Where do you live and how are you driving? My car has 24k miles and the pads look new. Do you have any new drivers in the familly that are leaving their foot on the break pedal?
Where do you live and how are you driving? My car has 24k miles and the pads look new. Do you have any new drivers in the familly that are leaving their foot on the break pedal?
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View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 54.7 mpg (US) ... 23.3 km/L ... 4.3 L/100 km ... 65.7 mpg (Imp)
What? I mean, what?
I have 17k on mine and I haven't heard a peep from the brakes. And I'm a delivery boy. In a college town. With lots of drunken pedestrians, short city blocks, and plenty of hills. My daily drive is 10 miles in to work, 30: 1-3 mile trips on bumpy brick streets, and 10 miles home. Granted, I have a 5-speed, but still. And if you've smoked your rotors...damn. You may consider adjusting your driving style.
Anyway, Tire Rack has ceramic pads for $35. I know that the reason we buy new cars is so we don't have to spend our precious free time under the hood. I get that. I've decided a long time ago that changing your own oil is a fool's errand. After you buy the oil and filter, you only save $20 for a full synthetic oil change. Then you have to get rid of the oil, fill your own fluids, etc. PLUS you don't have the advantage of having the car on a lift so the grease monkey can see anything wrong underneath. So screw that. But the one thing that everybody should learn is how to change brake pads. It's maddeningly simple once you do it the first time. The first time you hear a loud, pronounced squeal when you stop, you order pads. Then, at your leisure, you replace them. Go find a mechanic who will show you how to do it. You need a jack stand, a socket wrench, one or two sizes of socket, a large C-clamp, and a $3 oil filter wrench. That's it. If the Mirage has a disposable rotor (I haven't checked my pads yet, so I'm not sure if it does) you should change them every other time you change your brakes unless there's something wrong with them, like your pedal pulses when you apply the brakes, or your car pulls to the left or right, or you've worn the pads down to the metal. (It sounds like you have.) If it's integral to the spindle (i.e. it won't fall off when you take the pads off) you only need to get it machined if it's out of true or physically damaged.
Seriously, learn how to do this. It's worth it.
El Kapitan (05-07-2015)
I always do my own oil changes, so I know I'm using good quality oil and filters. Unless you specifically ask, the filters you get at shops are the cheapest ones with maybe a 96% efficiency rating that aren't meant to last more than 3000 miles.
For DIY brake jobs, you also want to pay attention to the calipers. Make sure the guide pins are greased and they aren't sticking. For drums, make sure you order the spring kits and replace all the little parts. If you're re-using drums or rotors, ALWAYS have them resurfaced when replacing pads or shoes.
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View my fuel log 2014 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 49.2 mpg (US) ... 20.9 km/L ... 4.8 L/100 km ... 59.1 mpg (Imp)
Do you think there's a significant difference in filter quality? I've never heard that, but I suppose it's possible.
I don't see a need to turn the rotors every time you do a brake job. If they're the disposable deals, I replace them every other time. If they're integral to the spindles, I have them turned about every 100k miles. If you're screwing up your rotors, you're driving wrong.
I've also only seen one car whose caliper slides froze before the piston rings started to decay, so I've never greased slides, but I do make sure the slides work before reinstalling.
I do usually have the drums turned when I change shoes, but only because it's trivial to do so. I also don't see the need to change springs and nails more often than every 15 years. It seems to be time that decays them rather than miles. If you're keeping your car until the wheels fall off, I do recommend buying two OEM spring kits and two star wheel assemblies today. By the time you need to replace them, there will only be Chinese knock-offs available, and they don't work correctly. (If the Mirage uses star wheels, that is. I haven't been inside my drum, so I don't know what adjustment method it uses.)
As far as the OP goes, though, I want to point out that you SHOULD NOT try to change your own rear brakes unless you've done it a few times. It's pretty complicated, and too easy to make potentially deadly mistakes. Fortunately, you should only need to replace your brake shoes every second or third time you replace your pads.
Agreed, I worked at a quick lube place right after high-school and that convinced me to have everyone in my House do their own work or bring their car to me. it really depends on who you take your car to. If its your long time mechanic buddy he might actually put in the 3qt capacity instead of dumping in 5qts of 10w-30 and telling you its 0w-20 synthetic. and he might actually let all the oil drain and not just plug it back up when the stream starts to slow down.
I would like to just take it to the dealership when they send me a coupon by email, i've seen some $15 conventional/$35 synthetic in my inbox a few times and they would use the factory spec stuff so it would be easier to hold mitsu accountable if warranty work needs to be done. but my hatred for my local dealership far outweighs the convenience and cost savings.
Last edited by Marrero; 05-07-2015 at 02:44 PM.
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View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 54.7 mpg (US) ... 23.3 km/L ... 4.3 L/100 km ... 65.7 mpg (Imp)
huge differences in filter quality!!!!
this is a test on evo forums but their are many more laboratory test.
http://www.evolutionm.net/forums/evo...63t-4b11t.html
but even just looking at the sellers boxes seems to show some differences, some filters will say 3k mile protection, others 7k and others 10k or 15k of protection. and then there's the micron size, some will only let tiny microscopic pieces of metal pass through and some will let a piece of metal the size of a paperclip (exaggeration for dramatic effect) get recycled back into the system.
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View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 54.7 mpg (US) ... 23.3 km/L ... 4.3 L/100 km ... 65.7 mpg (Imp)