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Evil Twin · 01-05-2007, 06:03 PM

My experience, in case it's helpful to anyone:

1. First off, thanks to darkSol and to Jim Itin who were both generous with their advice and gracious with their responses to my questions.

2. Second, while everyone's entitled to their opinion, I don't share the view that all that is needed is "proper adjustment of the mirrors" to obtain perfect visibility in the Elise. I find the blind-spots large and disconcerting, and I've never felt entirely confident changing lanes without first accelerating a bit AND checking over my shoulder. These mirrors seem to offer huge improvement over the stock visibility.

3. Perhaps the mirrors have changed slightly in the design -- or perhaps I'm more picky than I think -- but I found the "stick 'em on and call it done" look of the Multivex Mirrors awful. I could easily see not just the top edge of the mirror but also behind it to the gap between the mirror and the stock glass.

4. While finishing the edges with sanding/paint or electrical tape seemed better than nothing, I didn't think I'd be happy with the look once done. So, I followed the path laid down by darkSol and Jim Itin. Bottom line: it turned out great. The mirrors are indistinguishable from a factory install.

5. darkSol's instructions contained on page FIVE of this thread tell you most everything you need to know. My additions:

You can gently pry the stock mirror out of the housing without needing to break the stock glass. Just do it in a warm location, as the housing gets brittle in the cold and can crack.
Buy 1/8" thick plastic of a type that will adhere to epoxy cement (some types of plastic won't). I went to a local industrial plastics distributor and rummaged through their parts bin. They were very helpful in making certain I got the right type of plastic -- and the material cost me all of $5. I cut bevels in the area where the tabs from the housing go to make certain the tabs would seat properly. Not sure it's necessary but it worked. I shaped the material with a grinder, and with patience, it all worked out just fine.
I didn't go nuts in terms of globbing on a huge amount of black room-temperature-vulcanizing (RTV) caulk. Just put a medium sized bead around the edges, shoved the mirrors in place, ran q-tips around the edges until I'd removed the excess caulk, and then removed the painters tape from the face of the mirrors before the caulk dried. It worked fine. In truth, you could easily get away with not using caulk at all, as the gaps are not all that perceptable. I'm guessing only I'd have ever noticed. I did add two layers of 3M industrial strength double-layered tape in the center of the mirrors for added security.
Having done this, I'd argue that replacing the stock mirrors with the Multivex ones is no harder than painting/sanding the edges, and the results are much closer to stock. I've no reason to believe this solution won't last indefinitely, so I see no reason NOT to go this route if you're hankering for a clean look.

Hope this is some use.
Twin

01-05-2007, 06:03 PM	#206 (permalink)
Evil Twin No Livestock on Track! Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Oregon Posts: 858 Images: 14	My experience, in case it's helpful to anyone: 1. First off, thanks to darkSol and to Jim Itin who were both generous with their advice and gracious with their responses to my questions. 2. Second, while everyone's entitled to their opinion, I don't share the view that all that is needed is "proper adjustment of the mirrors" to obtain perfect visibility in the Elise. I find the blind-spots large and disconcerting, and I've never felt entirely confident changing lanes without first accelerating a bit AND checking over my shoulder. These mirrors seem to offer huge improvement over the stock visibility. 3. Perhaps the mirrors have changed slightly in the design -- or perhaps I'm more picky than I think -- but I found the "stick 'em on and call it done" look of the Multivex Mirrors awful. I could easily see not just the top edge of the mirror but also behind it to the gap between the mirror and the stock glass. 4. While finishing the edges with sanding/paint or electrical tape seemed better than nothing, I didn't think I'd be happy with the look once done. So, I followed the path laid down by darkSol and Jim Itin. Bottom line: it turned out great. The mirrors are indistinguishable from a factory install. 5. darkSol's instructions contained on page FIVE of this thread tell you most everything you need to know. My additions: You can gently pry the stock mirror out of the housing without needing to break the stock glass. Just do it in a warm location, as the housing gets brittle in the cold and can crack. Buy 1/8" thick plastic of a type that will adhere to epoxy cement (some types of plastic won't). I went to a local industrial plastics distributor and rummaged through their parts bin. They were very helpful in making certain I got the right type of plastic -- and the material cost me all of $5. I cut bevels in the area where the tabs from the housing go to make certain the tabs would seat properly. Not sure it's necessary but it worked. I shaped the material with a grinder, and with patience, it all worked out just fine. I didn't go nuts in terms of globbing on a huge amount of black room-temperature-vulcanizing (RTV) caulk. Just put a medium sized bead around the edges, shoved the mirrors in place, ran q-tips around the edges until I'd removed the excess caulk, and then removed the painters tape from the face of the mirrors before the caulk dried. It worked fine. In truth, you could easily get away with not using caulk at all, as the gaps are not all that perceptable. I'm guessing only I'd have ever noticed. I did add two layers of 3M industrial strength double-layered tape in the center of the mirrors for added security. Having done this, I'd argue that replacing the stock mirrors with the Multivex ones is no harder than painting/sanding the edges, and the results are much closer to stock. I've no reason to believe this solution won't last indefinitely, so I see no reason NOT to go this route if you're hankering for a clean look. Hope this is some use. Twin __________________ 2005 Graphite Gray with Black Interior, Sports Package, Touring Package, Hard Top, Starshield, 6-point Schroth Harness, Fire Extinguisher, and Wiring Loom for DL-1. Otherwise bone stock -- and staying that way -- okay, okay, that's true if you ignore the Braille battery, Micro mirror, Multivex mirrors, ROTA slipstreams, RA-1s, two-piece rotors, springs, polyurethane ASB bushings, RTD brace, Sparco seat, and all the stuff I've taken out of the car... Last edited by Evil Twin : 01-05-2007 at 06:10 PM.