F.A.Q.

Frequently Asked Questions • Can I use my present BMW mirror with your adapter? o No, the adapter is used to let you attach a new mirror that has an adjustable stem with dual ball joints. That is how you get rid of the blind spot, by pivoting the new mirror up higher against the top of your windshield. The stock BMW mirror does not have an adjustable stem that would allow you to reposition it up higher. My adapter allows you to mount a mirror with an adjustable stem to the SAME mount that your stock BMW mirror uses. Mounting your stock mirror to my adapter ( if that were possible) would put it exactly where it is now...... too low with no height adjustments. • How can I tell if a mirror that I have located has a GM or Ford style mount? o The GM style base has a dovetail with a 30 deg angle on it. The Ford base has a flat mounting surface with no angle. Click here to see a photo of the two bases side by side. • Can I use an electrochromatic mirror with a built in compass and or temperature gage with the adapter? o I find that Electrochromatic mirrors do NOT get dark enough for most drivers. If you have a truck or SUV with high mount headlights close behind you, you will be ducking below your mirror because you are being blinded by his lights. The manual mirrors do a much better job of dimming bright lights. o There are several electrochromatic mirrors with a built in compass, temperature, and reading lamps. 90% of these mirrors will NOT adapt to the Zs. The stem on the mirror has a smaller range of travel and will not allow you to adjust the mirror so that you can see out the rear window. If you adjust the compass mirror to the highest tilt, you will get a terrific view of the rear radio speaker! Not what we are looking for! o I have had several owners tell me that they located compass mirrors from several GM autos including Bravada, Aurora and Buick that worked, however not ALL compass mirrors from these models work. It seems that GM used several different mirrors in identical model cars. o If you decide to try to locate and use a compass mirror, you will need the GM style adapter. If you are unsuccessful in finding a compass mirror with enough adjustment in it's stem, you can simply use the adapter with any non-compass mirror from GM, or I will refund your purchase price less $5.00 for shipping once you return the adapter to me. o HERE IS A LINK TO A PAGE WITH MORE INFORMATION explaining what you need to look for in an EC or Compass mirror. • Will a 10" wide mirror with additional features like EC or compass block too much of my forward vision? o It is not the width of your mirror that is blocking your forward vision, but the mounting position. It is mounted too low and does not have an adjustable stem to allow you to position it higher so that you can see under it. Once you move any width mirror up higher against the top of the windshield, you gain a whole new view of the road. Once the mirror is positioned higher, you will no longer need to duck down to look under your mirror. It makes no difference if the new mirror is 4" or 14" wide, it's the higher position that does the trick. • How much effort is required to twist on the adapter to the mounting button on the windshield? o It does require moderate twisting effort..... but how do you determine "moderate"? o The easiest way to determine the maximum amount of force required to twist on the mirror is to twist on your original mirror, that will let you feel how much force is required. Due to the mount design, the mirror does twist OFF easier than it will twist back ON.I have designed the adapter to twist on with just a little LESS effort than the original mirror requires. If the adapter seems that it is requiring more effort to twist on than your original mirror, email me and I will replace it with an adapter with the mounting pins set .005" of an inch further apart. This is not a big change, but it does significantly reduce the required twisting effort of the adapter to the mounting button. I have found only a few buttons out of hundreds that are a little oversize and require an adapter with the larger pin spacing.