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Thread: Custom Lower Control Arms & Tie-Rod Ends for Lowered Mirage

  1. #1
    Still Plays With Cars Loren's Avatar
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    Custom Lower Control Arms & Tie-Rod Ends for Lowered Mirage

    SOLD

    These came off of my 2015 Mirage that was used extensively for autocross. The car has been retired from autocross and returned to pure street duty. I even reinstalled the back seat!

    $200 + shipping from 34695 for all of the kit listed below.

    Lower Control Arms - Stock replacements, modified to accept a threaded (70's Chrysler upper style) ball joint and be 1/4" longer for more negative camber. Fitted with QA-1 extended ball joints.

    Outer Tie-Rod Ends - This is a custom "bump steer correction" kit using standard race car parts and a custom machined aluminum adapter to thread to the Mirage tie-rods. It all fits quite well and is adjustable (with spacers) to get the tie-rod angle where you want it. They are open spherical joints (heim joints, rose joints, whatever you want to call them). High quality parts, nice and tight and responsive, but they require regular oiling. If you don't do so, they SQUEAK! This is why I wanted to get them the heck off of this "street car" before I sell it.

    Those two sets of parts are great for a significantly lowered car. When you lower a car, you change the lower control arm and tie-rod angle. The extended ball joints bring that angle closer to level. (and the only way to fit extended lower ball joints on a Mirage is to modify a LCA to fit them) The bump steer correcting tie-rod ends do the same for the tie rod.

    What all of this accomplishes is "lowering the roll center" and making the steering less affected by bumps or body roll. (more consistent steering) Lowering the roll center has the delightful effect of mechanically reducing the car's desire to body roll! It's an effect that can absolutely be felt! It's sort of like fitting stiffer swaybars, but you're not actually making the car stiffer... just putting more of your cornering energy into the contact patch rather than into body roll. There's still plenty of body roll, mind you, but this helps. It was a really fun experiment to research how all that works, put it all together and feel how it works!

    Also worthy of note, extending the lower ball joint brings the end of the control arm down and this particular setup will NOT clear the factory wheels, and it will NOT clear all 15" wheels. (some do, some don't, depends on how the "barrel" of the wheel is shaped) 16" wheels or larger shouldn't be a problem. I ran 15x7 Advanti Storms and presently 15x6.5 Konig Heliums with no problems. 15" RPF1's are known to NOT fit, as well as some stock Miata wheels.


    Last edited by Loren; 06-09-2023 at 05:10 AM.
    Simplify and add lightness.

  2. #2
    Still Plays With Cars Loren's Avatar
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    I know, I know... it's a Mirage and 98% of everyone here bought it because it's cheap, reliable and economical. But, if you know anybody who might want these parts, please let me know. Price is flexible.

    I don't want to see them rusting in my garage 5-10 years from now.
    Simplify and add lightness.

  3. #3
    Still Plays With Cars Loren's Avatar
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    Eh, I'm here, might as well bump this.

    Still cluttering up my garage.
    Simplify and add lightness.

  4. #4
    Still Plays With Cars Loren's Avatar
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    Bump. Somebody needs this. Make me an offer!
    Simplify and add lightness.

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    Garage empty: add car
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    Behold! An interested party emerges!

  6. #6
    Still Plays With Cars Loren's Avatar
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    You don't say?

    Shipping to Canada is usually a hassle. Anybody you could pick them up from in the US? Or do you know a way around the issues?
    Simplify and add lightness.

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    Hey buddy you think these would be worth the hassle on my car? I've just got new set of 15*7.5 konig hypergrams, not sure if it'd fit

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2017 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 37.4 mpg (US) ... 15.9 km/L ... 6.3 L/100 km ... 44.9 mpg (Imp)


  8. #8
    Still Plays With Cars Loren's Avatar
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    Worth it is a matter of opinion. You can definitely feel the difference. Physically less body roll just as a factor of geometry. More of your steering input goes into turning the car, and less into creating body roll. It's pretty wild how that works!

    The wheel clearance issue is a matter of how tall the ball joints are. Taller ball joints push the end of the control arm down toward the barrel of the wheel. The ball joints that I used are replaceable QA-1 ball joints, and you can get them in different lengths. So, you could get shorter ball joints to fix a clearance issue.

    As I recall, 14" wheels won't clear the current setup, and most 15" wheels will. The ones that I know won't fit were Enkei RPF-1 15x7. That wheel is super-light, and one of the tricks they did to make it lighter was to step the diameter of the barrel down. Smaller diameter, less mass. But, that's where it was making contact.
    Simplify and add lightness.

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    Hmm, yeah I might have to think on it, I've got my winters as 14"a still so that would kinda screw it up, plus I'm assuming an alignment is needed after installing these

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2017 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 37.4 mpg (US) ... 15.9 km/L ... 6.3 L/100 km ... 44.9 mpg (Imp)


  10. #10
    Still Plays With Cars Loren's Avatar
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    Yes, you would need to realign. I do DIY alignments, so I never worry about that too much. On the Mirage, the only adjustments are camber and toe. Pretty easy as long as you've got a fairly level driveway or garage floor.


    Simplify and add lightness.

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    mohammad (04-26-2023)

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