Fender Mirrors vs Door Mirrors

I could not find a good spot for this so I posted it here.

For those that have driven cars with fender mirrors and door mirrors.

Is there any benifit of one over the other?

Does one have a larger viewing area than the other?

Pics from the drivers view would be appreciated. (this could give a good guide)

Here's some a guy in america took for me when i asked the same question.

I find it takes a couple of min to get used to the different position and angle they face as they definately point more behind you so there is no real 'blind spot', however i find it hard to judge the distance of cars behind me in them as no matter what they are relatively small, which leads me to the other point which is you can't use them to look things which have gone past in the other direction...

If you get them, make sure you get the proper nissan ones so they look right, and be aware that the black ones have a longer stalk than the chrome ones (which are for some other car from the same period, but were often swapped on by people in japan), you can see why the 240z ones are longer in the pic of the passenger side mirrror where it is nearly being cut off by the windscreen wiper....but then my car didn't come with a passenger side mirror so i dont really use it anyway...

Are those fender mirrors road legal?    I've been toying with the idea of putting them on.

my mustard 240z has the fendor mirrors (check gallery) and they are definately legal here in victoria, previous owner had it road registered with no problems.  I find jumping outa one z into mustard, it takes a few minutes to get used to them, then I am right.  I agree with the american guys statement about things being very small, I just double check before changing lanes.

Dale

Sweet, time to track a pair down. 

The biggest hassle with fender mirrors is that pedestrians knock them when walking past, mechanics can damage them if working on your car because they are generally inconveniently located where you elbows need room, the vision is better but reduced in magnification of the mirror. Door mirror is more user friendly. Lynton

they provide a resting place for the odd spanner or two instead of sliding off the fender

only the passenger side one sits just outside the body work (not including zg flares) since they are not mounted symmetrically, and they are easy enough to remove, maybe a little two easy if you know what i mean...

they provide a resting place for the odd spanner or two instead of sliding off the fender

 

I'm not letting you any where near my cars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :o

hehe, u dont think that a $250 chrome mirror is a good chock for a spanner?

just joking anyway...thats what the strut towers are for yeah???

Thanks for the feedback just what I needed. I think I will stick with my door mirrors.

With the mirrors being mounted uneven. What is the distance they have to be mounted from the rear of the headlight sugar scoop and where the bonnet and fender meet?

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8724

"The mirror on the passenger side ( in an RHD car ) is further toward the rear of the car and further away from the edge of the Wing / Fender to Bonnet / Hood joint"

RHD diagram mentioned in the thread as measured off a 240zg to the edges of the mirror is attached below

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8724

 

"The mirror on the passenger side ( in an RHD car ) is further toward the rear of the car and further away from the edge of the Wing / Fender to Bonnet / Hood joint"

 

RHD diagram mentioned in the thread as measured off a 240zg to the edges of the mirror is attached below

Godsend!

Read that diagram carefully as I (and quite a few others) fell for the trap of drilling a hole where the two lines intersect.

The measurements are to the front and side of the mirror stalk.

I like the bullet style mirror. But as I was again reminded today if your choice is this mirror I would prefer it on the fender. You can cop all sorts of rocks, bugs and shit in your face.

I mounted fender mirrors on the orange Zed and they were excellent actually gave me a better line of sight than mirrors on the doors! funny thing is i had no diagrammatic to work off and everyone loved the look so...is there really the necessity for exact detail unless it is a fully imported JDM spec Zed?

Cheers to my Aussie Brethren

Lonely REV in the USA!

Lonely REV in the USA!

How does that song go.......

"French kissing in the USA"

"Lonely Rev in the USA-aaaay A"

I want to mount my mirrors this weekend, and after much contemplation I've decided to mount them on the fenders... My dad reckons it gotta be according to a specific measurement spec, but Rev is saying otherwise so If I get the panel beater over, should be sweet

It's not hard - just interpret the diagram properly dont just draw two lines and drill a hole where they meet. When you do it you will see what i mean.

At the end of the day its your car and you can mount them on the roof if you want, but if you are trying to make it look like a JDM Z then it makes sense to put them in the right spot... At least you know they will provide good vision if you put them where nissan spent hours figuring where was best.

Also in Rev's case he didnt use Nissan mirrors. It looks like his are adjustable at the bottom (can swing outboard) so it would be easier to correct than the factory ones which have little adjustment.

I want to mount my mirrors this weekend, and after much contemplation I've decided to mount them on the fenders

are the mirrors you have actual fender mirrors, or just bullet style mirrors? I'm not sure if you'd be able to see the passenger side mirror if they were just bullet mirrors, as the stalk on the fender mirrors are really quite long to get the required height (and look)

personally i only like the look of the 240z/1600 fender mirrors on zed's, where as some people are happy putting on toyota or other generic ones

After cruisen around in rev's zed for a bit now I can conclude in western aust they have passed roadworthy no problems

I have gotten to love them on the fender and they seem in perfect position for me. The only small problem is when I pickup the speed they vibrate more making it hard to focus. Although when I accelerate that hard not many things are passing me !

All in all I say if you like the look get them, it is always good to Di a head swivel if unsure anyways that one thing I live with zed great visibility.

Kobes

i use fender mirrors, they are absolute nightmare for parking and blindspots.... so i replaced the whole mirrore with full sized blind spot mirroe that covers the entire mirror.

good side is u can see everything without even adjusting it. downside is... still a nightmare to park.

Plus side is they look sexy and who cares they shake or hard to see :0

Just thought I'd revive this thread.

I put Celica fender mirrors on my car the other week, and I have to say, the field of vision is far better than any door mirrors in any car I have driven. I can see back perfectly and I have no blind spot at all. When a car overtaking along side me leaves my mirror, they are visible in my peripheral vision out my side window.

The Celica mirrors are fully adjustable and have a convex mirror for added visibility.

I didn't follow that diagram everyone throws around, and mounted them further out as per the S30s in Japan. Dunno if that helped.

So I don't think poor visibility is an argument for not getting fender mirrors, I would base the decision purely on what you prefer the look of.

The diagram is right, take another look at it, everyone reads it wrong that's all...

Well, to me, following the diagram did not put them in a position I was happy with. Also, the celica stalk and mounting plate is very thin, so it wouldn't have made a big difference if I measured to the edge of the mount rather than the centre, if that's what you're getting at...

Another position I found in a thread somewhere on here I much preferred so I went with that. Put them wherever you want, doesn't really matter as long as you are happy, I'm just saying that it's possible to get really good visibility out of them.