Lifting a Mirage

[91cavgt]

Looks like the air bag inserts, the kind that go inside the coil spring and are inflated there, for the rear of a Toyota Previa are about the right size for the back of the mirage. Way better option than air shocks.

I agree!! Thanks for the tip!!!

[91cavgt]

Here is an update to this thread.


I looked around for air shocks and could not find any that are long enough for the Mirage. So, I tried out some 1" coil spring donut spacers in the rear springs. They only gave about 1/4" of lift on the car, but they made bottoming the car out MUCH nicer. With the stock suspension, when the car bottoms out it is VERY rough and jarring. With the spacers in the rear, it is still a bit on the rough side when the suspension bottoms out, but it is not nearly as jarring.


I have had these spacers in the car for about 3 months now and I feel the need to upgrade them to 1 1/2" spacers. When I do that, the current 1" spacers will be moved to the front coil springs.

[btavish]

where did you get your spacers from? and did you put them under the spring or in between the coils? i ask because i need to increase my ride height just a tad, but mainly need to add stiffness, when my car is loaded with passengers/equipment the torsion beam hits my custom exhaust piping when going over moderate bumps

[Messy Mitsu]

where did you get your spacers from? and did you put them under the spring or in between the coils? i ask because i need to increase my ride height just a tad, but mainly need to add stiffness, when my car is loaded with passengers/equipment the torsion beam hits my custom exhaust piping when going over moderate bumps

If you want to stiffen your springs then stretch the spring over the spacer not ontop of the unit, you want to stretch the spring to give it more tension. Try something like this (these surely will not fit, just an idea of what to look for)
http://www.amazon.com/Daystar-KF09105BK-Comfort-Spring-Spacer/dp/B001GH3QSO/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1421518967&sr=8-5&keywords=spring+spacers

[btavish]

If you want to stiffen your springs then stretch the spring over the spacer not ontop of the unit, you want to stretch the spring to give it more tension. Try something like this (these surely will not fit, just an idea of what to look for)
http://www.amazon.com/Daystar-KF09105BK-Comfort-Spring-Spacer/dp/B001GH3QSO/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1421518967&sr=8-5&keywords=spring+spacers

those look like they are for the strut mounts; we have shocks out back, and they also look like they are for trucks. the right idea though thank you

[Messy Mitsu]

Yes I just meant the donut style spacer, I know they were for trucks after reading the review, I honestly just typed in spring spacer and posted the link without really looking at it just to give you a visual example.

And to be honest I don't own a mirage so I cannot give a detailed speculation. But I hope to someday soon buy a mirage as a new toy, just waiting for a used one to pop up at the right price.

[btavish]

i see, thank you anyway. i know you will love these lil cars, were thinking of buying a second one for the wife. this car is full of surprises,all of which will put a smile on your face. totally under-rated car imo.

[91cavgt]

where did you get your spacers from? and did you put them under the spring or in between the coils? i ask because i need to increase my ride height just a tad, but mainly need to add stiffness, when my car is loaded with passengers/equipment the torsion beam hits my custom exhaust piping when going over moderate bumps

I bought them from O'Reilly's which is an auto parts store. Here is where you can buy them online;

http://www.amazon.com/Superior-18-1901-Donut-Spring-Spacer/dp/B00029K20W/ref=sr_1_3?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1421525592&sr= 1-3&keywords=coil+spring+spacer


They were cheaper at my local auto parts store at $6 each. I installed this donut spring spacer in between the coils to stiffen things up just a bit when the back end is sagging due to the load in the car. For me, this has helped but is not quit enough which is why I am going to try the 1 1/2" spacer instead of the 1" spacer in the link above. You could put 2 of the 1" spacers on each coil spring which will decrease the spring travel when compressed even more, but in my opinion that might be taking too much of the stock coil spring travel away. It all depends on your roads and how often you have the car packed.

[Melmack]

I was actually thinking of doing this myself. Would like to take the car on light trails to go exploring in Arizona. The little tires would desolve on gravel. I know for a fact that BFG makes an all terrain TA in 195/75/14. That's a 25" tire. It was made for the ranger. It's not a stretch to figure these would work with just a 1.5" lift and a fender roll job. There are 48mm(1.8") lifts available in Europe for the mirage. Unfortunately, my wife drives the mirage and I don't see her allowing it any time soon.

[Cani Lupine]

I used to take my Aspire on dirt. Even after it was lowered, I took it down some logging roads for target shooting.