Gentex rear view mirror group buy

[D'Ecosse]

Hey Malibu - you back yet?
I saw that reference but hard to see how that's possible - the original OEM button is HUGE relative to the new one - I looked at that but not for more than a few seconds when I saw how disproportionately different they are.
However if it was done, fair enough - not sure I'd want to start carving up the new mount to accommodate it though. I would just bite the bullet on having it replaced - it's a little nerve-wracking but came through unscathed!

One fabulous benefit (mentioned by the original poster I believe) I noticed yesterday, is that my mirror no longer vibrates violently when my sub is hitting - in fact it doesn't even move at all. I'm VERY pleased with that feature!
Also had the opportunity to checkout the auto-dimming in real driving conditions - it responds very quickly & turns off if you don't want to use this feature. On the freeway I thought it was nice to utilize it.

 

[Malibu Rapper]

Hey D'Ecosse, no won't be back till the 23rd.

The way I understood it, the stem, not the button, that was originally for the OEM mirror can be modified for use with the Gentex mirror. I would assume somehow you can take apart the original mirror and just take the stem out, then take apart the gentex and modifiy the stem with a dremel. Does that seem possible at all?

No moving mirror is a great bonus. I hate having to readjust the mirror. But you know if you just took it easy with that volume knob, your ears and car would appreciate you more.

 

[lithiumus]

Hey Malibu,

I looked long and hard at modding the mirror to fit but I didn't want to crack it open and mess around so I abandoned that effort. The Gentex has 2 ball joints but the OEM only has one.

D'Ecosse, how did they attach the new K type button to the windshield? I tried doing it myself with Napa and Permatex kits but was not successful. The Gentex ball joints are so tight they just ripped the button off the windshield when I adjusted the mirror.

I'm replacing my windshield so I'm getting it put on by a pro... but I'm still skeptical... I went through 6 kits and I'd like to think that I'm capable of installing such a simple thing...

 

[D'Ecosse]

... But you know if you just took it easy with that volume knob, your ears and car would appreciate you more.

Sorry Dude - didn't catch that .... what did you say????

 

[D'Ecosse]

... how did they attach the new K type button to the windshield? I tried doing it myself with Napa and Permatex kits but was not successful. The Gentex ball joints are so tight they just ripped the button of when I adjusted the mirror....

Yes, I agree it's really tight ball joint - as per above, one of things I really like about it!
Tech just super-glued it - First though, he cleaned it really well to ensure all the old glue removed - scraped with a blade, then cleaned with solvent. Next he applied the activator solution to the glass & also the button, ensuring he didn't touch surface of either with his finger. Then a spot of glue in the middle & stuck it on there - held it a few minutes while it set, before attaching the mirror. When we adjusted it initially to leave, he held the stem while I positioned it, just for extra insurance until it was fully cured.
I didn't touch it for several days to be sure it was fully set - I have adjusted it since & it seems stuck pretty good.
One suggestion maybe if you were trying at home - just stick the button & leave it overnight without any extra weight of the mirror on it to get a good cure. But if the tech at glass shop is doing it, I'm sure it will be fine - no disrespect intended whatsoever, as it looks relatively simple - but these guys do this all the time & maybe their chemicals are better than you or I could get in a kit from the auto-parts store? (I want to say it was loctite, at least on the glue but don't recall 100%)

 

[SNDSOUL]

next round of shipping #'s
Wheelman 1z79v3020344215292
TPham 1z79v3020344054457
GLeach 1z79v3020343833063
TRutherford 1z79v3020344237483

 

[lithiumus]

Finally got the K type button installed. Don't bother with the off-the-shelf Napa or Permatex kits. The Glass shops and Glass pros use an industrial strength Locktite spray activator and glue. The Locktite spray and glue costs over $80 so it makes sense to just have the pro do it.

Though I'm still very hesitant on applying force, it's on rock solid!

I got a new windshield so they put the button on at that time.

