Installing JDM folding mirrors in a USDM car

[Crazy_pilot]

I searched, but nothing particularly relevant to my question showed up in the last couple of years.

I'm tempted to pick up one of the set of folding mirrors on Ebay right now, but I'm a little on the anal/perfectionist side. Has anyone installed a set and fully converted them to LHD specs? Obviously the glass would need to be switched from my other mirrors, but what about the control switch? Moving it to a LHD position would flip it upside down - Left is right, up is down, and the labeling on it would be upside down.

Has anyone attempted to solve these issues, or would I be guinea pigging myself?

[icingdeath88]

Originally Posted by Crazy_pilot

I searched, but nothing particularly relevant to my question showed up in the last couple of years.

I'm tempted to pick up one of the set of folding mirrors on Ebay right now, but I'm a little on the anal/perfectionist side. Has anyone installed a set and fully converted them to LHD specs? Obviously the glass would need to be switched from my other mirrors, but what about the control switch? Moving it to a LHD position would flip it upside down - Left is right, up is down, and the labeling on it would be upside down.

Has anyone attempted to solve these issues, or would I be guinea pigging myself?

I have a set that I picked up from scoobymal. It has been done before. What I believe needs to be done is to swap the guts of the mirror to the USMD housing. This saves the need to paint them, and keeps the mirrors on the correct sides. (The "objects in mirror will be closer" thing will be reversed on the JDM ones). Then you have to run wiring for the folding motors (just a couple wires each AFAIK). The rest will be plug-and play, but yes, the switch would be upside down. Since I'm the only one that drives my car this won't bother me at all, since I'll just adjust it and leave it that way. You could switch around the wires, so that the left-right switch is reversed and the d-pad is also correct. But the labels will still be upside down. I was thinking just to erase the L and R and leave the rest alone. You could probably also keep the stock switch and just put a separate switch somewhere to control the folding.

The hard part of all this would be opening up the mirrors. You have to take off the mirror part somehow to get inside.

[Chuckls]

Swap out the internals of the switch

[svxcess]

Originally Posted by Crazy_pilot

I searched, but nothing particularly relevant to my question showed up in the last couple of years.

http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/show...hlight=Mirrors

Has anyone attempted to solve these issues, or would I be guinea pigging myself?

Check this thread.

http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/show...hlight=Mirrors

Pay particular to the posts my mohrds You have to swap the bases ot the JDM mirrors with the U.S. bases. This is no big deal.

Nobody has found a solution to the upside-down and backwards switch. That is why, as anal and perfectionistic as I am, I could never do this mod. Esthetically, it would drive me crazy to have lettering upside down. if course you could just sand off the lettering, since it doesn't illuminate anyway.

i figure that it is far easier to adjust my mirrors quickly as they are now than try have to remember that "down is up and left is right" constantly.

Except for the parking lot "look at me, ain't this cool?" factor, I would never use it. If I need to fold my mirrors , it takes 15 seconds to do so.


However, the newer design systems than fold the mirrors automatically when the ignition is turned off and extend them when you turn the ignition on is a good idea.
.

[Crazy_pilot]

Thanks John, I figured you would be in the know on the subject. I'm of the same opinion, having those labels upside down would drive me a bit nuts every time I look at them. Although, since they're not illuminated I could probably have some custom water-slide decals made up to put things were they should go. And like you said, what I would really want is to incorporate the auto-fold when the car is off feature. Again, I think that would be doable, but I don't have the electrical know-how to pull it off myself.

We'll see. I have better things to spend ~$400 on right now, but it's something that would be fun to have.