Setting up ORVMs

arvind71181 · 15th November 2010, 16:18

Hi,
Usually when I get into the car, I set up both my ORVMs before starting it. Now, is there an ideal setting for the ORVMs? I set both the ORVMs in such a way that I am able to view the side doors of my vehicle on both sides. Otherwise I sort of tend to lose the relativity of the vehicles with respect to my vehicle when I see them through the mirror.

Is the above approach fine enough or is there a better way to adjust the ORVMs? Please advise

sammyboy · 15th November 2010, 17:23

Hi Arvind, please go through this thread. You will find all the information you are looking for.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...ml#post1712463

arvind71181 · 15th November 2010, 17:41

Got it thanks!!! I am still a little bit confused but will probably try out all the settings mentioned and see which one suits me better :-)

khoj · 15th November 2010, 18:16

The settings vary a bit depending on what I am driving, as ORVMs in different cars offer different views. The ORVMs in my Cedia, Aveo and Zen offer great views in decreasing order of coverage and vibration free reflections. In fact the Cedias ORVMs are the best in the sense they have some sort of OE coating on them that reduces glare from lights of vehicles behind you at night. The ones in Aveo are heated and that is great during rains and the foggy weather in Delhi during winters. Helps clear the mirrors instantly when required.

My Swift has the worst ORVMs of any car that I have driven including the M800. Shoddy coverage, not only wavy but shaky reflection at almost any speed and it seems to intensify the glare from headlights of the vehicles behind you at night.

Coming to setting up, I set mine so that I can see my car in the inner 20~25% of the ORVM and the remaining shows the surroundings. Lately I also tend to turn them downwards a tad more than earlier so that I can see the upper half of my rear bumper to help avoid scratches while reversing etc.

arvind71181 · 15th November 2010, 18:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by khoj

The settings vary a bit depending on what I am driving, as ORVMs in different cars offer different views. The ORVMs in my Cedia, Aveo and Zen offer great views in decreasing order of coverage and vibration free reflections. In fact the Cedias ORVMs are the best in the sense they have some sort of OE coating on them that reduces glare from lights of vehicles behind you at night. The ones in Aveo are heated and that is great during rains and the foggy weather in Delhi during winters. Helps clear the mirrors instantly when required.

My Swift has the worst ORVMs of any car that I have driven including the M800. Shoddy coverage, not only wavy but shaky reflection at almost any speed and it seems to intensify the glare from headlights of the vehicles behind you at night.

Coming to setting up, I set mine so that I can see my car in the inner 20~25% of the ORVM and the remaining shows the surroundings. Lately I also tend to turn them downwards a tad more than earlier so that I can see the upper half of my rear bumper to help avoid scratches while reversing etc.

Thanks. That was really helpful. My car is also a swift, and I find myself looking over my shoulder a lot of times in traffic, especially at nights and hence wanted to know if there is anything which can be done about the same.

At day times it is manageable, but it gets really worse in the night. Add to it the people who stop even at signals using high beams and I am like

GTO · 16th November 2010, 10:45

I set my ORVMs such that I can just about see the end of my own car (very slightly); this greatly helps when gauging how close the other car is to you. Of course, the ORVM positioning also depends on what car you are driving. Most of the Mercs have lousy mirrors....thus I have to extend them out more than I'd usually prefer.

The Aria sports amongst the best ORVMs available today. Super view of the stuff happening behind.

vnabhi · 16th November 2010, 14:48

To ensure a wider view and reduce blind spots, I set my ORVMs such that I can see the rear tip of my car, but only when I tilt my head slightly in either direction.
I use the same setting whether in the Fiesta or the WagonR. My Waggie does not have telescopic mirrors (not sure if it is the right word), therefore I set them a wee bit wider.

RajaTaurus · 16th November 2010, 15:32

Good point here. I have 2 settings - One for city driving and one for highways.

City driving: As outward as possible with only a tiny corner of my car in view to get max coverage of vehicles in 2nd and 3rd lanes, a little downward to catch two wheelers and babies like M800 crawling from the left.

