Hello from St. Pete, FL

[MetroMPG]

Yep, welcome!

What's your motivation for wanting to change tires?

[HitShane]

Yep, welcome!

What's your motivation for wanting to change tires?

The grooves on the highway make the vehicle drift with them at highway speed and it drifts around corners at lower speeds. In the rain making a turn the day after I got it, during a light rain, the back end broke free as though it was RWD (the car already had 200 miles on it so the tires were broke in). Small bumps in the road during any maneuvering make it skip around on the verge of loss of control and while taking on/off ramps I can feel the car sliding/drifting to the outside corner because the stock dunlop's suck. Jacking the PSI up to 42 helped greatly on the stock tires, as they felt like wet noodles at 35PSI. I also wanted a tire size that is more readily available. Not only are the stock tires hard to find, but they are also expensive. The stock wheel size does not support a larger tire due to the 14x4.5" size. So, with the larger wheels, not only do I have several size tire options and brands I can choose from, but high performance tires are actually cheaper than the stock tires that it came with. I just didn't see a reason not to upgrade the wheels and tires...

The wheels/tires are being installed on Thursday I'll update pics then. I went with 15x6.5 ICW Racing Alloys, wrapped in 185/55 R15 Toyo Proxes T1R's...





TL;DR I needed wider summer tires for increased traction, cornering, and to make the car somewhat confidence inspiring. I'm putting 1k miles a week on it and I need to stay alive


-Chris

[laceygirl]

Those are some nice wheels I must say....

[inuvik]

Hope there isn't any potholes in Florida! The Mirage is so light that you may find that rain makes spooky handling. I had 14x6's on my last Metro and it was awesome when it was dry but oh so loose when it was wet.

[HitShane]

Hope there isn't any potholes in Florida! The Mirage is so light that you may find that rain makes spooky handling. I had 14x6's on my last Metro and it was awesome when it was dry but oh so loose when it was wet.

Ya it's loose as hell now wet that's why I went with wet/summer tires that are wider for extra traction and designed for better water evacuation. There are pot holes and the skinny stock tires are all over the place. Especially since I had to pump them up to 42 PSI to keep them from rolling off the wheel during hard turns and dips... The sidewall is a little smaller for a stiffer ride so I should be able to keep the pressure lower for a better rubber contact patch on the road. Everyone I have spoke with says the wider tires make the car handle much better. Physics alone could have told me this. I also found a rear sway bar for under $200 that I will get installed soon too The wheels and tires add a small amount of weight down low where it counts. I might lose an MPG or two with at most a 5% loss in acceleration, But I think the CVT will make up for the increased load and the lower weight will keep the sway happy top heavy car better planted in the corners where it counts the most for me... Next up, better brake pads, exhaust tip, window wind/rain guards, tint, speakers, weather tech floor mats, and I'm still looking for actual seat covers that fit. Maybe I'll just buy bucket seats for the front. Custom front seat covers $200. Racing Front Bucket Seats (that weigh half as much as stock seats), $250.

*When I used to have a motor bike I ran Pirelli's on it. Did you know they run the V pattern backwards on the front wheel to pull the water in then direct it to the back tire with the V standard to push it back out. The result is it uses the water flow being pulled in at the front and pushed out at the back to channel/direct the water for better traction. I wonder if the same could be said for a car..? They also told me to run the tires at max PSI no matter what my bike said for the best performance and longevity...

http://mudflaps.com/i-9968139-whitel...bW4aAo0-8P8HAQ

http://www.andysautosport.com/produc...1018FBUBK.html

I am keeping everything that was stock to put back on when I trade in for a Lancer in 2 years. Hope my credit has improved by then.

BTW ebay has Steering Wheel covers that actually fit (13.5"-14.5") for $12.99 free shipping if you guys want a more comfortable, grip-able, steering wheel... I'm just buying anything that covers the wear areas of this car so it still looks brand new when I'm done with it and I pull all of this stuff off and put all the stock items back in it

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Desi...JWHAvq&vxp=mtr

The driver side mirror also has a huge blind spot and if you keep your seat in the proper position it is hard to turn your head enough to check that side for a car in that spot. I bought these on Amazon. They are glass and aluminum and stick great. They are small and mount flush to the side mirror(s). Well worth it for the price $8.95 (2x pairs)...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZLPABGC?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailp age_o04_s00

Did you guys know that Mitsubishi makes all of its money off of Commercial and Industrial applications and to quote the CEO, "Will continue to make passenger vehicles as a pet project as long as they don't loose too much money"...

-Chris

[HitShane]

http://mirageforum.com/forum/showthr...(Garage-entry)















Steering is much more on point. Bumps in the road have much less effect on the car. No noticeable loss in acceleration. Gas mileage looks the same on the dash and the new ratio from the larger wheels seems to keep the CVT in a better gear throughout. No more unnecessary winding out at 4-5k RPM's I knew the stock wheel/tire setup was too light for this car

-Chris

[HitShane]

Well, the time has come and I have traded in my 2015 Mirage. I had a lot of fun with it and it will be missed. I needed more room and more power. I was able to get a brand new 2016 Outlander Sport during the year end with $7k in rebates. I also got $7.5k for the Mirage as a trade. I basically got the Outlander at MSRP and squashed the remainder of the Mirage loan! The new vehicle is very nice!

If anyone can recommend a Outlander Forum or just a generic Mitsubishi forum that would be greatly appreciated.















I hope everyone here the best and I will check in from time to time!!!

[Eggman]

Congratulations on your new car HitShane. Good luck. Let us know your comparison on the Outlander Sport that is similar (or an improvement to) the Mirage. I see you got the CVT. Did it come with auto climate control?

Keep in touch.

[HitShane]

Congratulations on your new car HitShane. Good luck. Let us know your comparison on the Outlander Sport that is similar (or an improvement to) the Mirage. I see you got the CVT. Did it come with auto climate control?

Keep in touch.

No it did not come with climate control but it did come with privacy glass, real integrated Bluetooth, and nice alloy wheels. The CVT has a 6 Speed Sport shifter. I seriously couldn't tell a difference in power from the two liter or the 2.4 so I went with the 2.0. I added the rear Park assist as I didn't Splurge for the navigation that would have came with a backup camera. I also got rear cargo package that comes with a nicer reversible mat and net and the upper rear deck. There's tons of more room all the panels are soft touch or padded. The steering wheel and shifter are wrapped in leather. The bolstering in the front seats is much better at holding your butt in place LOL. I no longer have to worry about hitting the end stops when I go over potholes either. It's also nice getting to the speed limit in one second instead of five or six. The brakes also require much less effort to slow the vehicle down as it felt like it did with the Mirage. I'm happy with the purchase. I also don't have to go buy a bunch of sway bars and bigger wheels and tires like I did with the Mirage. I will miss ripping the corners and flying under the radar in the Mirage. All in all the steering actually feels just like the Mirage, it has a tight turning radius, and is very maneuverable. I do feel a lot safer in this vehicle at speed.

[Eggman]

Cool. Get your ETACS cable and make it better. Check back soon.