View Poll Results: Did/do you find the "self-centering" of your Mirage's steering to be odd?

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  • haven't noticed

    1 2.78%
  • yes

    14 38.89%
  • no

    15 41.67%
  • what's "self-centering"?

    6 16.67%
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Thread: Do you find the "self-centering" of your Mirage's steering to be odd?

  1. #1

    Do you find the "self-centering" of your Mirage's steering to be odd?

    AntInOz posted an update to his Mirage LS CVT review/impressions thread and noticed something unusual about the steering that is worth asking about in a dedicated thread...

    Do you find the Mirage's self-centering to behave differently in town vs. on the highway?

    Quote Originally Posted by AntInOz View Post

    One really weird thing I noticed, and have seen mentioned in one of the reviews, is the lack of self centering on corners. It behaves like "normal" at low speeds around town where, if you lift your hands off the wheel, it will come back to centre. On the open road at 100kmh I took my hands off the wheel and was very surprised to see that it kept on going around the corner. I then proceeded to drive around the next few bends at the speed limit hands free after setting up the turn. I haven't yet decided how I really feel about that!



        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 63.2 mpg (US) ... 26.9 km/L ... 3.7 L/100 km ... 75.9 mpg (Imp)


  2. #2
    Senior Member Alpha_One's Avatar
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    The self-centering is very weak and hardly works for the first quarter turn or so. There's really no difference in town vs. highway driving, except that in town you'd turn the wheel much farther than you would at high speed, so the self-centering becomes noticeable. It may have to do with the almost truck-like steering ratio, and I noticed no difference with the power steering on or off (killed the engine to try out the latter).

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2012 Mirage GLS 1.2 manual: 33.3 mpg (US) ... 14.1 km/L ... 7.1 L/100 km ... 40.0 mpg (Imp)


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  4. #3
    The electric assisted steering stops when the engine stops?

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 63.2 mpg (US) ... 26.9 km/L ... 3.7 L/100 km ... 75.9 mpg (Imp)


  5. #4
    Member AntInOz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alpha_One View Post
    The self-centering is very weak and hardly works for the first quarter turn or so. There's really no difference in town vs. highway driving, except that in town you'd turn the wheel much farther than you would at high speed, so the self-centering becomes noticeable. It may have to do with the almost truck-like steering ratio, and I noticed no difference with the power steering on or off (killed the engine to try out the latter).
    Thanks Alpha. That makes sense. I will still have to have more of a play to see if it is consistent.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2013 Mirage LS (Australia) 1.2 automatic: 34.8 mpg (US) ... 14.8 km/L ... 6.8 L/100 km ... 41.8 mpg (Imp)


  6. #5
    Senior Member jamiec's Avatar
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    If the steering feel is common to all the cars and enough peaple don't like it Mitsu might be able to reprograme the steering? Don't know if that is possible but might be.

  7. #6
    I'm no suspension expert, but isn't self-centering more a result of caster? If so, that might be harder to "fix".

    Thinking about this thread, I paid close attention to the steering in my Honda on a highway road trip this weekend. It also doesn't self-center in the first 3 or 4 degrees from straight ahead. I had never been entirely happy with the car's straight-ahead feel, and now I understand why. The car has electric power assist too, and it behaves the same way with the fuse pulled and assist disabled.

    (This car also has a lot of km on it ... 270k... so I can't say for sure if it's always been this way, or if it's just old & worn out.)

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 63.2 mpg (US) ... 26.9 km/L ... 3.7 L/100 km ... 75.9 mpg (Imp)


  8. #7
    Senior Member jamiec's Avatar
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    Yes the caster angle has a lot to do with self centering. If your steering components are not free to move eg steering rack,tie rod ends etc the self centering will be reduced or not happen at all. This is why there may be a possibility that the Mirage does not self center very well at higher speeds as the electric power steering may induce resistance. I maybe wrong about this it's just a thought.

  9. #8
    FYI - here's another review (UK) that specifically criticizes the car's self-centering (or lack thereof): UK: Mitsubishi Mirage vs. Skoda Citigo vs. Suzuki Swift (Auto Express.co.uk)

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 63.2 mpg (US) ... 26.9 km/L ... 3.7 L/100 km ... 75.9 mpg (Imp)


  10. #9
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    Self centering is not only dependent on caster angles but also toe angle setting.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2013 Mirage (Malaysia) GS 1.2 automatic: 44.6 mpg (US) ... 19.0 km/L ... 5.3 L/100 km ... 53.6 mpg (Imp)


  11. #10
    That makes sense - the toe specification for my Honda Insight (with poor self centering) is zero. It makes for slightly better fuel economy, but also makes for a car that "wanders" a bit at highway speeds. Seems to need a lot of steering correction to go in a straight line.

    I wonder what the toe spec. is for the Mirage. Considering the focus on fuel economy, I wouldn't be surprised if it's zero, or close to zero.


        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 63.2 mpg (US) ... 26.9 km/L ... 3.7 L/100 km ... 75.9 mpg (Imp)


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