Highway driving: Turn both mirrors inward just to converge at a distance behind me, so I can see a car right behind me at about 200 meters away. This way, I can see all 3 lanes in any one mirror at a time. I don't have to see right side for right lanes and left side for left lanes. Of course, this is not useful in American cars, for some reason known only to Americans, the ORVMs are just flat mirrors and not convex mirrors. There, basically on highways you have to depend only on the inside RVMs.

pgsagar · 16th November 2010, 22:40

While on the subject of ORVMs, let us also discuss what all cars come with powered ORVMs. My grouse with Swift/Dzire is, MUL provides electric ORVMs in lowly (comparatively) Estilo but not in Swift/Dzire. Anyone who uses both the ORVMs knows how much pain it is to adjust passenger side ORVM. You lean across, adjust and sit back, only to find it a little off mark. The whole process again, till you get it right. Also manual adjust mirrors move out of position every time the cars falls in pot-hole. For some reason, this does not happen in electric adjust ORVMs. And even if it does happen, re-adjusting is hassle free. I do not understand why manufacturers treat electric ORVMs as luxury.

khoj · 17th November 2010, 00:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by pgsagar

Also manual adjust mirrors move out of position every time the cars falls in pot-hole.

Well that has never happened in my Swift or Zen both of which have manual adjust. Having said that yes the Zen's mirror is held more rigidly in the assembly compared to the Swift. As for the electric mirrors they are locked in place and held by gears which in turn won't move untill current flows through the motor.

Of course both types are helpless against the scrub-rub-a-dub received at the hands of the driver when he wipes them every morning.

wildsdi5530 · 17th November 2010, 02:14

IMHO ORVMs are for reversing in tight spots. For regular driving, the overhead mirror gives the best view.

khoj · 17th November 2010, 02:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by wildsdi5530

IMHO ORVMs are for reversing in tight spots. For regular driving, the overhead mirror gives the best view.

I sincerely hope that you are not one of those who drive around with the ORVMs folded. In any case now that you have the benefit of this thread, it is time to change your driving habits w.r.t. ORVMs. Amongst other uses, these are meant primarily to be used for regular driving in conjunction with the IRVM.

arvind71181 · 18th November 2010, 13:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by wildsdi5530

IMHO ORVMs are for reversing in tight spots. For regular driving, the overhead mirror gives the best view.

In my view, if you use only the IRVM, then it is very likely that you will have a lot of blind spots. It is always better to user the ORVMs in conjunction with the IRVM.

GTO · 19th November 2010, 11:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by pgsagar

Also manual adjust mirrors move out of position every time the cars falls in pot-hole.

My Jeep's ORVMs vibrate so much at certain rpms that it's impossible to see anything out of them! Only solution : Change throttle position

Quote:

Originally Posted by RajaTaurus

Good point here. I have 2 settings - One for city driving and one for highways.

Excellent point and thank you! I'm going to keep this in mind for the next highway drive. Probably set them out a wee bit wider on the open road.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wildsdi5530

IMHO ORVMs are for reversing in tight spots. For regular driving, the overhead mirror gives the best view.

I sincerely hope you are joking. And if you use your ORVMs for reversing only, you are driving around with several blindspots. That's a danger to you, your car's occupants and other road users.

wildsdi5530 · 22nd November 2010, 02:11

Considering that I drive on highways most of the time, the ORVMs are not very useful. They produce a smaller image (Objects in the mirror are closer than they are). The blind spots you talk about, left fender, doors, rear fender and right rear fender. I do not drive without atleast a 2 feet gap on the sides. Maybe in city traffic, where you spend more time traveling sideways than forwards, and where clearences are in micrometers, the ORVMs can tell you whether you're going to knock the two-wheeler off or get dented by the bus.
My principle is that if you can see a vehicle clearly in the ORVM, he is too close for comfort.
And no I never fold my ORVMs, they are useful in surreptiously checking out the scenery when parked.;-)

15th November 2010, 16:18	#1
arvind71181 Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2010 Location: TN-14 Posts: 1,103 Thanked: 1,726 Times	Setting up ORVMs Hi, Usually when I get into the car, I set up both my ORVMs before starting it. Now, is there an ideal setting for the ORVMs? I set both the ORVMs in such a way that I am able to view the side doors of my vehicle on both sides. Otherwise I sort of tend to lose the relativity of the vehicles with respect to my vehicle when I see them through the mirror. Is the above approach fine enough or is there a better way to adjust the ORVMs? Please advise
	() Thanks

15th November 2010, 17:23	#2
sammyboy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Ggn/Dehradun Posts: 1,842 Thanked: 523 Times View My Garage	Hi Arvind, please go through this thread. You will find all the information you are looking for. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...ml#post1712463
	() Thanks

15th November 2010, 17:41	#3
arvind71181 Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2010 Location: TN-14 Posts: 1,103 Thanked: 1,726 Times	Got it thanks!!! I am still a little bit confused but will probably try out all the settings mentioned and see which one suits me better :-)
	() Thanks

