Suma Performance mirrors review & photos/video — I'm impressed!

[Surewishihadmybronco]

Saw your video and ordered a pair, never heard of these until then. Gonna take me awhile to recalibrate my eye calipers for lane changes for sure, and get used to the reduced light(especially with front windows tinted). Overall the difference in FOV is really nice

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[Suma Performance]

Saw your video and ordered a pair, never heard of these until then. Gonna take me awhile to recalibrate my eye calipers for lane changes for sure, and get used to the reduced light(especially with front windows tinted). Overall the difference in FOV is really nice

Enjoy your SUMA mirrors!

 

[huey]

I finally put mine on this week
Here are some things I noticed right away
1 sitting stationary in my truck outside, the field of view is much better
2. Backing into the garage windows down, noticeably darker looking into
mirrors. To the point it makes the job harder
3 when driving and looking forward, then checking side mirrors, I have to look
twice into the mirror. Its an odd sensation that I have to refocus my eyes. Seems like the view requires a different level of focus. Never had this issue with factory mirrors.

These mirrors definitely have a much larger field of view, I just hope I can get used the them

 

[Callelk]

Been waiting for RagnarKon to do this video, and warm weather. Mostly wanted to see how the dreaded clip works. There's probably a specialty tool for them but the time/money involved isn't worthwhile.

I used a pair of needle-nose to spread the tabs and they popped right out. Took a bit to figure it out though but I love the std with tinted windows.

 

[Suma Performance]

I used a pair of needle-nose to spread the tabs and they popped right out. Took a bit to figure it out though but I love the std with tinted windows.

thanks for sharing your tip!

 

[jayr1959]

I installed them a couple of weeks ago and yesterday was the first time on a 120 mile trip. I do like them but as others have said you need to get used to them. The down side is they are dark. It rained for half the trip and if the vehicles did not have their lights on it was hard to see them. I do not have tinted windows.

 

[Suma Performance]

They are in stock now and ready to ship!

 

[userdude]

Thought I'd leave a review on the mirrors and RagnarKon's video.

First the video. Thank you for putting that together. Definitely helped. The install isn't too bad if you have half an idea what you're doing. One thing I'd suggest, don't know if it was mentioned, but I used some angled needle nose plyers to reach in behind the mirror and get it to release. I was not able to get it off with the supplied trim tool; it had chunks broken off by the time I switched.

As far as the mirrors, I've only driven with them once. The mirrors appear to be manufactured well; they were packed well. I did find when I plugged in the BLIS plug, it doesn't click and I was able to easily pull it apart. I considered putting a little piece of tape on it, but didn't end up doing that.

As far as performance, there are ramifications to getting a more convex mirror:

- Everything appears farther away. When it's the little cutout, you still have some normal mirror to use. I found myself squinting a little bit to see what I'd seen fine before. The darker mirror and sunglasses accentuate this issue.

- I have vertigo, which is like dry land seasickness. For some reason, when I look abruptly at the mirror, I feel vertigo for just a moment; like my eyes are expecting it to be so far away, then I have to refocus. This is quite uncomfortable for me, but I assume something I'll get used to.

Overall, not sure if I'll keep them installed. I'll give them some more time, but if I get a little queasy every time I look at them, that simply won't work. It doesn't appear this happens to others that often.

If you want a wider angle mirror, I would still recommend people try them if they get a good deal. I don't know I represent the regular consumer with the issues I had visually.

 

[RagnarKon]

Thought I'd leave a review on the mirrors and RagnarKon's video.

First the video. Thank you for putting that together. Definitely helped. The install isn't too bad if you have half an idea what you're doing. One thing I'd suggest, don't know if it was mentioned, but I used some angled needle nose plyers to reach in behind the mirror and get it to release. I was not able to get it off with the supplied trim tool; it had chunks broken off by the time I switched.

As far as the mirrors, I've only driven with them once. The mirrors appear to be manufactured well; they were packed well. I did find when I plugged in the BLIS plug, it doesn't click and I was able to easily pull it apart. I considered putting a little piece of tape on it, but didn't end up doing that.

As far as performance, there are ramifications to getting a more convex mirror:

- Everything appears farther away. When it's the little cutout, you still have some normal mirror to use. I found myself squinting a little bit to see what I'd seen fine before. The darker mirror and sunglasses accentuate this issue.

- I have vertigo, which is like dry land seasickness. For some reason, when I look abruptly at the mirror, I feel vertigo for just a moment; like my eyes are expecting it to be so far away, then I have to refocus. This is quite uncomfortable for me, but I assume something I'll get used to.

Overall, not sure if I'll keep them installed. I'll give them some more time, but if I get a little queasy every time I look at them, that simply won't work. It doesn't appear this happens to others that often.

If you want a wider angle mirror, I would still recommend people try them if they get a good deal. I don't know I represent the regular consumer with the issues I had visually.

Good short review.

Just some things to add onto this now that I've had them for several months.

• I also had the vertigo-like feeling at first. Fortunately (or unfortunately?) I'm wear prescription glasses, and anytime I get a new pair of glasses with a different prescription or a different lens shape I get a similar feeling. I've dealt with that feeling since I was 10 years old so it doesn't impact me. And now that I'm used to the mirrors that feeling has since gone away.
• The tint on the mirror I have not gotten used to. During the day it's fine, but early in the morning or at dusk it's just downright annoying. It's light enough outside that you want to be wearing sunglasses. But it's not quite full daylight, and therefore the combination of the sunglasses and the tint of the mirror makes it so you just can't see anything.

