Has anyone installed non-Lotus custom mirrors on their Esprit?

[amanda11270]

I saw a mirrors for sale ad in the classifieds section of this forum, and it got me thinking of a topic I was thinking a while back. Has anyone put custom mirrors on their Esprit? I recently before painting my Esprit was shopping for custom mirrors, but of the mirrors for sale aftermarket, there were non I liked. I have since decided to keep my factory mirrors on my 88, but before I did I bought two mirrors from a Honda S2000 on ebay, and when I got them, they are the right style, but because the Esprit is so low, the mirrors are monstrous in size compared to the Esprit. I have since been looking at other vehicles when I see them on the highways, with mirrors that mount similar to my Lotus for a maybe someday possible replacement. A Honda Delsol, has similar type mounted mirrors, they were a possibility of mine as well. Vitaloni's looked a little small to me, as I have seen them on sportbikes already. I have done this in the past with another car I was working on, swapped mirrors from another make.

[Jasonmiller]

Good question, I am replacing mine (mine are the ones for sale) and am looking at some options..

I considered 944 mirrors, they are simple and small, but not sure they would sit level mounted to the car,

[MRDANGERUS]

I was looking for a long time... Most of them are FUGLY and do not "flow" with the side silouette of the car. After couple failed attempts, I bought 2010/11 Camaro-Firebird electric,heated outside mirrors. I will install them over the winter down-time.

[jtrealty]

What most do with the stock mirrors is add a small round convex mirror onto the glass to improve visibility (usually on the driver's side). It won't help with the *look* of the mirror. If the mirror shakes a lot the casting inside the mount may be cracked.
David Teitelbaum

[Jasonmiller]

Originally Posted by MRDANGERUS

I was looking for a long time... Most of them are FUGLY and do not "flow" with the side silouette of the car. After couple failed attempts, I bought 2010/11 Camaro-Firebird electric,heated outside mirrors. I will install them over the winter down-time.

Wow those look good, actually flows nicely with the car

[amanda11270]

I have seen a few newer camaros and the mirrors look as though they would flow good with the car, do they look big though holding them upto the car? Thats the problem I had with the S2000 mirrors, they were enormous compared to the factory ones. I was going to shave the mount to fit the contour of the door to make them have the right angle when mounted, as the S2000 the door has a slightly different shape. Does the camaro mirror seem as though it would sit correctly on the door? My whole reason for switching mirrors was because mine dont work by power, I first replaced the switch, then the mirrors dont move correctly, so I searched for other options. I just adjusted them and let them where they are now. But im still curious as someday I may try again for different ones.

[MRDANGERUS]

Your Honda Del Sol look pretty good, and they have brake pivot, while Camaro is fixed. What year is your's? 1995 Honda looks "slimmer".

[MRDANGERUS]

Here is another mirror concept; don't know the donor car, though.
Seems to be attached to the base of the A-pillar, not to the door!

[WayneB]

These are the mirrors Peter Stevens and Colin Spooner originally wanted for the X180 Esprit.
I always thought that the GM Aero mirrors used in the Camaro/Firebird/Fiero etc from 1982 to 1992 were pretty similar in style to those mirrors and would look good on an Esprit.
Probably the reason Lotus did not use those GM mirrors back then (Lotus was under GM ownership at the time) was that they were not type approved for use in Europe.

[Jasonmiller]

Originally Posted by MRDANGERUS

Here is another mirror concept; don't know the donor car, though.
Seems to be attached to the base of the A-pillar, not to the door!

hmmmm looking real close they dont seem to match the angle of the windshield. I am not real fond of the stock mirrors but would hate to have something not match properly..

[Jasonmiller]

I went with 2008 Honda Civic mirrors, they actually match very well and are not too large. Will post a picture once out of the paint shop.

[Quicker]

The X180 race cars had these...


I like this one -


APR Performance -

[Jasonmiller]

Car is out of the paint shop, a little dark when I took the pics but I really like the mirrors, they are only slightly larger than the stock mirrors yet the shape makes them usable.. They are great!

Anyway I understand the people who like things stock, as I am usually one of them, but I feel its an improvement..

Also the shape of them modernized the car I feel.

[MRDANGERUS]

2000-2003 Honda S2000 mirrors look pretty interesting... Looks like they may work.
Anyone tried those?

[amanda11270]

I decided not to go with the S2000 mirrors on my Esprit, I had already painted my factory ones and lost interest in switching after painting the entire car as well. If anyone is interested I have a S2000 drivers side mirror I would be willing to sell for $40 shipped to the 48 states. Or I would be willing to trade for a working factory Lotus Esprit mirror switch. Chances are if you are switching mirrors you wont be able to use the switch anyway. PM me if you are interested.

[amanda11270]

I have sold the above red S2000 mirror, it is no longer available!

[MRDANGERUS]

Mirrors look equally good...

[Jasonmiller]

Those look awesome!

[MRDANGERUS]

Hey, Jason,
I have a pair of S2000 mirrors, red (close to Calypso Red, a bit darker), no scratches, with a door switch FOR SALE.

Please PM me, if you want to buy them.

[amanda11270]

Ever since I was looking for mirrors for my Esprit a while back (I actually stuck with the factory mirrors though) I find myself looking at car mirrors all the time for donors, and lately I've noticed the new Dodge Challenger looks like a candidate was well, I checked ebay and they are not terribly expensive either.