The weather continues to get colder out, but the Mirage has really continued to impress me this year. Last winter it did well and got in the mid 40s. This is pretty good, but not amazing for us here on EM. This winter it has a few more mods and a driver who is pushing for higher mpg. I'll admit last year I was lazy.
Recently I've taken the time to reinstall some of the cold weather modifications that I removed for warm weather. This includes a WAI and a full grill block. Its nice to have a quick warming car, and one that stays warmer!
Yesterday it was 12F out when I left for work. I got a good preheat with the block heater and coolant temp was in the 90s when I pulled out of the driveway. Traffic was lighter than normal and I took advantage of it. I was able to get 55 mpg. In 12F weather I find that impressive.
Now, this morning it was only 6F out. I made sure to get a good preheat and coolant temp was just over 100F when I left. Traffic was even lighter today and I took the opportunity to slow down a bit more. This lead to a pretty awesome 56 mpg!
I'll say I can't even tell that it is that cold by the way the Mirage shifts with its thinner transmission fluid. Though, to be honest I couldn't tell with the old fluid until it got to around 0F out. I'm sure that is helping a little at these frigid temps.
In any case, I am very impressed by mid 50s in this weather. That is a full 10 mpg gain vs last year with a handful of new mods, and using more P&G. We will see what the tank comes out to though. But, most of my trips are well above 50.