2014 Mitsubishi Mirage 5 speed build thread
 

Yesterday I took a trip to Chicago and picked up this little beauty for a steal of a price at $3575. It has 77k miles on it and basically needs a new set of tires.

I filled up part of the way home (2hr drive), and managed 43.4 mpg the rest of the way which was about half at 70 mph, and half at 55 mph. Not too shabby.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1512918420

I wondered what kind of wheels you bought. Apparently, very expensive ones, that do not even have good tires!

What plans do you have for the rest of the car? Do you mind if I ask what the Blue Book value is?

I have a ton of plans for the car right now. We will see what I actually get around to doing on it though. I'll do the standard stuff right off the bat like tire pressure, scangauges,and grill block. Beyond that, the suspension is very soft and it could really use a rear sway bar.

As for the blue book, I am unsure. The next cheapest Mirage in Chicago area is $6500. If you come up to Milwaukee area is more like $8000.

I took the car to my brother and sister in laws this weekend. Its about a 20 minute drive on country roads that are mostly 45 mph. 50 mpg was easy to do per the car's mpg readout. I haven't even checked the tire pressure yet.

Nice, nice, nice!

That's a steal.

I was just thinking the other day: the steepest part of the Mirage depreciation curve has probably passed for the 2014's, so it's about the right time to start looking.

It seems to be a good car with those fuel-efficiency figures, even though the lower ethanol content in the gasoline back there may also influence. Too bad this model is not likely to become available in my country, because the local Mitsubishi's importer is focusing more on the L200 and the SUV range.

What were your cruising RPMs?? My only complaint: gearing too short. Taller wheel/tie combo?

The cruising rpms are on the high side on this little 1.2L. Just a bit over 3000 at 70 mph. Not as bad as it could be, but it could be better, and it is if you buy one in Europe. They come with a little taller gearing over there.

http://mirageforum.com/imgs/F5MDB.jpg


The CVT is arguably MUCH better at keeping the RPMs down as the data shows.

http://mirageforum.com/forum/attachm...0&d=1421346685

Double post

Considering that manual transmission has been not so favored by the majority of American customers, it sounds even more pointless to fit them with an arguably worse gearing due to the economics of scale that a better gearing would provide.

Nice little cars.

I do so very much love 3-bangers.

Define "better".

That's the problem.

Sure there's no such one-size-fits-all approach, but since the gear ratio of the Euro-spec models is reported to lead to a more favorable fuel saving it might qualify as better :D

Agreed, from my perspective, too. Probably at odds with general U.S. consumer (and definitely U.S. auto journalist) acceptability though.

Surprisingly, the less efficient ratio is the one that the company makes in the highest numbers.

Why on earth would they think they can get $8000 for a 3 year old car that probably was $10-$11k new? You should be able to buy a brand new 2017 right now with a 10 year warranty for under $12k. To me the price you paid seems about right considering the mileage is a bit high. Good job, finding just a fair price these days is doing good.

Oops, never mind, I re-read your first post, I thought it was $5500. $3500 is defiantly a steal!

I have no idea, but cars here just seem to be more expensive than other areas. You hit Chicago or Minneapolis and they're substantially cheaper.

Slightly off topic but relates to gearing post above. My peugeot 406 estate is fitted with a 4 speed auto box with lock up. 2000 rpm is 62 mph which is quite high for a 2.0 weighing 1800kg. Manage to get 40 mpg in summer with a few mods which is 3mpg over government offical figures. Deffently on a par with manual box.

Is there any chance of ecomodding the gearbox? :D

It is indeed quite surprising, especially when we consider that other parts of the world usually have higher fuel costs for which the European gearing would be more suitable. But anyway, sometimes even in a 3rd-world country with a higher proportion of manual-transmission vehicles on the road, people are often too lazy to downshift when required, and the lower ratio supposed to address that issue.

Very slim. I'd love to, but the cost to ship things would probably be way too high.

Just got in from the first night of working on the Mirage. It was pretty productive.

First thing I did was check out the cabin filter. Should have done it at the dealer! Oh well. I've seen worse. I cleaned it out for now and put it back in.

http://mirageforum.com/forum/attachm...9&d=1513038243



Next up, new shoes for the new set of wheels. I had these Sport Edition D5 wheels with Fuzion HRI tires laying around for another car I have. They'll suffice until a deal rolls around on some RE92s or Enasaves for the stock steelies. They aren't quite the right size, but they're pretty close. The tire is a 185/55/R14. I'll have to get some better pictures in the daylight, and clean up the tires. They've been sitting a while...

http://mirageforum.com/forum/attachm...0&d=1513038614

http://mirageforum.com/forum/attachm...1&d=1513038683

http://mirageforum.com/forum/attachm...2&d=1513038697



Last, but not least. Here are the tires that came off the car. I examined them to see the wear pattern. Both the fronts and rears show signs of toe in. They don't appear horrible, but could be improved upon. Of course I have no idea how often the other owner rotated his tires, so it has to be taken with a grain of salt.

Here are the fronts.

http://mirageforum.com/forum/attachm...3&d=1513038822



Here are the rears. It looks like the driver's side tire has more tread, but it really doesn't. It was just the angle of the light.

http://mirageforum.com/forum/attachm...4&d=1513038877

First trip in to work this morning was a good test. It was a brisk 16F out today. The Mirage did quite well coming in at 44.3 mpg this morning. I wasn't really trying hard, and I idled a bit trying to get my scangauge working to no avail. It wouldn't connect.