 

[drmanny3]

While I missed the group buy, I managed to find the Gentex with homelink that I wanted on Ebay. It came in from Canada as a used unit that was not oem. I took the advice of not trying to remove the button myself and found a glass outfit in Santa Ana, on Warner between Harbor and Fairview that agreed to do it for $10. I ended up giving the guy $20 cause it was a lot of work. He had to heat the oem button for a long time with a micro torch? before it gave way with vice grips. Then he tried a small button which immediately fell off once he attached the gentex. He went out and got a larger button and it securred the mirrror within a minute of his attaching it to the glass. I agree it was well worth the effort. The mirror is a big inprovement with respect to the amount of area visable. The visors don't go beyond 90 degrees as they contact a portion of the mirror but that is ok. I really love the homelink feature.

 

[SamBel]

The location in the pic is not necessarily the "most-optimum" but there was a hole already previously drilled there for an alarm install - we simply enlarged it to take the new harness without having to mess with it.
.

How do I say this nicely...how the $@!?!& did you get a drill bit to that location? I have a corded and cordless 3/8" drill, and can't get within five inches of the firewall. That's from under the hood...I didn't even consider trying to get there from inside the car.

 

[socalx]

I installed mine without drilling a hole.

I put the temp sensor in the passenger side air intake (clipped to the grill material) on the side of the car behind the door. I then ran the wire from the engine compartment through the groment in the center of the engine compartment where the ecu harness passes from inside the car to the engine compartment.

In order to do this i cut the end off the temp sensor connector and i used a metal coat hanger to pull the wires into the passenger compartment. (this is very easy)

Running the wire from this location is simple. Remove the upper rear panal (snaps off) and remove the drivers side lower panel(the one behind the driver seat) (also snaps off). you then loosen the 3 philips screws that hold on the drivers corner panel and feed the wires to the panel on the side of the car behind the fuel filler pull arms (this leather panel pulls up enough to let you get the wires) . From that location it was easy to run the wires under the .5" plastic trim at the edge of the carpet at the door opening. The wire is then at the fuse panel.

NOte that the directions with the mirror clearly state to not alter the temp wiring in any way. I don't think polarity of the two green wires matters as the sensor is likely a variable resistor, however as a precation before i cut the wires i did mark one of them with a marker so i could reattach the same way they came apart. also i did not shorten or lengthen the green wires (their is plenty of lenght so the temptation would be to cut of the excess)...b/c i did not want to throw the temp sensor calbration off. anyway after doing this the temp sensor still reads correctly.

I also did the same with the mirror i installed in my s2000 to avoid drilling a hole in my s2000 firewall and had the same good results.

Anyway... thought i'd share, your choice as to whether you want to drill your car or not, but if you were like me and did not want to do this, here is a way to avoid drilling the nsx.

 

[SamBel]

I installed mine without drilling a hole.

Running the wire from this location is simple. Remove the upper rear panal (snaps off) and remove the drivers side lower panel(the one behind the driver seat) (also snaps off). you then loosen the 3 philips screws that hold on the drivers corner panel and feed the wires to the panel on the side of the car behind the fuel filler pull arms (this leather panel pulls up enough to let you get the wires) . From that location it was easy to run the wires under the .5" plastic trim at the edge of the carpet at the door opening. The wire is then at the fuse panel.

Thanks for the tip!
If someone needs a schematic of the interior for this, it is here as a pdf file.

 

[coolnsx]

Manny, how much heat did it take to pull the old clip off and did he have any issues installing the new metal baseplate? Thanks, hope to see you Thursday.

 

[nsxpt]

I just had a local car audio/video store installed the GenK60 since I'm completely ignorant about the wiring thing. They did a really nice job, they worked on the adapter I ordered from Gentex and fit it right on the original button so we don't have to remove it. The programming for the homelink with the garage door was a breeze. That's one of the best upgrade I've done to the NSX so far. The mirror is a bit bigger (length, width, depth) than the stock one but it's well worth it. :smile:

 

[drmanny3]

He used a mini tourch to heat it and it took him about a two minutes. He used a pair of large plyers to grip it. He also used a special product mentioned elsewhere in this post to secure the new one. The first one did not take, then he got a much larger surface area piece and that took relatively fast. He said if it held for 30 seconds then it would hold for ever. He attached the mirror within 30 seconds. I just noticed the previous post and I am surprised to learn that there is an adapter that works with our system. Was this mentioned in the post earlier? I missed the NSX meeting Thursday as I was preparing for a trip. I will make the next one as well as the Mequires visit coming up this month.

