Blind Spot Mirrors OEM vs Aftermarket

[Black11TDI]

I want honest answers here, with my ever growing health issues I have decided to go for it and get the euro blind spot mirror glass upgrade. I have tried about 5 different Napa stickons and they just look like crud for one and hog most of the mirror in the process and are pretty useless. In then tried a stick on "Autobahn Mirror" that sucton cups to the windshield and you can piviot it to the right angle bit it made the a pillar blind spot horrible worse. So I have narrowed it down to the Euro Parts bin Blind Spot mirrors from ECS with standard color glass and they are running about 170 plus shipping. I have seen the blue tinted ones ( I loved the blue tint on my moms old mkvi TDI) and I am pretty sure the ones on OEM plus.com, dubstop imports, and ecs are one in the same with the prices within a few bucks of each other but nobody ever seems to have them in stock and they are around 80 bucks. They all say OEM quality and fitment but looking at pics the cheaper ones do not have the long metal tang on the back that stops the mirror from traveling to far.

Who has got either one, is it worth it? And would you buy them again if you needed to. Next question and I have seen a few VW's around but it looks like it fits over the existing rear view mirror on the windshield but its bigger and square. Any ideas?

The reason I'm looking now is I am wanting to travel more but with all the tumors in my back and on my spine its getting difficult it twist and look around making lane changes, I twist right my legs go numb and in worst case my right leg gets momentarily paralised. So I am trying to make the car and me safer by getting a bit more visual going.

Getting my list for this winters projects on it. Gutting and sound deadening interior, possibly doing the full OPS parking sensors and maybe the auto park, the mirrors, stealth box or subwoofer add on to the stereo, and just for the heck of it awe flapper back exhaust.

 

[Cooper]

Can you post the Autobahn Blind Spot Mirror you tried?

The one I use is great. I've used them for years on our cars. Been giving them to people, and they all love them. The one I use isn't held on with a suction cup. It uses two-sided tape, so I may be using a different one than you tried.

 

[Timmins11]

Aspherical mirrors and mirror over rear view mirror

I have both OECM aspherical mirrors and a clip over rear view mirror (I am now using a Broadway 300 mm mirror, part # BW-746 for a wider rear view) and like them both. I recently posted about these with another new Mark VI owner, search my user name "Timmins11" and the thread 'New Owner...', and the discussion begins about post number 10 or so. Hope this is helpful.

 

[Roshermoore]

Euro mirros

I added the OEM European vw blind spot mirrors a few months after I got my 09 JSW back in 09. It's the best investment that I've made for my
vehicle.

They have saved my neck more times than I can count. They make you feel much more comfortable driving because you know you are seeing EVERYTHING that is around you when traffic is heavy.

Spend the money. You'll never regret the money spent. There will be those that will chime in and say that if you adjust your mirrors properly there is no need for the blind spot mirrors. I totally disagree. There is no way you can adjust the factory mirrors and see what you can see with the blind spot aspherical mirrors.

Of course mine are the clear glass, just like the original.

 

[geodug]

I don't know why guys are spending so much on their mirrors. I bought driver's side only aspherical mirror with heating strip 3 years ago from Dubstop Imports for less than $30. It has been great since.

I just looked and they don't seem to have that model at the moment. Send them an email and see if they will be available again.

 

[Black11TDI]

My bad it was held on by DST. Nice setup just bulky when you already have a Valentine 1 and a Ram Mount Cellphone holder in the wimdshield when in travel.

http://www.autobahnmirror.com

@Geodug. Do you use the mirror heat much? That an the only thing that worries me, I have seen a few of the cheaper ones separate the glass from the heater when its turned on and I use the mirror heat quite a bit around here when the humidity is up.

Thanks everyone so far, I am leaning on OEM at this point.

 

[geodug]

@Geodug. Do you use the mirror heat much? That an the only thing that worries me, I have seen a few of the cheaper ones separate the glass from the heater when its turned on and I use the mirror heat quite a bit around here when the humidity is up.

Thanks everyone so far, I am leaning on OEM at this point.

I live in the Pacific Northwest same as you. During the cooler months there are many days of high humidity and rain. Then you have a few days with snow. I use the heater feature all the time and as far as I can tell the glass and backing looks like it is new.

 

[Black11TDI]

Score one for saving money, and I do like the blue tint, even with tinted windows the glare can be nasty. Thank you sir.

 

[Cooper]

Yeah, that's the same Autobahn mirror. How high up do you have it? I have it low enough that it touches the dash. I'll post a picture, if you want.

 

[wrpercival]

I purchased the spherical mirrors because my JSW has a distinct blind spot. However, someone I know suggested a better solution - adjust your side mirrors differently.

