Small car enthusiast from Canada

Hi there! Darin here.

I'm a big fan of small cars that get great fuel economy.

Over the years I've gone through a few fuel-sippers (and the occasional gas hog), including these 3-cylinder beasties (and one "former" 3-cylinder):

• 1998 Pontiac Firefly (Suzuki-engineered, Canadian market Geo/Chevrolet Metro) 1.0L, 5-speed;
• 2000 Honda Insight, hybrid 1.0L, 5-speed;
• 1991 Geo Metro electric - I yanked out the 1.0L engine and converted this one to battery-electric drive
• 1992 Pontiac Firefly convertible 1.0L, 5-speed (currently in storage... this is a future fixxer-upper)

So, based on my automotive history you can see why Mitsubishi caught my attention with the announcement of a light weight, 3-cylinder Mirage, designed for efficiency. That's the reason Tim (Daox) & I decided to dedicate a forum to the car.

Yet despite having a driveway littered with efficient cars, I actually ride my bicycle around town most of the time. :D

Oh, and I'm also a co-founder/administrator at EcoModder.com, a community focused on improving fuel economy through vehicle modifications & driving techniques.

Hello Metro,

Superb Forum. :D

Really International. I like it a lot...

I have one question: I can upload photo's in the garage, but when I want to upload a photo in a thread it doesn't work. I see the tekst upload but when the mouse is over it, it dissappears... and when I click nothing happens...

Hi, zefke. Glad you're enjoying the forum. So am I!

I'll post a dedicated thread about adding images. It's bound to come up again... I'll return shortly and post a link to the thread.

Thread: How to add photos/pictures to your post

Hi MetroMPG,

You're a wealth of information! This forum helped make my choice in buying a 2015 Mirage ES. I am very happy with this car. I bought the manual transmission (wanted to keep the cost at a minimum, and I enjoy shifting my own gears). However I find the final gear a little on the high side, 3000 rpm at 100km/h (60mph). I think Mitsubishi has done this to reduce downshifting on inclines or even strong headwinds especially if you have a car full adults, since we're dealing with limited HP. Nevertheless, I think if the rpm were somewhere around 2500, that would be sufficient. I'm wondering if a transmission shop could change that 5th gear ratio, as in machining a custom gear?

Bonjour, motormontreal!

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Originally Posted by motormontreal

This forum helped make my choice in buying a 2015 Mirage ES. I am very happy with this car.

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That's excellent to hear. I'm sure Mitsu will be sending a commission fee soon. :D

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I find the final gear a little on the high side, 3000 rpm at 100km/h (60mph). I think Mitsubishi has done this to reduce downshifting on inclines or even strong headwinds

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Join the club - I think it 5th revs too high. While you may be right, I think they could have geared it higher. If I didn't want to downshift during those rare occasions 5th gear can't provide the power, I would use 4th! It's not just Mitsubishi - most modern manual transmissions are geared too short, as if there's some rule that once you get to top gear, you should never have to downshift out of it.

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I'm wondering if a transmission shop could change that 5th gear ratio, as in machining a custom gear?

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It would be very expensive to get custom gears made (probably well past $1k) -- not cost effective. Another option is taller tires (which would throw off the speedometer/odometer, and may adversely affect aerodynamics & rolling resistance). Or use the taller final drive gearing from the Euro/Japan Mirage (though that will slow acceleration in all gears).

There may be 5th gear "swaps" that can be done on this car from other vehicles that use a similar transmission. I haven't heard about one for the Mirage yet.

Welcome to the forum! Nice to see a new member in "my neighbourhood" ... I'm just about 200 km up the river from you.