Blind spots and such, we know that people rarely "miss seeing it"....

I am interested in your opinions on how well its constructed in terms of driver visibility.

 

all 3 pillars of the car are extremely thick, you WILL need to adjust your side mirrors *correctly* to eliminate most of the blind spots behind you

people that are used to turn their head all the way around to look for traffic before switching lanes will HATE the blind spots

 

No better, no worse than most cars I've driven. You'll adapt your driving style based on your comfort level with the visibility this car affords.

 

i don't really find that much of a problem with the A and C pillars, but the B pillar does cause a bit of a blind spot. its nothign that you can't get used to. i'm one of those people that turn their head all the way around ( ) to look for traffic in addition to using the mirrors.

 

It's still way better than a Prius.

 

I lower the passenger seat so that it won't block the view over my right shoulder.

The B and C pillars are thick, and the rear door porthole is tough to focus through when scanning for traffic. Lowering the passenger seat is a big help.

I also changed the rear view mirror. The OEM "homelink" mirror was way too big and in my face.

Is the non-homelink mirror any smaller? I would trade my homelink mirror if anyone wants it. The mirror I installed is a cheap AutoZone part. It vibrates too much.

 

blind spot on the rx8... hate it when i need to merge to traffic on a short entrance. best car in blind spots, have to say the mitsubishis/talons 95-98

 

pretty decent sized blind spot for lane changes, especially if you're like me and you like to see two lanes over to make sure no one is chaning lanes into the same lane you're wanting to change into.

 

oh, rearward visibility without the spoiler is awesome!

 

Blid spot is a little awkward, but it could be worse... My '97 Miata's top started where the B-pillar on the 8 is, and it created a slightly larger blind spot. Honestly, if you know how to properly adjust your mirrors, and don't mind leaning forward a bit to check over your shoulder, it's not bad at all.

 

You can reduce your mirror blind spots by adjusting the mirrors all the way to the left on the drivers side and all the way to the right on the passenger side. most people are used to looking down the side of the car, but this is not necessary. With the mirrors adjusted the way described you can follow the passing car in the rearview side mirror all the way untill you see it form the side.

If you still need to look down the side of your car you can lean a little to the right or left.

 

Wow, that's just about the worst advice i've ever heard.

If you do that, then how on earth will you see an approaching car in the lane you're trying to change into? There's a lot more to changing lanes then just making sure no one is in your blind spot. It drives me nuts when i'm doing 75 mph in the fast lane and some asshat changes lanes causing me to slam on my brakes because at the time there was no one there.

 

I find it depends on the driver on how bad the blind spots are, I am 6' 1" and where my seat rests when I look over my shoulder to check my blind spot I see right out the back window with no blind spot. My wife that is 5' 4" says the blind spot is horrible and she cant see anything out the side.

 

I think the visibility was good then I added the ms mirrors
oh well

 

You should be able to see the car in your rearview and if it's in your blindspot you will see it in the mirrors.

Don't knock it until you try it and see what you've been missing.

 

I thought you adjust the mirrors just enough so that you can't see the side of the car in the mirror unless you physically move your head over to each respective side. All the way to the left/right is WAY too much.

 

See this thread for more information on the mirror adjustment.

Blind spots and the 8

 

Adjust until the blind spot is gone for your own personal situatuion.

 

these blind spots are probably the only part of this car i dont feel comfortable with yet. i am one of those people that got used to turning their heads all the way around before changing lanes. its just up to me to learn to rely on my sideview mirror s more i guess.
but yea...RX-8 blind spots = bad to me

 

that's not true at all.

I'd also like to see how many american drivers check there rear view mirrors for traffic while making a lane change...

Sometimes the drivers here really scare me. (Raised here since i was 9mo old, but my folks taught me how to drive and they aren't american)

 

Blind spot isn't too bad on the 8. My girlfriend has an element and it has the same blindspots as the 8 due to the huge A pillar, huge B pillar from the suicide doors. You just have to adjust the mirrors all the way out so you don't see any part of your car and it should solve most of the problems. I've driven worse cars but I found majority of the Hondas to be easiest to drive in terms of blind spots though.

 

One more time in as simple ah terms as I can make it . If you look into the mirror and the vehicle is close enough to be in your path you will see them. See all the posts for this subject,

Or better yet just keep the blind.

 

I agree with Lefty. I set my driver side mirror by putting my face next to the driver side window and adjusting the side view mirror until I can barely see the side of the car on the right side of the mirror (I don't know if this is all the way to the left, but it is probably pretty close). I set my passenger side mirror by leaning my head over the center console and adjusting the side view mirror until I can barely see the side of the car on the left of the mirror. I do not notice any blindspots. The car moves directly from the rearview mirror, to the side view mirror, and then I can see them right beside me out my window. No significant head turning is required.

 

Thank you Guisslapp I think cleoent needs to try the adjustment before jumping to conclusions. I understand this is not the normal adjust people are used too, but it works great and now we are safer drivers.

 

He can still see the car in his adjustments, he's not blindingly shiftying the mirror all the way to the left just so he can see a blind spot.