2014 Mitsubishi Mirage 3-cyl coming to U.S. & Canada this year - 40 MPG (US) combined

[night9]

If you are not happy with the cruising rpm just do what Pale does! Problem solved 50+mpg highway.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...way-27147.html

This is why a manual transmission is far superior to an automatic. Even if the car companies don't build cars like we would want there are always options to fix it.

[Daox]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Mitsu must be made to see the error of their ways. I should start a petition.

He isn't kidding. He has mentioned it several times lol.

[night9]

I would sign the petition!

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by night9

If you are not happy with the cruising rpm just do what Pale does! Problem solved 50+mpg highway.

True! But as discussed in that thread, the improvement over steady cruising is greatest for vehicles with higher power to weight ratios. The 74 hp Mirage doesn't qualify there.

I've done TONS of pulse & glide driving through the years. I find it tedious on long trips, plus it's arguably harder on the machinery, so I prefer to just drive with load/target drive, preferably at a reasonable engine RPM.

Thus the petition!! (And/or final drive swap.)

[night9]

Well said!

[PaleMelanesian]

P&G is tedious, especially at high speeds. He's right. I'm too stubborn to not do it, though. And grumble at the manufacturer's stupidity EVERY PULSE AND GLIDE CYCLE.

Edit: ok, so I exaggerate. A bit. But it's frustrating to do a lot of work that I could save if they built it better.

[MetroMPG]

That's a lot of grumbling per gallon.

[mechman600]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

the CVT is geared to run the engine almost 1000 RPM lower than the manual at 65 MPH.

....thanks to the nifty auxiliary two-speed gear box build into the CVT, a new thing for CVTs as far as I know. Pretty cool.
But still....

[sheepdog 44]

Regarding CVT's, the new 2014 Corrola has a new "wide ratio" CVT. It's good to note for the uninformed such as myself, that there is a spread between top and bottom gear in a cvt. So it doesn't have an "infinite" ratio in the sense it can have an infinitely tall top gear.

Taller geared CVT's are great for people who don't know how to hypermile. Last time i looked, a belt and cone CVT was 5-8% less efficient than a manual. A 1:1 stick shift ratio is about 3% more efficient than any other gear.

Toyota’s September 2013 Sales down 4.3% + 2014 Corolla First Drive Review - CleanMPG Forums

The CVT by its lonesome was said to provide up to a 2.4 mpgUS boost over and above the previous generations 4-speed AT. A 6.26:1 from bottom to top wide ratio spread will do that for you and per the calculations, the Corolla LE with the CVT runs at just 1,520 RPM at 60 mph which matched the real world revs. IT was back on 09 when we drive the older 160 hp 2.4L Camry motor in a Corolla S with a stick and it was revving in the 2,700 RPM range at 60 mph. This is a huge difference! The ancient 4-speed AT in the base L runs at a disingenuous 2,330 RPM at the same 60 mph.

[MetroMPG]

Sheepdog: the fact that CVT's aren't 'infinitely' variable is definitely worth mentioning.

Supposedly the 2-speed gearbox addition to the Mirage's CVT gives it the widest gear ratio currently available in a CVT.