So I did the mirror mod this weekend - added a few washers to the back of the driver's side actuator plate to get a little more angle. worked great.

first off, from my bmw days, i learned how to properly adjust the driver and passenger-side outside mirrors. the teutonic way feels a little weird at first, but is very effective in reducing blindspots once you get used to it.

the technique is to push your left ear against the driver's side window and look into the mirror... adjust it out until you barely see the side of your car in the "near-corner" of the driver's-side mirror. for the passenger-side mirror, move your head to the centerline of the car, look at the passenger-side mirror and adjust it out until you can just see the side of the car on the passenger side.... again thru the near-corner of the passenger mirror. what this does is gives you the maximum angle on both sides... try it you'll find your able to at least see the rear flanks of an approaching car when it's in your blind spot. if the approaching car, accelerates past your blind spot (unlikely in an s2k ) , you'll be able to see it by glancing out of your windows (it's next to you). it does throw you off from what you're used to, but give it a little time and you'll find the germans know what they're doing.

i was able to do the passenger side adjustment without any modifications.. i'm about six feet tall with a pretty long torso. problem was i couldn't adjust the driver's side mirror out far enough. always saw way too much of the side of my car and none of the s2k blindspot.

with the mod, the driver's side mirror can easily adjust out far enough for me to barely see the side of my car door. the faq instructions say to use #6 washers, this works and the fit nicely in to the recessess of the actuator. it goes on to say you can use the original screws to fasten the actuator down.... this did NOT work for me. I ended up making a couple of runs to the nearest hw store to finally get the right size screws... the screws to use are size 7, self-tapping, pan head phillips, 3/4-inch long. these fit great.

in fact because you only need two and have to buy a bunch, i have extra screws and #6 brass spacers. pm me with your mailing address and i'll send them to you.... while supplies last.

i can see again!! and feel much more confident making lane changes. i had installed one of the small round convex mirrors on the far corner of the driver-side mirror which isn't absolutely necessary anymore, but gives an even wider view (two adjacent lanes) now of what's coming up behind you. i think i'll keep it on for a while...

try the mod and the "adjustment technique"... you'll be glad you did.

- marc

 

I modded the mirrors quite a while ago. It works great. Most people adjust the mirrors so that they can see the side of the car (I know it's there and if it's not I don't want to know anyway! ). Many years back, Car and Driver had an article about proper adjustment of the mirrors.

 

Your description of how to adjust the mirrors should also be in the FAQ. This is how I do it (compliments of Car and Driver) and (with the mirror mod) I have no blind spot of any kind.

If one does the mod and adjusts the mirrors as marc suggests, a car will move from the rearview, to the sideview to your peripheral vision with very slight overlap at each transition. You'll never be surprised.