To turn on mirrors in iRacing, open the Graphics options and switch on Virtual Mirror for the strip at the top of the screen, and set Cockpit Mirrors Max above 0 for the real mirrors in the car. Then aim them in the car with F9 and move or resize the virtual mirror with Alt+K.
That is the whole job. The rest of this page is which mirrors to use on your screen, because the right answer on a single monitor is wrong in VR.
Checked on 27 October 2026 against iRacing's support pages (Black Box controls, sim hot keys), iRacing's "iRacing 101: New Sim UI" article and the release notes from 2025 Season 4 to 2026 Season 4 Patch 1. Setting names in the Graphics options come from two current setup guides that agree with each other, because iRacing has no support page for that menu.
The two kinds of mirror
The virtual mirror is the wide rear view strip drawn at the top centre of your screen, on top of the cockpit. It does not exist in the real car. It is there because a single monitor cannot show you the side mirrors at a realistic size.
Cockpit mirrors are the real ones: the centre mirror and the two door mirrors, drawn in the car where they belong. On triples or in VR they sit where your eyes expect them.
You can run one, the other, or both. Both on a single screen is mostly wasted frames.
How to turn the mirrors on
- Open iRacing and go to the Graphics options.
- Find the mirror settings. Virtual Mirror switches the top strip on or off.
- Cockpit Mirrors Max sets how many cockpit mirrors are drawn. 0 turns them all off.
- Higher Detail in Mirrors draws more of the world in them. It looks better and costs frames.
- Save and go to the track.
If you cap Cockpit Mirrors Max below the number of mirrors a car has, you do not choose which ones stay. The sim does.
Aim the mirrors with F9
In the car, F9 opens the mirror and view adjustments. iRacing's Black Box page lists these under F9:
| F9 item | What it does |
|---|---|
| Mirror | Picks which mirror you are adjusting |
| Yaw | Turns the mirror left and right |
| Pitch | Tilts it up and down |
| V Mirror FOV | Field of view of the virtual mirror |
| Driving FOV | Your own field of view |
In 2026 Season 4 iRacing rebuilt F9 into a Quick Access panel. You move up and down with your normal black box controls, the increment or toggle button opens a sub-menu, and increment and decrement change the value. The Black Box support page was last updated before that change, so the menu layout may look different from older videos.
Aim the door mirrors so the edge of your own car just shows on the inside. That is how I set them in a real car too: a sliver of your own bodywork tells you where you are, the rest is the lane next to you.
Move and resize the virtual mirror with Alt+K
Alt+K is Toggle UI Edit. In that mode you can drag the virtual mirror where you want it and, since 2025 Season 4, choose its size from a drop-down. iRacing added larger size options in 2025 Season 4 Patch 1, then removed the Extra Large option in 2026 Season 1 when it fixed the mirror scaling. The mirror image now scales with your UI scale, which you change with Ctrl+PageUp and Ctrl+PageDown.
Since 2026 Season 4 the space bar cycles the UI between normal, minimal and hidden. If your virtual mirror vanished, press space and check you are not in minimal or hidden mode. In minimal mode only pinned widgets stay on screen. For more on moving widgets around, see how to move the HUD in iRacing.
Switch the virtual mirror off for qualifying
iRacing's own guide to the new sim UI says Alt+K lets you move elements, enable or disable every movable element and choose the virtual mirror size. So the same edit mode switches the mirror off. I hide it for a qualifying lap, where nobody is behind me and the strip only takes my eyes off the braking marker, and bring it back for the race. Toggle UI Edit can be bound to another key in the Controls options if Alt+K is awkward on your wheel.
The mirror setup I suggest for each screen
Single monitor. Virtual mirror on. Cockpit mirrors at 0 or 1. Higher detail off. The door mirrors are too small to read on one screen, so they only cost frames. Keep the spotter and the relative on, they tell you more than any mirror.
Triple screens. Virtual mirror off. Cockpit mirrors at 3, so you get both doors and the centre. The side screens put the door mirrors where they are in a real car, which is exactly why you bought triples.
VR. Virtual mirror off. You can turn your head, so use the real mirrors. Mirrors are one of the more expensive settings in VR, so start with 2 or 3 cockpit mirrors and higher detail off, then add detail only if your frame rate holds. My iRacing VR guide and the iRacing graphics settings page cover the rest of the frame budget.
If a mirror is black or missing
- Check Cockpit Mirrors Max is not 0 and Virtual Mirror is on.
- Press space to make sure the UI is not in minimal or hidden mode.
- In 2026 Season 2 Patch 3 iRacing fixed mirrors that sometimes showed black. It says mirrors can still flicker black at the start of a session and should come good straight after. If one stays black, update the sim.
FAQ
How do I turn on the rear view mirror in iRacing?
Switch on Virtual Mirror in the Graphics options for the strip at the top of the screen. For the real mirror in the car, set Cockpit Mirrors Max to 1 or more.
How do I move the virtual mirror in iRacing?
Press Alt+K to enter UI edit mode, drag the mirror where you want it, then press Alt+K again.
How do I make the iRacing virtual mirror bigger?
In Alt+K mode, pick a size from the virtual mirror's drop-down. It also scales with your UI scale, Ctrl+PageUp and Ctrl+PageDown.
How do I adjust the side mirrors in iRacing?
Press F9, select the mirror, then change its yaw and pitch.
Do mirrors cost FPS in iRacing?
Yes. Every cockpit mirror is another view of the track to draw, and Higher Detail in Mirrors adds more. On a single screen, the virtual mirror alone is the cheap option.