15th November 2010, 18:16	#4
khoj Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Dilli Posts: 2,718 Thanked: 1,287 Times View My Garage	The settings vary a bit depending on what I am driving, as ORVMs in different cars offer different views. The ORVMs in my Cedia, Aveo and Zen offer great views in decreasing order of coverage and vibration free reflections. In fact the Cedias ORVMs are the best in the sense they have some sort of OE coating on them that reduces glare from lights of vehicles behind you at night. The ones in Aveo are heated and that is great during rains and the foggy weather in Delhi during winters. Helps clear the mirrors instantly when required. My Swift has the worst ORVMs of any car that I have driven including the M800. Shoddy coverage, not only wavy but shaky reflection at almost any speed and it seems to intensify the glare from headlights of the vehicles behind you at night. Coming to setting up, I set mine so that I can see my car in the inner 20~25% of the ORVM and the remaining shows the surroundings. Lately I also tend to turn them downwards a tad more than earlier so that I can see the upper half of my rear bumper to help avoid scratches while reversing etc.
	() Thanks

16th November 2010, 10:45	#6
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 71,525 Thanked: 309,647 Times View My Garage	I set my ORVMs such that I can just about see the end of my own car (very slightly); this greatly helps when gauging how close the other car is to you. Of course, the ORVM positioning also depends on what car you are driving. Most of the Mercs have lousy mirrors....thus I have to extend them out more than I'd usually prefer. The Aria sports amongst the best ORVMs available today. Super view of the stuff happening behind.
	() Thanks

16th November 2010, 14:48	#7
vnabhi Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: DC -> DC Posts: 5,977 Thanked: 2,405 Times View My Garage	To ensure a wider view and reduce blind spots, I set my ORVMs such that I can see the rear tip of my car, but only when I tilt my head slightly in either direction. I use the same setting whether in the Fiesta or the WagonR. My Waggie does not have telescopic mirrors (not sure if it is the right word), therefore I set them a wee bit wider. Last edited by vnabhi : 16th November 2010 at 14:54.
	() Thanks

16th November 2010, 15:32	#8
RajaTaurus Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Tenkasi, TN Posts: 1,119 Thanked: 482 Times View My Garage	Good point here. I have 2 settings - One for city driving and one for highways. City driving: As outward as possible with only a tiny corner of my car in view to get max coverage of vehicles in 2nd and 3rd lanes, a little downward to catch two wheelers and babies like M800 crawling from the left. Highway driving: Turn both mirrors inward just to converge at a distance behind me, so I can see a car right behind me at about 200 meters away. This way, I can see all 3 lanes in any one mirror at a time. I don't have to see right side for right lanes and left side for left lanes. Of course, this is not useful in American cars, for some reason known only to Americans, the ORVMs are just flat mirrors and not convex mirrors. There, basically on highways you have to depend only on the inside RVMs.
	() Thanks

16th November 2010, 22:40	#9
pgsagar BANNED Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Vizag Posts: 2,638 Thanked: 3,634 Times View My Garage	While on the subject of ORVMs, let us also discuss what all cars come with powered ORVMs. My grouse with Swift/Dzire is, MUL provides electric ORVMs in lowly (comparatively) Estilo but not in Swift/Dzire. Anyone who uses both the ORVMs knows how much pain it is to adjust passenger side ORVM. You lean across, adjust and sit back, only to find it a little off mark. The whole process again, till you get it right. Also manual adjust mirrors move out of position every time the cars falls in pot-hole. For some reason, this does not happen in electric adjust ORVMs. And even if it does happen, re-adjusting is hassle free. I do not understand why manufacturers treat electric ORVMs as luxury.
	() Thanks

17th November 2010, 02:14	#11
wildsdi5530 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,451 Thanked: 2,061 Times	IMHO ORVMs are for reversing in tight spots. For regular driving, the overhead mirror gives the best view.
	() Thanks

22nd November 2010, 02:11	#15
wildsdi5530 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,451 Thanked: 2,061 Times	Considering that I drive on highways most of the time, the ORVMs are not very useful. They produce a smaller image (Objects in the mirror are closer than they are). The blind spots you talk about, left fender, doors, rear fender and right rear fender. I do not drive without atleast a 2 feet gap on the sides. Maybe in city traffic, where you spend more time traveling sideways than forwards, and where clearences are in micrometers, the ORVMs can tell you whether you're going to knock the two-wheeler off or get dented by the bus. My principle is that if you can see a vehicle clearly in the ORVM, he is too close for comfort. And no I never fold my ORVMs, they are useful in surreptiously checking out the scenery when parked.;-)
	() Thanks