Stiff NC wing mirrors

Technical Area Body, Interior & Styling
1

Are NC (not electrically retractable) wing mirrors very stiff to fold in manually? Can they be adjusted to make this easier? I live in a town with some narrow roads and had a few near misses so need to pull them in.

2

It does take a bit of effort to get over that first bit Brian! I just take hold with both hands and go for it :nerd_face:

Barrie

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3

Definitely stiff to fold in, when asked my missus won’t touch them in fear of breaking them. I guess not a great deal can be done with them.

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4

I fold mine in the garage and they are not too bad, Easier to lift them before moving.
I would suggest they may be a bit gunked up so would give them a jet wash in the gap where they fold, and fold the mirror in and out whilst doing it.
When fully dry after a couple of days, carefully spray silicone spray in the gap. Use an old towel or kitchen roll to avoid over spray but get plenty in and then work the mirror back and forth.
It folds forwards as well as folds in so plenty of wiggle room.

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5

Thanks - trouble is I sometimes alter the mirror at the same time :grimacing:

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6

I thought I’d break it when I first tried as well.

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7

Thanks I’ll try that - I think electric ones are expensive and fiddly to retrofit.

8

Did any NCs come with electrically folding mirrors? Or is there an aftermarket kit that you can get?

It’s something that I miss (all our other cars have them). The car lives in a very tight garage, and being able to fold the mirrors before driving in makes it easier. On-street parking is also very tight around here, so it’s good to be able to easily fold the mirrors in.

9

Silicone spray was a good idea; just done that and it made a useful improvement, although I accept that No Folding mirrors equals no motors etc, so another hark-back to Colin Chapman and “Horse & Rider in perfect harmony” meets “add lightness and simplify”

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10

I use Pledge Polish spay for such issues, e.g. to keep my caravan wheel lock free to undo. On a car it does no harm either as it’s affectively just polish.

Roy

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11

I’ve an idea the word used in that phrase was “simplicate”

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12

Even better