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WHY GM would not put blind side warning on a $70k car makes no sense! you can get them on cheap GM models across the board, but not on a vette. Stupid if you ask me.
WHY GM would not put blind side warning on a $70k car makes no sense! you can get them on cheap GM models across the board, but not on a vette. Stupid if you ask me.
It is a disconnect to be sure, like the heated seats in my new $71K MSRP car that don't hardly get warm.
My 2016 Colorado came with a convex mirror positioned top left corner on the driver's side, none on the right, from the factory. The blind spots are less than the Corvette and the additional mirror is standard??
Same on my Silverado crew cab. Wonder why they didn't include the same for the passenger side? As long as I don't have anything in the bed obstructing my view toward the right rear, it's not a big deal I guess. Visibility in that direction is much better from the truck vs the Vette.
Same on my Silverado crew cab. Wonder why they didn't include the same for the passenger side? As long as I don't have anything in the bed obstructing my view toward the right rear, it's not a big deal I guess. Visibility in that direction is much better from the truck vs the Vette.
Passenger side convex mirror is worthless.
I have them on both sides of my ST, and even if you set up your mirrors wrong, you can usually see the entire passenger side. My convex mirror points two lanes over on that side. On the drivers side it shows 5 feet behind my main mirror.
There is some use to have that mirror on the drivers side, more so than blind spot monitoring. But in reality you don't need either if everything is setup right.
WHY GM would not put blind side warning on a $70k car makes no sense! you can get them on cheap GM models across the board, but not on a vette. Stupid if you ask me.
It's not about cost. It's about practicality.
What you are saying is that GM should offer a feature that isn't needed but wanted because a sub-set of the population can't adjust their mirror appropriately?
I get them on long vehicles like pickups, suvs and crossovers. But on little small cars, pointless. Plus people rarely use turn signals what makes you think they will pay attention to a light in a mirror?
What you are saying is that GM should offer a feature that isn't needed but wanted because a sub-set of the population can't adjust their mirror appropriately?
Practicality is having a feature on a $70K car that might increase cost/retail by $150 and add 10 lbs to the car, but it allows you to glance over, even in dim foggy, rainy poor visibility conditions, and be alerted that there is something in that zone, even if it's hard to spot in the .5 seconds you have to perceive it. If there's a little amber light there, you'll see it almost before you turn your head. Invaluable feature that makes driving in hectic traffic situations easier and safer. Some here seem to have the notion that the Corvette is some kind of exotic race car piloted by elite drivers who do everything right while driving and never ever make an error in judgement like yourselves. It's essentially a pricey toy they sell to idiots like me. I'm no IMSA driving ace and I need all the help I can get. Actually you all do, but part of human frailty is not recognizing that we all have our bad moments, and even if you do everything right, stuff happens.
I think the car should have all that stuff like adaptive cruise, etc., just wondering how much weight/cost it would all add, that's all. Now THAT's a question I'd like to pose to King Tadge or whatever they call that cool C7 engineer dude, I'm sure that stuff was all considered. How they managed to put a heated seat that doesn't work in a $70K car is a bigger mystery.
Yep, I have the quarter round spot mirrors, on my properly adjusted mirrors (that's to hold off of those saying to set them properly, mine are).
One of the things I like about them is that they help in the event that both myself and someone two lanes over want to both make a lane change into the same lane.
One of my favorit subjects-too bad I can't be a brief as you! I chuckle at those that feel they need to "teach us" and others about the "Proper Way" to adjust our mirrors. That graphic shown is one that uses the info from a ~1995 SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) Tech Paper that outline that approach. I have been using it since shortly after that time.
I did not feel the need to use "blind spot mirrors" in my '88, '93, '08 Vettes BECAUSE they had good visibility in the rear thru the center mirror. The C7 Coupe does not.
I attached a few pics-read the message on the right side of the graphic folks love to post (but apparently don't read!) You must have good visibility in the rear to properly follow a car, especially one barreling up fats in the left lane next to you!
