I guess I'm just bored at work today, but here goes: Until I got my '8 I thought the sunvisors were really cool, with the little holes for traffic signals and all. Now I think they are poorly designed.

The only real way to see through the holes is to angle the visors straight down, which puts them right into my face. The holes should have been set in a 45-degree angle. As they are, I can't see through them at all when the visors are pressed against the windshield. And the visors are a little awkward to move around. Am I missing some trick here, with those holes?

And ... since this is virtually the only bad thing I can say about the car, that just shows how happy I am with it! :D

 

I love the visors.

 

I dont think you are missing any trick
expect they have a hidden slot you can store things in

I dont even use mine but my girl always uses hers of course

 

the holes aren't there to see thru they are there(or not there) to make the visor is lighter weight. save a gram here and there it adds up to a lot less. "add lightness"

 

I never use sun visors. I wear quality sun glasses. Anyone that complains about a sun visor (you must be joking right?) I say go buy a pair of sun glasses, a decent pair and leave the sun visors in the up position.

 

I always leave both my visors in the down position (I don't feel the need to see all that sky.....) and I appreciate the holes when I come to a trafic light, and can still make out what color it is.

I wiped the stupid yellow stickers off them the first week of ownership. (airbag warning? seatbelt? can't even remember what they said!)
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doc

 

How did you "wipe" the Airbag warning off your visors?

I've wanted these off since day 1. I thought it was a sticker, but it seems like it's moulded into the visor.

Please advise.

Thanks.

 

Acetone.....

It did leave a slight yellow shadow, if you know what to look for, you can see it.

But since they were always 'down', the stickers where only visible from the outside anyway....
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doc

 

I have very nice sunglasses, but I still use the visors sometimes. Maybe I'll try going without, as I did in my Miata (I removed them completely in that car).

I still think those holes are supposed to be for looking at traffic signals. If they had wanted to add lightness they would have just used thinner plastic for the whole visor, I would have thought. But that's just a guess.

 

At first, I had no idea why the visor's had holes. My thought was to keep weight down. But, if you were in fact trying to keep weight down, wouldn't you do away with the visor mirror? Especially on the drivers side? Then one day, I stopped at a light, sun blaring right in my eyes. I dropped the visor down, and whoa, I could see the signal light through the visor. Awesome. That MUST be the purpose of the holes. If weight was THAT much of a concern, why would they put the engine cover in there? That thing wieghs much more than a few holes worth of plastic, don't you think?

 

Doc. You could have told them that acetone eats plastic! Be careful...be VERY careful.

Uh, sunvisors? Like Tony the Tiger says..."They're great!".

 

LOL!, Doctorr still has his rear seats in the plastic! :D

 

Actually, the acetone doesn't affect the visor plastic at all, but you are right, you wouldn't want to spill any on the dash or console...

The picture is from my first week, so the plastic WAS still on the seats - but more to the point, my crappy photo does not show EITHER sticker!

DOH!
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doc

 

i always have my visors down. i like the holes.. helpes to see the lights. and blocks the sun.. exactly what its spose to do. cant complain about em.

only complaint of the car is the day i was stuck my friend.. these 2 chicks and a 3rd chick came along. Couldnt drive em "home"... :-(

 

Two words people:

Maui
&
Jim...

www.mauijim.com

 

for you and the rest of the naysayers. this is from mazda's own press kit which is available to read for your own enjoyment in the multimedia section (it's the sticky ) :


new style sun visors: Sun visors use a punched metal motif. The design conveys a weight-saving image befitting a genuine sports car, and lends a clear-cut look to the interior. Mazda designers optimized the size and pitch of the punched holes to assure shading capability. Sun visors are also fitted with a lighted vanity mirror.

and remember in the future that if i am guessing or making something up i will tell i am.:p :D

 

I'll never be able to remember that. :p However, I WILL remember what you just quoted. It makes me feel better. (I thought maybe I was doing something wrong, because others say they can see the lights through them but I can't, from my driving position.)

 

This is a trick! It doesn't actually say that the perforated sun visors weigh less, only that they convey an image of weighing less!!! That's a very important difference!

(I'd still concede the point to Zoom44, though :p )

Regards,
Gordon

 

gordo! stop pointing out the holes in my arguements i did catch that though, sounds like the cross-drilled brakes to me.

 

They never really specify any intended function of the holes other than aesthetic. Above, they're just saying the perforated material still manages to block the sun while looking spiffy. Here's another quote from the same presskit:

The mesh material for the lightweight
sun visors is just one of the many fine details
designed to appeal to the emotions.

For me, the appealing possibility is being able to cut the glare but still peek through to see a signal. Apparently an unintended benefit, or at least they didn't let on about it. Conceivably some kind of liability fears where they didn't want to be responsible for someone mistaking a signal because they were looking through the holes.

 

Anyone notice how the perforated motif extends all the way across the windshield? It starts with one visor, continues with the metallic treatment in the center of the windshield (same perforation pattern on the windshield), and finishes with the other visor. Nice touch. The visors are lightweight, have a solid feel, a slot to store papers like parking lot tickets, mirror, etc. They are extremely functional and well-designed. Plus you can see the traffic light thru them with the sun in your face, something I can do in no other car. Way cool!