To adjust the driver's side mirror, place your head against the driver's door window and angle the mirror until you are looking parallel down the side of the car.

To adjust the passenger side mirror, lean to the right from the driver's seat and center your head over the shift console. Adjust the passenger side mirror to view down the sideline of the car.

Once you have the mirrors adjusted this way, any cars in your vicinity can be seen from either your rear view mirror or your two side mirrors. If you can't see cars from your side mirrors, you have room to shift lanes.

 

[poweredbytdi]

For two years I had the OEM aspherical mirrors on my TDI. No blue tint. I looked them a lot. Bought them from a VW dealer while in Germany. Have heat. Are for sale if you want them. Send me a PM. $100 + shipping for the set.

 

[Black11TDI]

Poweredbytdi thanks for the offer but aren't the JSW mirrors the mkv style? And are different from the mkvi golf? If they will work I may snag them, just curious why you removed them?

Wrpercevial I tried running them in that position for a few days drove my eyes bonkers. Right now with my head against the head rest all I see in the lower inner corner of the mirror is the rear door handle and a bit of body.I can just lean forward a bit and usually see my blind spot.

cooper, sounds about where I had mine. It wasn't too bad till I installed the window vent shades and the windows tinted but it really worked great. I then had my ram mount for my phone right above it. it just blocked to much view so I removed it. Now my ram mount resides down in that corner so I can reach up and use the GPS on my phone with little field of vision comprimise. I had the phone in the center of the windshield and when I wear my polarized prescription sunglasses I could not see the screen without taking my glasses off it was just a black screen.lol. I sold the autobahn mirror to a neighbor for his truck for when he tows his camper and has his mirrors extended all the way out it works great for him.. But they are cheap enough to buy another. Other thing I did was use the camera on my phone on the mount last trip when I woke up with a crick in my neck. It worked great..lol.

 

[poweredbytdi]

Black11TDI - I don't think they will fit. I should have paid more attention I did not remove them because they did not function. I removed them because I no longer own the car I really liked them.

 

[S2000_guy]

I purchased the spherical mirrors because my JSW has a distinct blind spot. However, someone I know suggested a better solution - adjust your side mirrors differently.

To adjust the driver's side mirror, place your head against the driver's door window and angle the mirror until you are looking parallel down the side of the car.

To adjust the passenger side mirror, lean to the right from the driver's seat and center your head over the shift console. Adjust the passenger side mirror to view down the sideline of the car.

Once you have the mirrors adjusted this way, any cars in your vicinity can be seen from either your rear view mirror or your two side mirrors. If you can't see cars from your side mirrors, you have room to shift lanes.

I've adjusted my mirrors this way for decades; however, on my '14 JSW, there are blind spots where a motorcycle can hide. I can always see a car, but there are areas where I don't see a motorcycle. That's not acceptable, IMHO. I'll be giving the aspherical mirrors a try in the near future.

 

[Gael]

My wife got me these for me for Christmas or my bday (they're a week apart, so I can't recall which): http://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-Golf_VI--TDI/Exterior/Mirrors/ES2093735/

So I've only had them on for 8ish months, but I think they're great. I was initially hesitant and wondering if I should swap them for the OEM ones, but so far I've had no complaints.

 

[Andy_2009_JSW]

I added the OEM European vw blind spot mirrors a few months after I got my 09 JSW back in 09. It's the best investment that I've made for my
vehicle.

They have saved my neck more times than I can count. They make you feel much more comfortable driving because you know you are seeing EVERYTHING that is around you when traffic is heavy.

Spend the money. You'll never regret the money spent. There will be those that will chime in and say that if you adjust your mirrors properly there is no need for the blind spot mirrors. I totally disagree. There is no way you can adjust the factory mirrors and see what you can see with the blind spot aspherical mirrors.

Of course mine are the clear glass, just like the original.

Ditto ALL of this. I got the clear OEM ones from ECS. Don't recall if they had the less expensive non-OEM blue ones then, but I wanted clear anyway. It takes a week or so to get used to them, but once you do they're incredible. And if/when you ever drive a car with normal U.S. mirrors, you'll be shocked at how little you can see, I guarantee it.

 

[PTH]

I put blue-tinted blind-spot mirrors on my 2010 Golf about three years ago. I ordered them from Dubstop International. I liked them until they started to develop strange brown spots about two years later. I replaced them with the clear OEM aspherical mirrors from ECS. Now I'm delighted. I much prefer them to the blue ones, even at night. The OEM mirrors cost more, but I think they are worth it. They seem sharper in the daylight and do not reflect excessive glare from the headlights of taller trucks at night (though I feared they might). If I had to do it all over again, I would just get the clear OEM mirrors straight away. Once you adjust to the extra-wide field of vision you'll never want to go back.

