Buying Mirrors from a left hand drive car?

[airbus319]

Hi,

Uk RHD based and was looking to buy some mirrors for my Sportback off a left-hand drive car, would this be an issue?
from the parts database there are a few types with some showing LDH and some RHD I just want to be clear on what the difference is, if it is just mirror dipping then I'm not too bothered with that.

Thanks

David.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

The issues will be glass type....North American (LHD) mirrors are flat glass on driver's side and convex with silly writing that objects will appear smaller on passenger side. EU (LHD) will have aspheric on driver's side and convex on passenger side. Aspheric gives a wider view than convex.
I changed my Canadian S3 to aspheric on each side....flat glass is bonkers and that is why nanny aids are popular here, such as blind spot detection, etc.

 

[airbus319]

So in theory, if I just replace the glass with my existing then it's business as usual?

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Yes, apart from mirror dip which will be on driver's side, if equipped with power folding mirrors. Just make sure that the the mirror assemblies are for an 8V A3 model not an earlier design. There may be quirks for other countries but I would ask for model year and country of origin prior to purchasing and with that info, you should be able to check for suitability.

 

[airbus319]

It's a Left-hand drive car from the Netherlands. S3 3Door, I've checked and the 3 and 5 doors share the same mirrors.

 

[Peter123]

According to many web sites including this one.
https://spottermirror.com/02/2018/convex-vs-aspherical-mirrors/
The aspherical side mirrors are the default option for vehicles in Europe. This is the reason why those mirrors are often referred to as ‘Euro style’ in the US.

Here is the difference between the two types.

• Convex mirrors have a constant radius of curvature across the full surface- usually between 1200 and 1400 mm. This means they are slightly curved to provide a wider field of view. In the US, those are the default type of mirrors for the passenger side, only.
• Speaking of aspherical mirrors- the inner portion is slightly convex and the outer 25% has a decreasing radius of curvature. This means the field of view is even wider. The transition between the convex and aspheric sections is marked with a line. In Europe, those are the default type of mirrors for both sides.

Usually people who have driven a car overseas attempt to outfit every car they own with aspherical mirrors. Unfortunately in many cases they are not readily available, especially for domestic makes and models.
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I have just had fitted an aspherical mirror to the passenger side of my UK FY 2017 Audi Q5 2.0 TFSI. I have a wider view of the road on the inside which is what I like. It is very handy on motorways when people pass on the inside, especially when in restricted 50 mph speed zones.

 

[-Ju-]

I think the actual housings will be angled slightly different for l/h and r/h drive cars.
If you look closely the passenger side is angled very slightly further in towards the car, you notice this mostly if you have powerfold mirrors as the passenger side folds in fully before the drivers side does.
I guess you could angle the mirror glass to compensate for this but technically they are different

 

[Rcord]

Hi,

Uk RHD based and was looking to buy some mirrors for my Sportback off a left-hand drive car, would this be an issue?
from the parts database there are a few types with some showing LDH and some RHD I just want to be clear on what the difference is, if it is just mirror dipping then I'm not too bothered with that.

LHD mirrors aren't suitable for your car. Apart from glass issues, the mirror housings are angled differently in LHD and RHD cars in order to be viewed correctly according to the driver's position. The mirror glass adjustment range is not wide enough to compensate for the wrong angled mirror structure. Besides all that, the electrical signals for the left-right mirror adjustment will be inverted and I'm almost sure the mirror folding signals will be inverted too.

 

[John ler]

I’ve got a set of folding mirrors from a left hand drive car for sale, the difference in them is the mounts o the doors the rest is the same, easy while you have them stripped down to change the wires over at sa,e time, glass is same, only bases are diffrent , the controls are all done in the door controller not the mirrors, I’ve done this on a car I bought and later bought a set again front a left hand drive conversion I did this is where I got these mirrors from, if you just fit the he mirrors on your right hand drive, you will be unable to see without leaning back from drivers seat, you will need to take the mirror base’s from your old mirrors and fit the to the left hand drive ones,

 

[Shaheen]

Hi,

Uk RHD based and was looking to buy some mirrors for my Sportback off a left-hand drive car, would this be an issue?
from the parts database there are a few types with some showing LDH and some RHD I just want to be clear on what the difference is, if it is just mirror dipping then I'm not too bothered with that.

Thanks

David.

Hi David,

Did you manage to retrofit LHD mirrors on your RHD Car,
I would like to do the same, because my A3 doesn't have foldable option !!

 

[airbus319]

Hi David,

Did you manage to retrofit LHD mirrors on your RHD Car,
I would like to do the same, because my A3 doesn't have foldable option !!

Hi, I bought some RHD mirrors from Ebay and swapped them over. I have a spare drivers one for sale if you want it?