Manny

 

[Malibu Rapper]

They did a really nice job, they worked on the adapter I ordered from Gentex and fit it right on the original button so we don't have to remove it.

What adapter is this? Do you have a part number from Gentex?

 

[nsxpt]

Adapter for Gentex rear view mirror

I came across the adapter on ebay while scrolling thru the Gentex mirrors they are offering and decided to give Gentex a call about it. I spoke to a gentleman named Ron Stevens at 616-772-1590 X 671, he said he will send me one free of charge to see if it will work with the NSX. It's supposed to work with Subaru and Honda ( to me, Honda->NSX) but it's not made specifically for the NSX itself. I received the part, removed the stock mirror, tried it on the button, nope, it's too small. It's a cast iron part, kind of heavy but very well made. I took it to the car audio/video shop of my buddy and asked him to help me out and make it work. I've got to tell you guys, it's rather labor intensive, he assigned one of his guys to do the grinding to enlarge the opening, little by little at a time until he's got to fit snuggly on it. I had to stay at his shop for 4 hours before the work is done but it's an impeccable job they did, I'm really happy with the result. I believe if you are patient and good with your hands, you could do it too. I intent to keep the GenK60 if I happen to sell the car and use it on another one (not that it's gonna happen any time soon) and just switch back to the stock one because not everyone wants such a bulky aftermarket rear view mirror in their NSX. If you replace the button with the new one that comes with the mirror, it would be much faster but I'm not sure if the glass shop guy who removes it will not crack the windshield and I have to replace it too. I'm not sure about the part# of the adapter, it could be NES9050583, I think you have to check it up with Ron about this. Hope all of this renting helps. Good luck! :wink:

 

[Griffen]

Tag for interest..

Gotta get home and measure my stock mirror and compare before I decide but this sounds great.

 

[Malibu Rapper]

nsxpt, thanks for the info. Next weekend, I guess I'll snap a close up photo of the button with measurements and see if I can e-mail that guy at Gentex with it to see if there's a better fitting part. I've grinded cast iron parts with my Dremel before and can't imagine something taking 4 hours to do.

It sounds like there are still others that have interest in this mirror. Maybe we should start up another group buy? I think sndsoul might be up for another round...

 

[D'Ecosse]

I have my OEM button I can send to the Gentex resource if that would help.
I am heading overseas however so if someone can do the leg work & send me the info I'll forward it on when I return at the weekend

 

[MJK]

Anyone thought of trying to crack the mirror open to match the OEM amber coloring with the temp display?

 

[SNDSOUL]

nsxpt, thanks for the info. Next weekend, I guess I'll snap a close up photo of the button with measurements and see if I can e-mail that guy at Gentex with it to see if there's a better fitting part. I've grinded cast iron parts with my Dremel before and can't imagine something taking 4 hours to do.

It sounds like there are still others that have interest in this mirror. Maybe we should start up another group buy? I think sndsoul might be up for another round...

:biggrin: I started this group buy with doing 5 mirrors in mind, at last count I was at 17 or so. I priced them at no profit so you guys are getting one hell of a deal! Its actually been alot of work keeping all of the buyers organized. Good thing I love NSX Prime :wink: If we can get 5 more buyers, so I can order all at once, I will do it again. The main problem was getting buyers to commit with payment all at the same time. I actually lose money if I just order one or two at a time. Its easiest for all interested buyers to organize a list here and them PM me with one order. thanks--Brett

P.S> If everyone that got their mirror and was happy with the service I gave could leave me a positive trader rating, I will return the favor. I havent recieved any complaints so I am assuming everyone recieved what they were expecting.

 

[Malibu Rapper]

Ok, here's a picture of the button and the corresponding measurements I took with my dial caliper. I will try to contact Gentex on monday to see if they have an adapter for us.

 

[quickslvr]

By the way, I'm new to nsxprime so i missed the first group buy. I talked
with Brett the other day and he will do another group buy if enough guys
are interested. In my opinion this is a great update for the car.
I'd like to order a GenK 60. Any others?

 

[Griffen]

Count me in... :smile:

 

[awsomr1]

I'm in also