In over 50 years of driving I have never had an accident with another vehicle. I attribute that to luck ("pause-looking for wood") and the fact that I know were all cars are around me- yep including troopers!
I set my mirrors per this old SAE Tech Paper! (This is a camera view but I did place my head on the window etc etc!) i.e. should not see you car when leaning on your window. But with the C7 that is not good enough per that same SAE paper because of the limited center mirror view!
Problem defined by with this ~1995 SAE Info is it Required Wide View of Rear. C7 does Not Have a Wide View of C6. Must Read Words!
PS: For those who might still be reading! Had a recent experience that made the blind spot mirror very useful. I was in the middle lane of I95 driving at the speed limit (77 mph, my idea of the limit before I get stopped!) As always I had been looking in all my mirrors and knew there was no one coming at 95 mph down the left lane-a common occurrence! There was traffic in the right lane. I came across a lager 10 wheeler tire tread. No time to turn my head, it required a quick decision. Go over it and perhaps destroy my carbon fiber splitter etc or quickly go into the left lane. Switched lanes an avoided a problem because I was confident there was no one in my blind spot and also not barreling down in the left lane! I was also impressed at that speed the Z51 felt like a Go Kart!
One of my favorit subjects-too bad I can't be a brief as you! I chuckel at those that feel they need to "teach us" and others about the "Proper Way" to adjust our mirrors. That graphic shown is one that uses the info from a ~1995 SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) Tech Paper that outline that approach. I have been using it since shortly after that time.
I did not feel the need to use "blind spot mirrors" in my '88, '93, '08 Vettes BECAUSE they had good visibility in the rear thru the center mirror. The C7 Coupe does not.
I attached a few pics-read the message on the right side of the graphic folks love to post (but apparently don't read!) You must have good visibility in the rear to properly follow a car, especially one barreling up fats in the left lane next to you!
In over 50 years of driving I have never had an accident with another vehicle. I attribute that to luck ("pause-looking for wood") and the fact that I know were all cars are around me- yep including troopers!
I set my mirrors per this old SAE Tech Paper! (This is a camera view but I did place my head on the window etc etc!) i.e. should not see you car when leaning on your window. But with the C7 that is not good enough per that same SAE paper because of the limited center mirror view!
Problem defined by with this ~1995 SAE Info is it Required Wide View of Rear. C7 does Not Have a Wide View of C6. Must Read Words!
PS: For those who might still be reading! Had a recent experience that made the blind spot mirror very useful. I was in the middle lane of I95 driving at the speed limit (77 mph, my idea of the limit before I get stopped!) As always I had been looking in all my mirrors and knew there was no one coming at 95 mph down the left lane-a common occurrence! There was traffic in the right lane. I came across a lager 10 wheeler tire tread. No time to turn my head, it required a quick decision. Go over it and perhaps destroy my carbon fiber splitter etc of quickly go into the left lane. Switched lanes avoided a problem because I was confident there was no one in my blind spot but also not barreling down in the left lane! I was also impressed at that speed the Z51 felt like a Go Kart!
That's the picture I'm talking about.
Jerry, totally disagree though about your comment in that the rear visibility is poor. I came from a C6 and I find mine to be about the same.
I have my mirror's adjusted exactly as the picture in both my ST and my Corvette and I don't have blind spots in either.
EDIT: Explanation of my comment above, if you lose width in the rear, you flare out the side mirrors more, so you lose some visibility, in the mirror, or what is DIRECTLY next to you, not what is in your blind spot. I literally can look at my mirrors, glance right, glance left (which you should do when changing lanes to right or left) and see all traffic around me. If you don't want to do any glancing, then yes, there is a small blind spot next to your head (near the b-pillar). BUT, no car can fit in that space...