I also got a nice shot once at work with the new wheels. Sadly, they do rub if you turn too sharp, so I have to be careful until I can get new OEM sized tires.

http://mirageforum.com/forum/attachm...5&d=1513086670

It is way too much effort to go to KBB, but I looked at both Miragen in the Phoenix area, a 2015 with 46,000 miles for $6,900 and a salvage 2015 with 36,000 miles for $4,800. Both are autocraptastic. I also found a 2000 HX CVT with 187,000 miles for $2,000 and a 2002 HX five speed without pictures for $1,500.

Plus some Accords and Prii. Huh. A 2002 Accord "Mechanic's Special" that needs a new rack and pinion, but it has a new catalytic converter! :D

Anyway, I am going to attempt to do some "work."

Come on! Boat tail it! You know you want to! :P

Fancy wheels! Hide 'em under a coro disc! :)

Nice deal! I'd be lying if I said I weren't a little jealous. The Mirage is a car I wouldn't want to admit I own, but want to own anyway.

Where does a Mirage lie on the Metro Smart car spectrum of shame?

Ps... I'm pretty immune to automotive embarrassment. Every time you tape something cardboard (small or large) to your car and use it in public, its like another innoculation!

Definitely higher than both. Probably more as a function of its modernness than anything. Public shame aside, I'd take a Metro over a Mirage just for simplicity's sake. The Smart is an abject piece of crap (I've driven one) and deserves its ridicule.

I'm still vain when it comes to the car I'm in, but I've adopted a kind of Jalopnik halfway point as a way to make peace with having come down from baller status in my Mustang to a totally beat Echo. I'd like to think my Civic in its 5-speed, manual steering, nice interior and hail-dent-and-Honda-paint-fade glory is a Jalopnik article which hasn't been written yet. It's certainly nicer than my Echo, if not actually a better car. More of a lateral move, in a lot of ways..

Driving a small car is not what I qualify as embarassing. As long as it's not riced-out and doesn't break down frequently, I'm OK with most subcompacts, but I do understand their eventual limitations.

I drove one a couple of years ago, and was impressed by its efficiency... but it was the diesel version that never made it (officially) to the States. And it was the cabrio... and it was a nice day. I didn't hate the automated manual trans as much as I was expecting (trained by all the negative reviews).

Alright, time for the morning Mirage update!

I didn't have much time last night due to an after work meeting I went to. Through a bunch of stop and go traffic I think I eeked out about 44 mpg. This morning I idled a bit in my driveway getting the SG setup, and it was also a bit slushy out, but I still managed 45 on the Mirage's mpg readout.

Once I got home, I tried my hand at the shifter boot. I thought I might be able to get it without taking the center console apart, and I was right. With a combination of pinching and pulling the boot fabric, and finagling things, I was able to get one side clipped in, and the other side pulled back and into the clips.

http://mirageforum.com/forum/attachm...7&d=1513172018



I also looked into the issue I was having with my scangauge not connecting. I knew I used the scangauge on the 2015 Mirage I had tested from Mitsubishi, so I knew it worked. So, I grabbed my other scangauge that is in my wife's car, and tried it. It worked just fine. I then unplugged that scangauge from the cable, and plugged mine into it. It then worked. So, it was a bad cable. I grabbed another cable (we have them because we sell them), and that fixed it. I tell you, after driving with one of these things, you feel like your driving blind without it.

http://mirageforum.com/forum/attachm...8&d=1513172134

The autocraptastic transmission in the smrtcr that I drove was jerky. Also, it was supposed to be a tiny car that fit tall guys, and allegedly the front seat slid all of the way to the back window. It sure did, on the passenger's side!

I have never seen a car that had a driver's seat that did not go back as far as the passenger's, nor did there seem to be any reason for it.

I forget what else I did not like it, but there were a number of things, but hey, what about the mediocre fuel economy with premium gas?

Rumour has it that the Smart gas engine is from Mitsubishi.

Woo! Tied the threads back together!

It sounds like the one in the Mitsubishi is better.

Last night the Mirage got the Kats 1000W circulating tank block heater that I had in my Metro. I miss having this heater in a car. It is SO nice. ~30 minutes with this thing on brings coolant temps up over 100F.

http://mirageforum.com/forum/attachm...6&d=1513708253



Not the greatest mounting point, but it is low in relation to the engine. The hose runs are long though.

http://mirageforum.com/forum/attachm...7&d=1513708269



Top view with hoses run.

http://mirageforum.com/forum/attachm...9&d=1513708389



I'm still working on a setup for plugging in cleanly. Not sure how I'll do that yet. I'll probably use one of these things though. A guy on MirageForum posted it, and its a lot nicer/easier than the Marinco plug that you have to wire in.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1513713639

At what ambient temperature do you stop using the block heater? In theory, outside of Arizona, Texas, and Florida, people should benefit from that most of the year.

I used mine 3/4 seasons when the cord was handy. Even 15 minutes in spring/fall made for a warm start.

I use my block heater on the hottest summer days! :D

How warm does it get your oil get in the summer?

I don't know about the oil, but it still takes a couple of miles to get the coolant up to full temp on an 80 degree day. It's a small block heater. And I drive slow.