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

[freebeard]

Do you know about Finally a VW Topic!?

Curiously, I held this bumper bar up to the Metro XFi and it would fit more easily than to the Superbeetle bumper. Less cutting but it would need an internal brace.

[COcyclist]

68 MPG US!

You hooked us. Now we want more details. Can you give us a rough idea of driving conditions for this tank? City/Highway? Average speed? EOC?

Canadians don't use A/C do they?

[MetroMPG]

^ Whoops, super late reply, sorry!


All my driving is in near optimal conditions. Almost all is on scenic highways & rural back roads with little to no other traffic (I can coast forever and not piss anyone off). I rarely go on highways with speed limits over 80 km/h (50 mph), and a good chunk are roads with 70 km/h limits. I'm usually within 5 km/h of the limit. And yes, I do LOTS of engine-off coasting whenever practical. No pulse & glide.



Average speed on my last tank per the ScanGauge was 58 km/h = 36 mph, but that also factors in time spent stopped -- that's how the SG does it. "Rolling" average is higher. I generally cruise around 70-75 km/h.

Canadians don't use A/C do they?

Ha! This base, poverty-spec Canadian edition doesn't even HAVE A/C!!


It's one reason the factory curb weight was the lightest you could get in North America at the time. 1973 lbs?

[MetroMPG]

Broke 70 on my latest fill!





Squeaked it: 70.1

I was very happy to see that Mirage #3 has 70 in it.



I cracked 70 MPG US (tanks) a couple of times in my 2nd Mirage as well. Its final tank was 78 MPG ... with much P&G and alternator-off motoring.

[freebeard]

^ Whoops, super late reply, sorry!

(Permalink #40) I checked the other thread. Still no VW pic here or there?

[MetroMPG]

1) I wonder if I'm the first 6th gen Mirage owner who has rust holes!



This is a design flaw: any water that finds its way between the inner & outer rear fender sheet metal is trapped in a "pool" at the rear portion of the wheel arch.

Since this is a problem that will affect almost all Mirage owners, I spent a fair amount of time tracking down water ingress areas & alerted concerned folks on the Mirage forum.

So all my recent automotive tinker time has been spent touching up minor rust spots & treating the problem areas with rust-proofing spray.

2) The door bottoms were starting to look pretty bad too:




(Doors since sanded, repainted & rust-proofed inside & out.)

The sheet metal is VERY thin on these cars - best to nip it in the bud or there's automotive Swiss cheese in the near future.

3) Rear lic. plate light bracket



Some idiotic bean counter at Mitsu saw it fit to mount the rear lic. plate lights on an UNPAINTED mild steel bracket behind the rear bumper cover -- a prime road spray, grit & salt accumulation area!

Result: these brackets are literally rusting to pieces.

Solution:



New bracket made out of a scrap of aluminum house flashing. Easy to form & drill. And rust-proof.

[MetroMPG]

This Mirage was never rust-proofed.

A couple hundred bucks for a few spray applications in the car's first couple of years of life would have prevented the above.

[Gasoline Fumes]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

This Mirage was never rust-proofed.

A couple hundred bucks for a few spray applications in the car's first couple of years of life would have prevented the above.

It's a good idea if done right!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXvl9nt57Kg

[COcyclist]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

This Mirage was never rust-proofed.

I like the NHOU (New Hampshire Oil Undercoating) stuff myself. If you have or can borrow a compressor for a day it's not hard to do yourself. I got a kit for a couple hundred bucks and did a couple of cars. If you keep a Mirage for more than one winter, you could do a second coat the next fall. It is lanolin based so the drips are non-toxic.

[freebeard]

Lanolin is good. About Permalink #40?