2014 Mirage aeromods A-B test: grille block, mini-Kammback, air dam, mirrors, 1 wiper

[niky]

Interesting... those numbers suggest that the mods done in the Mirage duct-tape eco-run can't have made much more than a 2-3% difference? Quite hard to do anything on such an aerodynamic car with such little grille opening and a slippery shape!

I would love to see a separate test for the rear kammback alone... that's something I'd want to try, myself.

[MetroMPG]

Agreed - the painters tape mods in the US eco-run would have had a pretty small impact -- the grille block probably being the biggest change.

I still have the Kammback. If I have time before Monday, I'll see about doing a quick ABA comparison.

[minispeed]

Originally Posted by cowmeat

I've been looking around for smaller side mirrors for the Black Widow, but all the ones that look like they would work well seem . . . .expensive!

Have you guys come across anything cheap?

I really want to stay under 10 bucks apiece if possible. If it costs more than that, I'd have to drive 50,000 miles to recoup the cost of the mod and I might as well stick with what I've got

Ebay link

Here's the ones I used, they were the smallest ones I could find on ebay. I used the stock holes for the mirror to hold them on with some thick washers and a spacer to give them clearance. They work equally well in the traditional horizontal position to give a wider view but I use them set verticle in combination with an inside convex mirror. The 2 mirror set up doesn't have any blind spots. The inside one was a safety first baby mirror at home depot.

[cowmeat]

Wow, that's crazy!

Here are the ones I bought off Amazon last night after about an hour of searching:

Amazon.com: 2 x Popular Adjustable Heavy Duty Motorcycle Street Bike Bar End Mirrors Fit 7/8" For BMW Suzuki Yamaha Honda Kawasaki Buell Ducati: Automotive

I would have saved a couple of bucks if I'd waited on your reply

[minispeed]

Originally Posted by cowmeat

Wow, that's crazy!

Here are the ones I bought off Amazon last night after about an hour of searching:

Amazon.com: 2 x Popular Adjustable Heavy Duty Motorcycle Street Bike Bar End Mirrors Fit 7/8" For BMW Suzuki Yamaha Honda Kawasaki Buell Ducati: Automotive

I would have saved a couple of bucks if I'd waited on your reply

Well you have good taste!

For the small price difference it will probably be nice to have them quicker through amazon.

[cowmeat]

I like Amazon because they ship quicker than eBay, but they just built a giant warehouse about 10 miles from my house, and now I have to pay sales taxes on anything I buy from Amazon

[iveyjh]

Me too.

[Fat Charlie]

Solution: Base yourself in a tax-free state, then they can build any warehouse they want and you're okay.

[benphyr]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

The fuel economy improvement between unmodified (C) to modified (A) was 4.5 % @ 90 km/h / 56 mph based on these numbers.

A1 - 57.15 mpg US (average of 2-way run)
A2 - 56.8
B1 - 56.1
B2 - 56.15
C1 - 53.7
C2 - 55.0
C3 - 54.8

Metro,

Thank you for the excellent work and for sharing with us all.

A few questions: Who would let you borrow a Mirage for a week? You don't have to answer that, I'm just curious and sounding a big "Thank you!" to whoever it is.

The numbers below the graph and the bars on the graph match but the metric numbers added to the graph conflict... is that just an error in those metric numbers? Which is the original data?

Just for clarification: Correct me if I have misunderstood. Those numbers are numbers for a steady speed run, for comparison of modifications, right? (But they do not correlate directly to overall driving averages or to sticker mileage, right?)

Benphyr

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by benphyr

A few questions: Who would let you borrow a Mirage for a week? You don't have to answer that, I'm just curious and sounding a big "Thank you!" to whoever it is.

You can thank Mitsubishi Canada. They loaned it to me for 2 weeks because of MirageForum.com

The numbers below the graph and the bars on the graph match but the metric numbers added to the graph conflict... is that just an error in those metric numbers?

Thank you for pointing that out! That was my mistake copying the metric conversions into the chart. The MPG values are the originals.

I've fixed/replaced the graph image.

Just for clarification: Those numbers are numbers for a steady speed run, for comparison of modifications, right? (But they do not correlate directly to overall driving averages or to sticker mileage, right?)

Right - those are steady speed numbers taken after getting the car up to speed, resetting the scangauge after passing a signpost at the beginning of the run & recording the result at the end of the run.