Wink Mirrors

[geezer]

I have seen these mirrors for sale since the early '70s but never have seen one in person mounted in a car. Below one is pictured in the book "How to Modify Datsun engines & chassis" and mounted in a 510. The thought came to me as I was reading Arne's tint strip group buy thread. I thought the mirrors would tuck up nicely and not be as noticeable from the outside of the car with such a strip. The Wink mirrors come in 4 or 5 panel configurations, maybe others too, depending on the vehicle. Some are plastic, some are made from billet aluminum. Ebay has them listed all the time.

Has anyone here driven a car using these mirrors? I used to think they were kind of cheesy but they are growing on me and I'm just wondering if they are hard to adjust to or add any visual benefits?

[JLPurcell]

I had one in the 00029 car when it was set up for SCCA CP. It worked really well and cut down on blind spots. JLP

[grantf]

never seen a z taxicab before.

[jmortensen]

I had a 5 panel in my car and hated it. It fits right where the sun visors bolt up and goes straight across the window opening. To me, this felt like it was very close to my head. I couldn't get over it. I do like the idea a lot so I've got another 4 panel job waiting and I'll see if installing that as far away as possible works for me.

They are very popular with the racers and I'm about the only guy I've ever heard complaining about it, but that thing drove me nuts.

[geezer]

I had one in the 00029 car when it was set up for SCCA CP. It worked really well and cut down on blind spots. JLP

I figured that it would be a more popular item for track use, but I think it would be nice to custom build one to fit the contour of the Z, making it look like it belongs there, in a street car. Just another half baked idea I had.

I think I understand what you mean about it being annoying Jon. It does bother me driving with the sun visors down when not needed, but some of these are only 1 1/2" tall, but I guess in order to work properly, have to be mounted low enough.

Edited January 22, 2010 by geezer

[Jeff G 78]

We have a wink in the LeMons 260Z and I don't like it. Like Jon said, it's too close and the left panels show nothing other than your helmet. I'd like to try a panoramic to see if that is better.

[Galaxybj]

I had one in my 620 Pickup and my 610 coupe. I liked them as they pretty well eliminated blind spots. Never put one in my Z so no input there.

[jmortensen]

I think I understand what you mean about it being annoying Jon. It does bother me driving with the sun visors down when not needed, but some of these are only 1 1/2" tall, but I guess in order to work properly, have to be mounted low enough.

It's not really that they block the view out of the windshield. If that second picture is of one that you own, I suggest you just go out to the car and hold it in place.

The 510 has a fairly flat windshield and so the mirrors work better on them than they do the Z. On the Z the windshield is really curved, so that mirror sits way further back in the cabin than the stock mirror, and I found it hard to look that direction for a rearview, for one, and two I thought it was weird to focus on something so close to get the rearview.

I think ideally you'd want the rearview to be in as close to the same plane as the windshield so that you didn't have to move your eyes to aquire the mirror or re-focus to make out what was in it.

[sblake01]

I like them. I had a 5 panel in my Z and in my 810 and a 4 panel in my 320. I was so used to having them in my cars that it seems strange to drive without them as niether of my present vehicles has one nor does my wifes car.

[JLPurcell]

I believe the key to the effectiveness of my wink mirrors was: first adjustment, the angle of each of the five mirrors was adjustable, secondly if you look at the photos of 29 car back in the 70’s almost 1/3 of the top of the windscreen was blacked out allowing for the mirrors to be viewed without distractions.

[JohnnyO]

! When I was in high school a buddy of mine had this installed in his mustang. His parents had it installed after he backed into his second vehicle in the high school parking lot. The dude wore coke bottle glasses and drove a 4 cylinder mustang. Worst driver I ever met.

Growing up in South Florida I always thought they were for old people.

John

[Chino 240Z]

Something different, 17" panoramic mirror. I use the roll bar mount version, but looks like the basic version can attach to an existing mirror.

http://www.ioportracing.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=MIR-R17-M&Category_Code=IOPP