When driving I often have to switch lanes quite quickly (hey, I drive a Bimmer after all ) to avoid some a-hole pulling into my lane without taking the time or effort to notice that I'm traveling a good 20mph+ faster than he/she is.. so there is not a lot of time to really lean around and check.. it's just a quick eye dart to the mirror then a turn of the head. Perhaps there's time for a lean but I've always done it this way. I don't have problems with blind-spots though. I think the main thing is to just not have your side mirrors showing you half your car. It seems like most people have theirs configured as such, which is obviously pointless. Yeah, your car is still there...

[djh2]

Let’s be clear, the method outlined above only necessitates leaning on setup to aid you in getting approximate position for the mirrors. You do not lean side to side when driving. From your statements it’s not clear if that is understood.

Reason being when the mirrors are set wide you can see the car traverse from rear view to side mirror, and once it is out of the side mirror it is in your peripheral vision.

I tried setting my mirror up to see the side of the car the other day and it made the reverse dip useless. I could only see my door, not the curb

[atmosphericM]

^ But wouldn't you then need to use your rear-view mirror AND your side-mirror to check "beside the car" - because with the 'lean method' you're relying on your rear-view (in car) mirror to get that little area beside the car that the side-view mirrors don't get without a head lean? There isn't always time for all of that! Perhaps I'm confused, though.

Not hating on the method, though.. just interjecting my opinion and method.. even if it's wrong.

[djh2]

Originally Posted by atmosphericM

^ But wouldn't you then need to use your rear-view mirror AND your side-mirror to check "beside the car" - because with the 'lean method' you're relying on your rear-view (in car) mirror to get that little area beside the car that the side-view mirrors don't get without a head lean? There isn't always time for all of that! Perhaps I'm confused, though.

Not hating on the method, though.. just interjecting my opinion and method.. even if it's wrong.

There is no leaning unless you’re just referring to the setup. I believe it’s considered the SAE method.

There’s no time to check two mirrors? But you already have to check at least the side mirror and look over your shoulder for the blind spot that you have.

The characteristic “blind spot” is the area off the rear quarter where you’d hit another vehicle. You see this area in the side mirror when it is out wide in the SAE method. You don’t see the side of your car because you don’t need to.

Without covering every “what if” scenario, the basic summary is any car that is in your rear view mirror is not going to interfere with your lane change. (Unless it is traveling faster than you are, then watch for it moving into the side mirror and change lanes after it passes).

People manage to check all the indicators, change air temperatures, radio stations, gps coordinates and send text messages while driving. I think looking at two mirrors before changing lanes is “do-able”

[atmosphericM]

Right. What I'm referring to is that time when you are going 90 in the center lane and then for zero apparent reason the person in the far right lane, traveling 45 mph, moves into your lane about 10 yards ahead. They *may have* checked to see that you are far enough behind for them to "safely" change into your lane (but probably not), but what people never seem to take into account is that not everyone is traveling at the same speed. So I have about 1.5 seconds, literally, to check my side mirror and blind-spot (all done with one swift and constant motion of turning the head and darting the eyes) as I'm hard on the brakes and swerving around them. It would take too long to check the in car mirror in addition. I need to know what is to my left, as well as behind to my left, as they could easily be (SHOULD be) traveling faster than I am. I'm sure either method works - I suppose I could throw a head lean into the mix as I'm going for the blind-spot turn. This is just mine and I'm playing devil's advocate.

[djh2]

I think we scared off the OP. I should also add that I've only driven a coupe on a test drive, so I don't have much else to contribute.

[AoS810]

Originally Posted by atmosphericM

Flame-suit on but I don't quite do what is recommended here. I position mine so that I can just see the edge of my car in either side mirror, but I don't do so while leaning to the side, I do so from my normal driving position.

I have mine setup exactly the same way, if it's adjusted like Efthreeoh's method (which is completely fine), I can't see lane splitting motorcycles easily in stop-n-go Los Angeles traffic. The rear-view mirror will be filled completely with a massive lifted bro-truck and the side mirrors will be angled too far out to see easily.

[Ozzie335i]

If an e92 has a blind spot that concerns OP, he should never ever set butt in a Mustang or a Camaro.

Seriously, I am half blind and this car has some of the best visibility of any I have driven.

[atmosphericM]

For a coupe, it is quite good. But they are big coupes. Good glass, though. Of course a true sports car will have compromises, such as bad 'blind spots'.

[Rapidfire7]

Thanks for all the replies most appreciated. I have adjusted my mirrors to the way some of you suggested and I agree that this is the better way to have them set, so thanks for that. Also, my mirrors are genuine BMW and are separated with a line. Am I correct in believing that every part of these mirrors is convex, but the outer sections just give you a wider angle than normal to show you more of the blind spot? Please correct me if I am wrong. Also, do the lines being there actually serve any really purpose when driving?

Furthermore, I'm not sure that I really explained my main concern too well in my initial post, in that the blind spots aren't a problem for me as such. The convex mirrors seem to virtually eliminate the blind spots, but I have problems judging how close the cars in other lanes really are when looking into them...and this sometimes causes me issues when merging.

This isn't such a problem for me when merging left as when I do a final head check on my left side I have a decent enough view out of the rear side and rear window to see exactly where those cars are in relation to the back of mine. But when trying to merge right and do a final head check over my right shoulder (driver's side here in Australia) my view out of the rear side and rear window is largely blocked because of the head rests, small windows and angles etc. Even turning my whole body around when doing a head check (as someone suggested to me) doesn’t help much.

Maybe this issue seems funny to some of you, but it does cause me problems when trying to merge right on busy freeways into small gaps etc, and this is a problem I have never had in any of the other 4 cars I have owned. I am just so used to having flat mirrors and having good visibility when doing head checks that I am just struggling to adapt to this aspect of my car. I have even thought about removing some of the head rests so I can see a bit more or even installing flat mirrors instead. Thoughts?

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Ozzie335i

If an e92 has a blind spot that concerns OP, he should never ever set butt in a Mustang or a Camaro.

Seriously, I am half blind and this car has some of the best visibility of any I have driven.

Try a Z4 Coupe...

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by atmosphericM

^ But wouldn't you then need to use your rear-view mirror AND your side-mirror to check "beside the car" - because with the 'lean method' you're relying on your rear-view (in car) mirror to get that little area beside the car that the side-view mirrors don't get without a head lean? There isn't always time for all of that! Perhaps I'm confused, though.

Not hating on the method, though.. just interjecting my opinion and method.. even if it's wrong.

You only need to lean once, which is when you are stationary during setup of the mirrors; you don't need to lean when driving. Good driving technique is to constantly scan all three mirrors so as to keep track of the cars near your car. Proper set up of the mirrors then allows you to not need to constantly remove your main concentration area which is directly ahead of you. The cars in your review mirrors (all 3 of them) are the ones that are moving around in the traffic behind you. And you need profile other drivers based on their car, condition of their car, and other factors.