Practicality is having a feature on a $70K car that might increase cost/retail by $150 and add 10 lbs to the car, but it allows you to glance over, even in dim foggy, rainy poor visibility conditions, and be alerted that there is something in that zone, even if it's hard to spot in the .5 seconds you have to perceive it. If there's a little amber light there, you'll see it almost before you turn your head. Invaluable feature that makes driving in hectic traffic situations easier and safer. Some here seem to have the notion that the Corvette is some kind of exotic race car piloted by elite drivers who do everything right while driving and never ever make an error in judgement like yourselves. It's essentially a pricey toy they sell to idiots like me. I'm no IMSA driving ace and I need all the help I can get. Actually you all do, but part of human frailty is not recognizing that we all have our bad moments, and even if you do everything right, stuff happens.
I think the car should have all that stuff like adaptive cruise, etc., just wondering how much weight/cost it would all add, that's all. Now THAT's a question I'd like to pose to King Tadge or whatever they call that cool C7 engineer dude, I'm sure that stuff was all considered. How they managed to put a heated seat that doesn't work in a $70K car is a bigger mystery.
You are aware that the limitations of most of the systems just negated many of the perceived benefits.
Blind Sport Monitoring is a Driver Aid, not a Safety Feature, and like most Driver Aids (Lane Keeping, Lane Departure Warning) they are not a substitute for knowing how to drive.
Do they make driving easier? Yes, and this is why on big lumbering vehicles where driving is more difficult I can see a point to them. If you find driving a small car (or a Corvette) difficult to the point you need driver aids, maybe its time to stop driving. That's why I say these features are pointless.
OEM's offer them only because it's cheap to do so (technology is pretty reusable from car to car, just need tuning to be done) and because people are obsessed with gizmos they never will use. Another useless feature in my mind, park assist (where the car parallel parks for you).
I work on some of these types of feature so its honestly in my financial interest that people buy them, but I still dislike them and wish they didn't exist. That's how dumb I think most of them are. Driver Aid systems just make people lazier and worse drivers.
Jerry, totally disagree though about your comment in that the rear visibility is poor. I came from a C6 and I find mine to be about the same.
I have my mirror's adjusted exactly as the picture in both my ST and my Corvette and I don't have blind spots in either.
..
Didn't say it was poor, just that it was not as good. Now a Vert is poor and I would not drive one with the top up without a blind side mirror. IMO it's how far back you can see. My preference would be for the convex drivers side outside mirrors as they allow and use in Europe.
But each their own, if you're happy great! Not telling anyone to use one just giving the OP what I did for his observation it is not good.
Combined the narrower rear view with the very limited view through the right rear side window, IMO it's worse than my C6.
Being from Europe, and having installed the convex European mirrors on my non-US made vehicles for years I was wondering what to do when I purchased my first US made car - the C7. Here is a great idea for all of you who have problems with blind spots. I purchased a Volvo XC90 European convex driver side mirror as they are much larger than the C7 mirrors. With a heat gun I removed the mirror glass from the plastic backing. I then used masking tape and covered the flat original mirror glass and cut out the masking tape to get an exact removable size which I placed in an appropriate position on the larger Volvo convex mirror glass. With a dremel tool I cut a good gouge all around the masking tape and then cracked piece by piece till I had the new convex glass sized to fit inside the original C7 plastic glass holder - removed the flat mirror glass with a heat gun of course. So I have a great one piece convex glass in the C7 driver side mirror. Also purchased a more convex piece of mirror glass for the driver side and did the same there. I have no blind spots and can drive much safer now than when the car was new. Easy to do for anyone. If you do not want to cut the glass yourself - give it to a glass-cutter and they will do it for a few dollars.
This could be a great winter project for anyone waiting for better times to cruise around with their C7.
I'm more inclined to believe people aren't comfortable driving than I am to say that the mirrors are designed wrong.
But I'm of the opinion most people who are on the road shouldn't be.
I am having difficulty maintaining my 50+ year driving record of never having an accident with another vehicle! Particularly young folks (but not exclusively) with a "learned condition response" who "have to look" at their phone when they hear a beep. (Although I would say many not most.) Perhaps not to text or answer but long enough to "see who called or sent a text message."
I now find myself not only going slowly when coming up to a red light to avoid being hit in the rear, being careful not to move too quickly when I'm the first car when the light turns green but also concerned when I am on a twisty road (fortunate to have a nice rural twisty road on the 16 mile way to town.) I'm concerned that they could look at the phone and not stay on their side of the road! I have seen that occur more than once, fortunately before I was next to them!
