Rear view mirrors

[Nithin]

I just noticed yesterday that the driver's side mirror is flat but the passenger's
side is concave. the "objects appear smaller..." message in only on the passenger's
side mirror.


why is this?

Nithin.


edit: my car is a honda civic btw. i don't know if that matters.

 

[Colt45]

Not sure. both of mine are flat, and I don't believe there is any warning.
Don't need to step on the clutch to start it either. I notice most european cars dont have as much idiotproofing as US cars. well.. they never used to.

 

[Pulsar]

Because the reflection angle on your driver side is nearly 180 degrees, you get to use the full surface i.e. - the reflection you're looking at is, let's say, 5 inches by 7 inches.

Because the viewing angle from the driver to the passenger side mirror is far different much closer to 90 degrees, your actual viewing surface is nearly halved. Convex mirrors allow you a much better viewing angle because you don't have to turn them as much.

 

[Nithin]

ah. makes sense

 

[Calin]

My driver's side mirror have an external area that is cylindrical (is curved on the horizontal plane) so it could cover more of the lateral dead angle just behind the driver. Some cars uses for that smaller mirrors that are much more concave