How NOT to remove the passenger side outside mirror

Habious · Aug 25, 2015

Driving home last night. I-495 (DC Beltway), in the High-Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes.

I passed a guy on the right (who wasn't getting over...but eventually did...directly into the lane I was occupying). I was B-A-R-E-L-Y able to squeeze past him but, I had a small casualty - my passenger side mirror clipped the plastic barriers between the HOT and regular lanes.

I'm not going to blame anyone but myself on this one - I know I was driving a bit aggressively...but the guy did merge right smack into me!

I've already called Tesla about a replacement mirror; we'll see what that's gonna cost.

FYI...audio track on the vid is NSFW (language...one big one).

[video]https://youtu.be/7e1j0UWOlOg?t=1m18s[/video]

If you watch carefully, you can see the shards of the mirror spray onto the dash when I clip the barriers...the whole inside of the car is covered in mirror pieces. The sucker exploded into my face. Good thing I was wearing sunglasses.

Legal disclaimer - The Heads-Up Display (HUD) speedometer in my car does not show my ACTUAL speed - it's adjusted to an offset of my actual speed. I know how much the offset is (but I'm not telling YOU).

bpangburn · Aug 25, 2015

That sucks! Glad you're OK. I really think sometimes we might as well be invisible.

cgiGuy · Aug 25, 2015

Wow.. very fortunate you don't have to have the whole passenger side of your car repainted. Glad it ended up only being the mirror.

yobigd20 · Aug 25, 2015

cgiGuy said:
Wow.. very fortunate you don't have to have the whole passenger side of your car repainted. Glad it ended up only being the mirror.

it looks like it swiped the side of his car too from those photos I can see marks in the paint.

thefortunes · Aug 25, 2015

That'll buff right out (in?)

andrewket · Aug 25, 2015

That sucks. It looks like you could have braked and fell back in time, but it's easy to question decisions while watching a video. The minivan did signal, although without any warning (no time between signal and the move.)

blanche · Aug 25, 2015

How odd. I have seen police cars drive right THROUGH those plastic barriers between the HOT/Express lanes and regular beltway (495) lanes. The barriers just bend down underneath the cruiser as it goes flying through them. I can't imagine how they caused this much damage.

Incidentally, yes, cops in the HOT lanes can easily catch you speeding on the other side of the barrier

I saw it happen in front of me to a completely unsuspecting Prius who was speeding on the regular 495 lanes.

HankLloydRight · Aug 25, 2015

blanche said:
How odd. I have seen police cars drive right THROUGH those plastic barriers between the HOT/Express lanes and regular beltway (495) lanes. The barriers just bend down underneath the cruiser as it goes flying through them. I can't imagine how they caused this much damage.

I think it gets down to mass, leverage, and physics (I am not a physicist, but I play on on the internet!). When the cops do it, it's the low front bumper hitting the bollards and causing them to collapse under the car. The bumper is also much closer to the fulcrum (pivot point), so there's less force than hitting the bollards at the top (think of swinging a baseball bat and getting hit by the end, or the handle). Also, the bumper has more mass to overcome the force of hitting the bollard. The mirror OTOH, the force of the mirror mount holding the mirror to the car has to be greater than the force of the bollard hitting the mirror, or else the mirror absorbs all the force and the mount breaks. Anyway, that's my take on it, I could easily be wrong.

doug · Aug 25, 2015

Habious said:
I've already called Tesla about a replacement mirror; we'll see what that's gonna cost.

Consider also Lotus for a replacement mirror, since I believe they are identical.

doug · Aug 25, 2015

HankLloydRight said:
The bumper is also much closer to the fulcrum (pivot point), so there's less force than hitting the bollards at the top.

You got this point backwards. The force required is inversely proportional to the distance from the fulcrum.

But at any rate, I don't think should be too surprising that a relatively low mass mirror repeatedly whacked rapid fire going high speed would be obliterated.

HankLloydRight · Aug 25, 2015

doug said:
You got this point backwards. The force required is inversely proportional to the distance from the fulcrum. .

Yeah, I was thinking about that after I posted. Thanks.

Habious · Aug 25, 2015

andrewket said:
That sucks. It looks like you could have braked and fell back in time, but it's easy to question decisions while watching a video. The minivan did signal, although without any warning (no time between signal and the move.)

I've thought about that as well (watching the video with hindsight). However, I had quickly slipped in front of the SUV (that moved right initially) and braking hard would have meant doing that right in front of him.

NomoC8 · Aug 25, 2015

What's the coiled thingy? Slightly off topic, anyone have carbon fiber mirror covers?

Carbon Fiber Tape on Mirror Covers for Lotus Exige Elise S1 S2 Tesla Roadster | eBay

shrink · Aug 25, 2015

That sucks. Sorry to hear, but glad no one was hurt.

Maybe you take the opportunity and do a modification to add power sideview mirrors to the Roadster! I know that's wishful thinking. I just hate adjusting that passenger side mirror.

TOBASH · Aug 25, 2015

doug said:
Consider also Lotus for a replacement mirror, since I believe they are identical.

I'm almost certain doug is correct about the Lotus replacement

bart513 · Aug 25, 2015

Wow glad you're ok without shards of glass in your eyes! It does look quite sad with the blue coiled piece just hanging there

ML Auto · Aug 25, 2015

The mirror part is the same but the base is different. It is cut out on the bottom because the door is different. Also the Lotus base is solid and the tesla base is hollow. It can be made to work with a little grinding. I have a few if you run into a hard time finding one.

Habious · Aug 25, 2015

NomoC8 said:
What's the coiled thingy?

It's a spring. It's the spring that holds the mirror to the base.

- - - Updated - - -

MLAUTO said:
The mirror part is the same but the base is different. It is cut out on the bottom because the door is different. Also the Lotus base is solid and the tesla base is hollow. It can be made to work with a little grinding. I have a few if you run into a hard time finding one.

This is good to know.

My base appears to be intact. Just the mirror itself got ripped off.

HankLloydRight · Aug 25, 2015

Just realized this was a Roadster thread. That is a gorgeous color blue.

Panoz · Aug 25, 2015

Dude! What an opportunity! Make this the first DIY Tesla! Get a kid's tricycle mirror and duct tape it on. Use an unbent coat hanger to angle it from the driver's seat (no, you won't be able to close the window). I say it's high time for a Tesla from the South, a Trailer Park Roadster if you will.

How NOT to remove the passenger side outside mirror

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