Need Ideas for my Mirage G4

[Ileyrae]

I've had my Mirage G4 for nearly 6 months now, and I'm getting ready to make a change, but I'm unsure as to if I should modify my mirage for speed, or try to get the best looks I could.

From what I've seen, there isn't much I could add to my G4 that would provide much more speed unless I manage to swap out an engine completely, but I still don't have an air intake installed or a manual transmission. When it comes to looks, I planned to repaint it a blue, throw a fancy spoiler from Clifford on it, and maybe new rims for tighter fitment.

Any ideas or advice for either path?

[MrMPG]

My advice is leave it as is, They aren't particularly good looking (kind of looks like a bloated Nissan versa sedan with the roof line) and will never be fast, All you would be doing is ruining a perfectly well designed economy car meant for mpg and nothin else. If you want something fast or that looks good, Buy something meant for that. This is coming from an owner of a 2022 G4 SE automatic, I previously had a 2021 5 speed, neither is sporty or fast lol.

[mohammad]

If you drive it around in Ds or B its pretty fun as it keeps the RPM's up.

Id go for handling upgrades, lower springs, sway bar, strut tower bar, stiffer shocks and struts.

[Mark]

I've had my Mirage G4 for nearly 6 months now, and I'm getting ready to make a change, but I'm unsure as to if I should modify my mirage for speed, or try to get the best looks I could.

From what I've seen, there isn't much I could add to my G4 that would provide much more speed unless I manage to swap out an engine completely, but I still don't have an air intake installed or a manual transmission. When it comes to looks, I planned to repaint it a blue, throw a fancy spoiler from Clifford on it, and maybe new rims for tighter fitment.

Any ideas or advice for either path?

Buy a horse. It will change your perspective on the G4.

I've passed some Mennonites or Amish with my Mirage recently without issue.

[Princess_Bishi]

I've had my Mirage G4 for nearly 6 months now, and I'm getting ready to make a change, but I'm unsure as to if I should modify my mirage for speed, or try to get the best looks I could.

From what I've seen, there isn't much I could add to my G4 that would provide much more speed unless I manage to swap out an engine completely, but I still don't have an air intake installed or a manual transmission. When it comes to looks, I planned to repaint it a blue, throw a fancy spoiler from Clifford on it, and maybe new rims for tighter fitment.

Any ideas or advice for either path?

I need to see a Bosuzoku Mirage please. Eliminate the signature Mirage exhaust rattle by routing the pipes 6 feet into the heckin air.

On a serious note, I thought about plastidipping my factory alloy wheels. I think my idea was to do a subtle colorshift paint on the very front surface of the wheel, then do black on the other angled surfaces, then colorshift the inside of the wheel too. It looks good in my head. If I do this then I want to add colorshift to the badges too. Maybe do black on the front with a colorshift accent on the sides. As far as a spoiler goes, I think itÂ’s important to remember that Mirages are front wheel drive, so a spoiler doesnÂ’t add benefits but hurts fuel efficiency. If I had unlimited monies IÂ’d extend the stock one that adds MPGs but unfortunately, right now I am poor.

You could get that rear sway bar from Daox for better feel during cornering, I donÂ’t have one but I plan to get one someday.

You could also focus on weight reduction and take out the back seat, back seatbelts and spare tire if you donÂ’t have to haul people around and enjoy life on the edge. Proportional to the overall weight of the vehicle, that ~70lbs alone would have an effect on your 0-60. Heck, you could probably sell the parts and get enough to put on that cold air intake. Sell the stock airbox once you have it tuned and ready and use the money to add sound dampening to the wheel wells, firewall and roof. Then get the OEM passenger side wiper arm from Japan so it lays straight. These are just some ideas from my personal wishlist. I hope one day I wonÂ’t have to share my Mirage with my husband so I can do all this stuff LMAO

I wouldnÂ’t personally do anything to lower the car because I donÂ’t fully understand the risks to the life of the suspension and handling at high speeds, but it does look cool. If I could afford bags IÂ’d be open to it. But you probably know more about lowering than I do so you do you. Keep us updated on your mods, IÂ’m excited to see it!

