Applicable to: '90 - '97 1.6 liter
The mirror has lights in it that when tapped into the underdash lighting provide additional illumination inside the car.
The instructions made reference to figures that were not included. The kit comes with a wiring harness that plugs into the back of the mirror. The color of wires in the the wiring harness did not match what was described in the instructions. I ended up having a friend with an electronics background check it out. We found out that the plug that fits into the mirror was wired wrong and that a splice in the harness had exposed connections that were probably shorting out against one another.
A set of proper instructions would have helped a lot. I tried e-mailing Brainstorm about this and received no reply. Not very good customer service. If it wasn't for my friends's help I would have sent this product back. Now that it is properly installed in the car it is a nice addition. The mirror actually mounts a little higher than factory and the illumination it provides is a welcome addition. If the assembly, quality control and customer service were up to snuff I would recommend this product to anyone, but unfortunately I can't. Two thumbs up for the mirror (incidentally it's a Donnelly unit), two thumbs down for Brainstorm for not making the effort to ensure the product can be properly installed.
Under 5 minutes to remove
Applicable to: '99 + 1.6 liter
Brainstorm - Lighted Rear View Mirror
Installation took more time than anticipated but I like to make sure that things come out looking real nice. Removing the plastic cap over the mirror mounting bracket was a bear. I actually broke a metal pick I was using to pry it off. Gotta love that miata plastic.
This unit was purchased in 2/2005 before reading the reviews and if I had read them, I might have had second thoughts. The only missing part was the torx wrench and I had one that fit so it was no big deal. If you take the time to route the wires behind the plastic windsheild backing they are not visible. I then ran them along the inside of the door weather stripping on the passenger side and wire where barely visible near the convertible roof latch. The wires are black and so is my trim so unless you know what to look for you wouldn't see them. I am pretty anal about those things are believe me if they where visible I would have returned it. The connection to the existing wiring harness was fairley painless although a little confusing since the instructions had colored wires and they were all black. :( Consider the black wire with the red tape as the red wire. I have not noticed any increased vibration in the mirror compared to the stock mirror! . The additional lighting is incredible. Overall I would recommend this mirror.
Over 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to: '90 - '97
Interior rearview mirror with two built-in maplights.
We've been using it for about three months.
Great product. Fairly easy to install. Great to have on road trips at night as the map lights can be individually controlled. In everyday use both lights are controlled by the courtesy light circuit and really light up the interior. I've read opinions regarding aftermarket mirrors being too close, etc., but I haven't noticed a difference. This mirror uses the old mirrors base on the windshield header. Pricey, but worth it. Be sure to tighten the clamp on the adjustment knob. I had problem with the adjustment drooping, so I went back and snugged the boltsd up one more time -- no more problems.
Under 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to '90 - '97 1.8 liter
BrainStorm lighted Mirror
I was tired of being in the dark so this looked to be a good option and $20.00 cheaper than the other lighted mirror I saw. First I tried to use the WEB site to order but for some reason it did not work so after about three weeks I tried to order by phone and was treated very rudley and was hung up on. BrainStorm said it was the afterhours service so I tried by phone once more and received the mirror in about three days. Instalation was unbeliveable, a screw was missing for the mount (somehow I had one that would fit and alow me to use the mirror) the wires would not fit into the conector as they had a differant end than they should but the really bad thing was the three wires were to match the color in the conector, red to red, black to black and white to white, not too hard except that ALL the wires were RED! After about three hrs. I was out of the dark and had my mirrow light instaled.
The wiring is seen after mounting, It could be done in a more atractive way but the mirror does do the job of lighting, just needs more attention from the people who make it. To do over I would spend the extra $20.00 on the other product... Good luck if you buy one of these.
Over 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to: '90 - '97 1.8 liter
a lighted replacement mirror
very easy to install. the only tools needed are Phillips screwdriver and a small 8mm?? Allen key. good lighting....actually excellent...has independent controls to turn on the light while moving.
mirror is bigger that old one. the only thing i didn't like was that the wiring connector does not get hidden under the trim. so you have a connector section hanging in the open. i have a toll tag so its kind of obscured. but nonetheless BP could have made the harness hidden if they wanted to.
Under 30 minutes to remove completely
I have had the product installed for 3 months now.
The product arrived minus the allen wrench promised with the kit (not a big deal, but one set I have didn't have the size). Installation was not difficult, but you will need some wire ties for cleanly routing the wiring harness. It would have been nice if these were included as well, but still no big deal.
The wiring procedure to the mirror itself is not clean, as the harness connectors are glaringly visible.
However, the biggest shortcoming of the mirror is its size. It is larger than the original mirror,and as a result interferes with the driver's sun visor. You wind up putting the sun visor partially in front of the mirror so that you don't keep banging and moving the mirror each time you move the visor.
On the positive side, the mirror DOES give lots of light, and the wiring scheme allows it to come open with the doors, like a dome light would.
Overall, I was disappointed with the product. It was not cheap. It's a shame that so few peopledo good work. I have seen adds with Roebuck Mazda for a lighted mirror. This is even more expensive, but if it is the factory mirror, I'd spend the extra money on a product done right.
Replacement rear view mirrors that provide interior lighting for the Miata.
I ordered the MM mirror first. The install was excellent, and the lighting was great. The problem is with the mount. The MM mirror comes with a rather long bar that places the mirror a bit closer to the drivers eyes than the stock mirror. The mirror is also a bit larger than stock, so I found the mirror to be uncomfortably close. I actually got a bit of a headache from using it. Also, the long mount allows the mirror to vibrate at speeds above 45 MPH or so. It doesn't make the mirror useless, but it's harder to identify certain types of cars (cops) when the mirror is vibrating. I wasn't happy, so I decided to try the Brainstorm Products mirror. The mirror is identical to the MM mirror, but the mount and the wiring is different. The wiring isn't as easy - the MM mirror includes an adaptor plug that allows for a simple plug in install. The Brainstorm wiring requires a little more work, but no more than 10 minutes extra. The mount for the Brainstorm mirror is far superior. It actually moves the mirror about an inch farther away than stock which compensates for the larger mirror perfectly. The mirror doesn't vibrate at all at high speed. Lighting is just as good as it is the same mirror.
The Brainstorm mirror is definitely the way to go.
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2 October, 2005 |