Back in the 50s a number of cars had external sun visors. They projected forward, blocking the upward view out the front, so traffic lights were hard to see.

Cars with those visors would usually have a little prism-like device on the dash that let you see the lights. My recollection is that they were called "traffic light finders."

With the low roofline on my RX-8, and a comfy reclined driving position, I've got the same problem. Does anyone know if traffic light finders can be found these days?

Ken

 

Hey Ken,

There is a product, that basically sticks to the inside upper portion of your windshield and lets you tell the color of the light. I'll try to find the website again, but my friend has one on his Lotus Elise and it does the trick (they sit lower than our cars). I'll PM you if I can find the site again.

Later
Corvus13

 

http://www.lightinsight.com/our_product.htm

or

http://www.thehotrodgirl.com/trlivi.html

 

Actually that first link is what some Miata owners are using.

 

And very shortly an RX-8 owner will be using one! Looks a lot nicer than what I remembered from the old days, which was more like the one at the second link.

Thanks so much. This will let me rest my neck at traffic lights, saving it for the all-important task of craning it to find the dipstick. :-)

Ken

 

Tiggerlee,

Thanks, you beat me to the punch! This is exactly the product I was talking about. Worked really well in my friends Lotus.

Later
Corvus

 

I have an 06 shinka, and the visors are vented to filter the sunlight, and it makes it easier to see the street lights, am i lucky or is this a new addtion to the car. am new owner and dont know much abut the past history.

 

Another solutiuon used in miatae is to mount a small mirror on the top of the dash, so the lights can be seen upside down. It probably won't work in the RX8 because the dash is higher up so the angles would be too shallow.

 

These visors are in place in all th RX-8's. And yes you are lucky.

 

I love that feature. There's one long light on my drive home where, this time of year, the sun is right next to the light. The perforations really help.

They've always been like that. Amusingly, "Car and Driver" slammed that feature in their review. They still put the 8 on their top 10 list.

Ken