Not trying to be a wise guy...however, have you considered the following pic? Looks strange, but I understand you can see almost a 180 degrees behind you. It's your car, please do what you wish with it - congrats.
I have my mirrors adjusted to how they work best for me and while there are no real blind spots I still have a lower comfort level when changing lanes in my C7 vert with the top up than I have in any vehicle I have ever driven. A little light in the mirror as an additional reminder to look over my shoulder again would be a welcome addition.
On the road these days, regardless of what I am driving, I find myself using the extra caution the JerryU talked about. I do agree that there are people out there who really should not be driving, but I also recognize that the ones who are certain they are the best drivers on the road are among the most dangerous.
Even in my Silverado with its excellent towing mirrors I still look over my shoulder before leaving my lane. In Oregon, one will not pass the driving part of the license exam if he does not physically turn his head and look before changing lanes. I truly believe that relying only on what you see in the perfectly adjusted mirror, or for that matter what a BSM tells you it sees, is foolhardy.
Being from Europe, and having installed the convex European mirrors on my non-US made vehicles for years I was wondering what to do when I purchased my first US made car - the C7. Here is a great idea for all of you who have problems with blind spots. I purchased a Volvo XC90 European convex driver side mirror as they are much larger than the C7 mirrors. With a heat gun I removed the mirror glass from the plastic backing. I then used masking tape and covered the flat original mirror glass and cut out the masking tape to get an exact removable size which I placed in an appropriate position on the larger Volvo convex mirror glass. With a dremel tool I cut a good gouge all around the masking tape and then cracked piece by piece till I had the new convex glass sized to fit inside the original C7 plastic glass holder - removed the flat mirror glass with a heat gun of course. So I have a great one piece convex glass in the C7 driver side mirror. Also purchased a more convex piece of mirror glass for the driver side and did the same there. I have no blind spots and can drive much safer now than when the car was new. Easy to do for anyone. If you do not want to cut the glass yourself - give it to a glass-cutter and they will do it for a few dollars.
This could be a great winter project for anyone waiting for better times to cruise around with their C7.
Great description for a DIY! Have cut a cheap piece of glass using a glass cutter and pliers but usually have to make the 2nd one after the first breaks! In this case good idea to go to someone who does it every day!
"Objects in your mirror are closer than they appear!" Funny in the US it's OK for the passenger side but not the drivers side. As I recall the old law says at least one flat mirror (or some such words) is required on the outside. Other mirrors can be whatever!
WHY GM would not put blind side warning on a $70k car makes no sense! you can get them on cheap GM models across the board, but not on a vette. Stupid if you ask me.
Could not be said better. I have them on my 2016 Traverse so I can't see what the hang up is. Forrest Gump said "stupid is when stupid does". I won't call Corvette management dumb by any stench, but BSM on a car where the driver sits down in a cave low to the ground makes sense.
No idea this thread would go into so many different directions. As I am used to larger vehicles with HUGE side mirrors (International, Freightliner & Kenworth trucks), I have always bought the stick-on convex spot mirrors for every passenger car and truck I have ever driven.
I adjusted the mirrors on my C7 a few times and still had that spot of "uncertainty" that bothered me. I suppose most of you think I am nuts, but the spot mirrors do give me a certain peace of mind. Love them or hate them.....I think they're going to stay.
Love all the replies and I am so looking forward to taking out the 'Vette again this weekend.
02-09-2017, 12:41 PM
One of my favorit subjects-too bad I can't be a brief as you! I chuckle at those that feel they need to "teach us" and others about the "Proper Way" to adjust our mirrors. That graphic shown is one that uses the info from a ~1995 SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) Tech Paper that outline that approach. I have been using it since shortly after that time.
Great description for a DIY! Have cut a cheap piece of glass using a glass cutter and pliers but usually have to make the 2nd one after the first breaks! In this case good idea to go to someone who does it every day! 
