3rd time lucky! Bought yet ANOTHER cheap, 3-cyl Mirage eco-appliance!

[MetroMPG]

Freebeard: I posted in the VW thread. You replied.

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Agreed - fluid film/"oil" spray is the only way to go. Back when I was a kid I mistakenly went for aftermarket rubberized undercoating on one of my cars and was then set straight by smarter people.

[freebeard]

Permalink #1327

"I am large, I contain multitudes" ― Walt Whitman Leaves of Grass

[Terrh]

I had no idea these were this efficient! I might keep my eyes open for one for road tripping.

My insight is getting pretty tired, and my volt is "brutal" on gas for long trips - getting above 40 MPG is an exercise in futility.

I was just looking on kijiji though and people seem to think these are worth $6-10K so maybe not. The MSRP on them was only $10-$12k new!

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Terrh

I had no idea these were this efficient!

Keep in mind mine has quite a few ecomods, plus my driving style & environment is about as MPG-friendly as it gets. It rarely goes over 85 km/h.

Most owners on MirageForum are getting in the mid-40's MPG (US). Around 5.2 L/100 km.

I was just looking on kijiji though and people seem to think these are worth $6-10K so maybe not. The MSRP on them was only $10-$12k new!

Yeah, current used prices are a bit nuts.

The BASE poverty-spec ones without AC were $10-12k when new. The loaded ones had stupid MSRP's of $17-20k! (CAD)

Each of the 3 I've owned -- all 2014 model years -- were under $3k with high-ish kms (150-175k km). 2 were the top spec trim, the current one (base poverty model) was $2k. Unfortunately the days of "cheap used cars" appears to be temporarily (?) over.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Unfortunately the days of "cheap used cars" appears to be temporarily (?) over.

Even in a budget-oriented market such as Brazil, where povertry-spec models used to be the rule, AFAIK no brand-new car is still available without power steering and air conditioner.

[Xist]

No updates for almost 6 months?

[MetroMPG]

Partly no updates because I really haven't been driving much. I went 6 months on one tank before my Feb fill-up this year.

That said, I've been driving it a bit more recently, and just got the best MPG so far, a titch over 70 MPG US / 3.2 L/100 km:






That's covering 830+ km / 516 miles. (Manual MPG calcs were very close to the display, too.)

I've been seeing some crazy good MPG lately. Eg. this was from a 70 km round trip a couple of days ago:




How??

1) Cruising at very moderate speeds on rural roads with speed limits from 70-80 km/h = ~42-50 mph.

2) Unusually HOT ambient temps - 32C = 90 F, with no temptation of MPG-killing AC in this poverty spec Mirage! And I use the block heater to pre-heat the engine year-round.

3) I haven't directly tested them against the stock Enasaves yet, but my butt dyno tells me that the new-to-me Bridgestone Potenza RE92's on the car roll noticeably better than the Dunlops.


(This winter, I scored this set of four barely used RE92s on Mirage rims for two hundred bucks! Same OEM size -- 165/65 R14 -- as the Mirage's stock Dunlop Enasaves.)

4) Almost no traffic, so I can coast F..O..R..E..V..E..R to stops & turns - hardly touch the brakes.

5) A bunch of ecomods.

[freebeard]

Partly no updates because I really haven't been driving much. I went 6 months on one tank before my Feb fill-up this year.

You might be an Ecomodder if... You only need a half-tank of summer or winter gas.

[MetroMPG]

Ha - yeah! I probably burned summer gas all winter through to February. Then winter gas until May... Zero sum game!


I treated the car to premium non-ethanol fuel on last week's fill. That's contributing a little bit to the above average MPG numbers I've been seeing since then.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

a titch over 70 MPG US / 3.2 L/100 km

I remember when a car smaller than yours, fitted with a turbodiesel, reach the 3L/100km mark was deemed outstanding.