Prefer a wider view of the road beside you? I know I do. My stock mirrors are setup following the process outlined here – How to Set Rear View Mirrors to Eliminate Blind Spots. Using this method, you can see pretty much anything around your car. I wanted to see just a little bit more than just the next lane though which brought me to purchase a set of aspherical side view mirrors.
These mirrors have been floating around ever since the MK5 generation was brought out. I think they’re standard items in Euro spec cars. I have no idea why they are not used here, maybe cultural preference. These mirrors show are much wider field of view than the stock mirrors and the last outer inch or so is angled even further. This angle serves as a built in blind spot mirror. If you’re not used to driving with the setup outlined in the link up top, it can take some getting used to driving with these mirrors. Someone used to the wide view setup will have an easier time picking this up.
The ones I picked up are not oem (most likely an oem supplier though) but the quality is nice for the price. I found them for 40 dollars shipped on eBay. Various other sellers in the US are selling these for $100 dollars and up. For $40, I took the chance. The rear mounting points are different from the stock mirrors but they fit well. I’ve heard reports of the non-oem mirrors not fitting correctly but these snapped in firmly. OEM mirrors would’ve been nice but they don’t come in a blue tinted form. I wanted to get a set not only for the wider view but for the glare reduction as well. The blue tinting helps tremendously with driving at night. Glare is cut by at least 50% and makes night driving with SUV’s and misaimed headlights around a lot more pleasant. It is slightly darker at night, but I have not had an issue with night vision yet. Keep this in mind if you have problems seeing at night though.
Visibility is excellent, particularly if you set them up properly. I can’t imagine driving without them now, they are really useful in daily driving.
Plus they have that cool blue color… =)
markFive GTI 