I will say the mirrors are fantastic for off-roading—really helps you see your rear tire placement and what is happening to the rear of the Bronco when you slide off of rocks. It's also incredible for backing up a trailer while towing and driving around on interstates with more than 2 lanes.

But yeah... that tint, that tint is problematic. Granted it isn't so incredibly problematic that I've had a desire to remove the mirrors. But if Suma came out with a clear version that's actually clear I'd swap mine out.

 

[userdude]

Good short review.

Just some things to add onto this now that I've had them for several months.

• I also had the vertigo-like feeling at first. Fortunately (or unfortunately?) I'm wear prescription glasses, and anytime I get a new pair of glasses with a different prescription or a different lens shape I get a similar feeling. I've dealt with that feeling since I was 10 years old so it doesn't impact me. And now that I'm used to the mirrors that feeling has since gone away.
• The tint on the mirror I have not gotten used to. During the day it's fine, but early in the morning or at dusk it's just downright annoying. It's light enough outside that you want to be wearing sunglasses. But it's not quite full daylight, and therefore the combination of the sunglasses and the tint of the mirror makes it so you just can't see anything.

I will say the mirrors are fantastic for off-roading—really helps you see your rear tire placement and what is happening to the rear of the Bronco when you slide off of rocks. It's also incredible for backing up a trailer while towing and driving around on interstates with more than 2 lanes.

But yeah... that tint, that tint is problematic. Granted it isn't so incredibly problematic that I've had a desire to remove the mirrors. But if Suma came out with a clear version that's actually clear I'd swap mine out.

I don't know what to think about the darker mirrors. That in-between moment at dawn/dusk you refer, I always struggle putting my sunglasses on/off then, and I need them during the day. Right now I'm planning on giving them a week or so before deciding, unless it's just unbearable or dangerous. I assume I'll found out how much I actually use my mirrors! lol

My preliminary analysis is that these are a good idea that's actually harder to pull off than it seems.

 

[MtnTopComms]

But yeah... that tint, that tint is problematic. Granted it isn't so incredibly problematic that I've had a desire to remove the mirrors. But if Suma came out with a clear version that's actually clear I'd swap mine out.

I agree, my side windows are tinted to 5% and while I love the extra area I can theoretically see with these mirrors the tint makes them almost unusable in the daytime for me.

Mine will likely come off in the next week or so unfortunately and hope that a truly clear version comes out at some point.

 

[Rory]

I agree, my side windows are tinted to 5% and while I love the extra area I can theoretically see with these mirrors the tint makes them almost unusable in the daytime for me.

Mine will likely come off in the next week or so unfortunately and hope that a truly clear version comes out at some point.

I just installed the ones with the blue tint - my rig is blue - and I honestly don’t know how I managed without them before. The field of view is soooo much better and definitely safer. The blue tint looks cool as hell and no problem seeing even through my windows during the day. I consider them a must have among must have Bronco mods. Also, Gina in Suma customer service is an absolute gem.

 

[userdude]

I don't know what to think about the darker mirrors. That in-between moment at dawn/dusk you refer, I always struggle putting my sunglasses on/off then, and I need them during the day. Right now I'm planning on giving them a week or so before deciding, unless it's just unbearable or dangerous. I assume I'll found out how much I actually use my mirrors! lol

My preliminary analysis is that these are a good idea that's actually harder to pull off than it seems.

Spent some time in my Bronco this weekend and have a couple updates.

- The vertigo really only happens on the driver side, and it's much worse when backing up. I don't know if my eyes are just used to the curve but when I look down my mind seems confused at what it sees. I can reduce it a lot by pointing the Z-axis coming out through the mirror more toward the B pillar, but of course I lose some of the blind spot angle. I do feel like it's more tolerable here and more likely to be something I could get used to.

- The driver mirror is wobbling pretty bad. I'll try to take it out and reseat it next couple days, but as it is, I wouldn't continue to use it. I hope I didn't mess up the clips when I took off the other one. I definitely think I could rock a stock driver and Suma passenger mirror combo, if I had to.

 

[Suma Performance]

I just installed the ones with the blue tint - my rig is blue - and I honestly don’t know how I managed without them before. The field of view is soooo much better and definitely safer. The blue tint looks cool as hell and no problem seeing even through my windows during the day. I consider them a must have among must have Bronco mods. Also, Gina in Suma customer service is an absolute gem.

Thanks for sharing your review and pictures! The blue SUMA compliments your blue bronco well. Yes, we are blessed to have Gina on our team!!

 

[Suma Performance]

Spent some time in my Bronco this weekend and have a couple updates.

- The vertigo really only happens on the driver side, and it's much worse when backing up. I don't know if my eyes are just used to the curve but when I look down my mind seems confused at what it sees. I can reduce it a lot by pointing the Z-axis coming out through the mirror more toward the B pillar, but of course I lose some of the blind spot angle. I do feel like it's more tolerable here and more likely to be something I could get used to.

- The driver mirror is wobbling pretty bad. I'll try to take it out and reseat it next couple days, but as it is, I wouldn't continue to use it. I hope I didn't mess up the clips when I took off the other one. I definitely think I could rock a stock driver and Suma passenger mirror combo, if I had to.

Regarding he vertigo, it takes a few days for some people to get used it at first because of the drastically improved field of view. The reason it's wobbly because backing plate wasn't seated properly. Once it's seated properly, you won't have this wobbling issue. Give it a try for a few more days and you'll love it!

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