Peter

 

[Abacus]

My wife got me these for me for Christmas or my bday (they're a week apart, so I can't recall which): http://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-Golf_VI--TDI/Exterior/Mirrors/ES2093735/

Windex put one on the wagon he sold and I love it. I'm not sure where he bought them but I think he said they came from Poland. The driver's side fell off and broke, so make sure you add something to secure them.

 

[msantram]

+1 on the clear OEM ones from ECS. They were a little more expensive than the blue ones, but I like my mirrors to be clear. Honestly, I believe these mirrors should be stock, or part of a premium package. They have saved me a couple of times from jerks who were idling in my blind spot. Either way, you can't lose with a little extra visibility.

 

[20IndigoBlue02]

+1 on the clear OEM ones from ECS. They were a little more expensive than the blue ones, but I like my mirrors to be clear. Honestly, I believe these mirrors should be stock, or part of a premium package. They have saved me a couple of times from jerks who were idling in my blind spot. Either way, you can't lose with a little extra visibility.

ironically, the new accords have the driver side asphericals.... I noticed it on my friend's 2014 Accord sport.

 

[Black11TDI]

Out of curiosity I called my local dealership and with a friends discount I can get the Euro VW ones for $120 just tale a week or so to show up. I am going to order them tomorrow. The parts guy has had 3 sets from Dubstop and seen many of the tinted roll thru the dealership on trades and in the service bay with them installed and he said is about 40/60 being 40 percent you get a too set, all but one set he had separated from the base and the other shorted out and melted the harness to the mirror on a mk4 he had. He gladly said if I get them and run them for a while and do not like them he will buy them off me at what I paid and he'd resell them as a used product. I don't think I can do better then that..

 

[S2000_guy]

ironically, the new accords have the driver side asphericals.... I noticed it on my friend's 2014 Accord sport.

That's interesting.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/571.111

 

[20IndigoBlue02]

That's interesting.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/571.111

keep in mind, Ford, Fiat, etc... have also worked have approved wide angle mirrors also. In these cases, it is a separate mirror from the main lens.

(2014 Toyota Venza shown)

The 2014 Accord, is the first car I noticed sold in the US, with factory asphericals.

 

[msantram]

If I had a few million lying around and really wanted to get into the car business. I would create a custom shop a la AMG for VW. Bring parity to a few select models and offer all of the safety and performance bells & whistles that I believe should be part of the US spec. Case in point - Blind Spot Mirrors, Quality Rear View Mirrors, OPS, RVC, Sound Damping, Bi-Xenon HID... etc etc. Of course this would be a premium service, but with group buys built in and quality installs.

Or just work work work & save up and buy a MB or Audi.

 

[m4ttj00]

Picked up a set of the tinted ones from ECS tuning. I had some troubles with fit on my drivers side, but the passenger mirror snapped in without issue(working w/ECS on a resolution). I did have to clamp the connectors on the heater wires a bit to get them to hold securely.


Drove from Seattle to Seaside, OR and I'm in love with the one mirror I got installed. It almost elimites the blind spot and is fantastic for night driving. The glare and halos are greatly reduced. Mirror glare at night is something that's always bothered me and I never knew there was a solution. This was a huge upgrade for me.

 

[vw_leadfoot]

Here's what I bought in March of 2013:
1 x VW Mk5 B5.5 Euro Heated Aspherical Auto Dimming Mirror Set (1K0857522J -) = $98.98
from boraparts.com

They've been really good. Had blue ones on my Passat and they only lasted two years before water got into them and turned them brown

 

[RNDDUDE]

Best money I have spent on the car. They have saved my ass on numerous occasions in freeway traffic when changing lanes.

 

[Louis_TDI]

Here's what I bought in March of 2013:
1 x VW Mk5 B5.5 Euro Heated Aspherical Auto Dimming Mirror Set (1K0857522J -) = $98.98
from boraparts.com

That sounds interesting but they only seam to have the driver side I sent them en e-mail to confirm this. I hope they have a set. I had auto dimming mirrors on my truck and that's the only thing I ever missed after selling it.

 

[S2000_guy]

I installed a set of the European aspherical mirrors yesterday. I agree that they do allow you to see everything around you. After decades of driving with the federally-mandated "unit magnification" driver's side mirrors, it is hard for me to judge how close a car i see in the convex driver's mirror is to me, but I'm sure I can adjust quickly.