[jbarr]

Personally the only mod I see as having benefit to a mirage are seat covers and a scan gauge or ultra gauge. Nothing else seems appropriate. It is a bottom dollar car for a reason and many of us here bought it for that specific reason.

[AtomicPunk]

Personally the only mod I see as having benefit to a mirage are seat covers and a scan gauge or ultra gauge. Nothing else seems appropriate. It is a bottom dollar car for a reason and many of us here bought it for that specific reason.

I used to feel the same way, but life is short and cars are obscenely expensive now. Make all the mods you want to enjoy the car you have! Who knows, it might encourage someone else to buy one.

[Mark]

I personally like a car better once it's paid off. I paid mine off after about a year, & then I bought it custom neoprene seat covers from rockauto.com to celebrate that. Rock Auto carries them at a cheaper price than factory direct.

I also purchased WeatherTech floor mats for the front (seldom have a rear passenger. I bought a pair for my Mirage & Forester at the same time to save a bit on shipping. They are a bit expensive, but all my vehicles will have them from now on. I highly recommend them if you deal with snow especially.

I have a Daox rear sway bar, but those are no longer available. When my rear sway bar fails, I will replace it with the Ultra Racing brand (model # UR-AR19-422).

I prefer narrow tires for snow. Thus, I will most likely stick with 165/65r14 tires & steel rims for the life of the car.

Beyond that, I accept the car for what it is. It's an affordable, reliable, economical little car. I wouldn't change anything about that.

[7milesout]

I've had my Mirage G4 for nearly 6 months now, and I'm getting ready to make a change, but I'm unsure as to if I should modify my mirage for speed, or try to get the best looks I could.

From what I've seen, there isn't much I could add to my G4 that would provide much more speed unless I manage to swap out an engine completely, but I still don't have an air intake installed or a manual transmission. When it comes to looks, I planned to repaint it a blue, throw a fancy spoiler from Clifford on it, and maybe new rims for tighter fitment.

Any ideas or advice for either path?

To each his own. Personally I would treat the Mirage as the proper tool that it is. Spend as little money on it as you can, SO THAT YOU CAN spend money on some other car as a fun car. For example, buy a well used Mazda Miata as a "fun" car. And do all kind of stuff to that. Keeping the expense as small as possible on the Mirage will allow you that 2nd car. And, if you ever blow up, damage, crash, sell or have that fun car taken apart for mods, you still have the workhorse Mirage 100% ready for duty. It would make the fun car all that much more fun knowing you don't have to depend on it for daily duty.

And vice-versa. Say the Mirage gets in a crash, you have back-up wheels!

[defensivetackle88]

To each his own. Personally I would treat the Mirage as the proper tool that it is. Spend as little money on it as you can, SO THAT YOU CAN spend money on some other car as a fun car. For example, buy a well used Mazda Miata as a "fun" car. And do all kind of stuff to that. Keeping the expense as small as possible on the Mirage will allow you that 2nd car. And, if you ever blow up, damage, crash, sell or have that fun car taken apart for mods, you still have the workhorse Mirage 100% ready for duty. It would make the fun car all that much more fun knowing you don't have to depend on it for daily duty.

And vice-versa. Say the Mirage gets in a crash, you have back-up wheels!

Thank you. You definitely convinced me to save up for an inexpensive used fun car.

I swear I have tried going for aftermarket leather w/ heated seats, OEM 17’ SE radio, OEM leather shift knob, LED fog lamps, G4 SE wheels, leather wrapped steering wheels, piano black bezel on gearbox and a/c vents, and Rockford Fosgate Audio system and many more to list….they’re all either discontinued or too expensive and uneasy to install on my G4 so I ultimately gave up all of these ideas and accept how it looks now. Not even the aftermarket hubcaps that I purchased last year made me feel better. Heck, I faced the exact same dilemma on my Highlander specifically on the radio that I wanted to have the head units installed but nope, not cheap as $300 after installation.

So yeah a toy car would be my answer for now lol.