The "Maikäfer" from Germany

[cchataway]

Florian, welcome to our forum!
Carl

[25Plus]

I just made a service date for the Space Star which includes the following works:

- oil change with motor oil 0W20 instead of 10W40 after about 8000 kilometers
- Eibach Pro-Kit
- check of the radio reception, beause it is very bad compared to my Daihatsu Cuore

Also I will get an offer for the following tires and wheels:

Continental Winter Contact TS850 165/65 R14
Test winner of the winter tires last year and very low rolling resistance.

Proline BX 100 MG 5,0x14 Zoll ET40
I like the look of this wheel. It furthermore has an ABE, therefore testing and registration of the German Technical Inspection Agency is not needed, which would cost about 50 € and is also needed for the Eibach springs.

I will bring the car to the service at the 21st of july and get it back on the 25th (I will be on holiday the days between).

[debburyl]

25Plus,,,,,, That's Going to be Nice to get your Space Star all Serviced and get a new set of Wheels put on!!!!! You will have to post some pictures of your Space Star when you get that Done!!

[Emerald Green]

Why are you changing the Oil after only 8000 km ?. Those wheels are fine for a winter set.

[debburyl]

The Dealer recommend 5,000 miles to change your oil.instead of the 7,500 mile oil change. And 8,000 km is getting close to that time to change the oil. When it comes to your life's Blood of your car , the best thing you can do is change your oil, and keep it on the full mark. Most people neglect their oil, and don't change it as often as they should.

[Emerald Green]

Here in Europe it is for the oil change and service 20.000 Kilometers or one Year with normal use.

[debburyl]

Wow!!!! That's not Good!! Even when I Frist got mine I didn't like 7,500 miles to change your oil!! All these new cars they Advertise you can go Longer without changing your oil. And your oil is your Life Line to Your Car. If you Neglect that you are killing your motor faster then anything! I really almost Learned the hard way. I drive for a living and we had got some new Buses in and I thought since it was Brand New you didn't have to ck the oil that offen!! It's New!! But when I did ck it Boy was I Glad I did!!! It was Real Low on oil!!! So after that I started ck it every two or three days. Once it got broke in it was a lot better. So your oil is very important to stay on top of. So when the dealer said 5 ,000 miles that was better. I realize synthetic is a better oil, and I'm glad. And with our motors being so small we need to keep an eye on this area . Just some Good advise.

[Emerald Green]

I Always check the oil level almost every week, ofcourse if you drive a lot then you can change the oil sooner. In experience Mitsubishi engines use very little oil but it is like you said good to check the level regular.

[debburyl]

Emerald Green,,, that's Great that you take care of your car. You sound a lot like me. And that's Good to Know about Mitsubishi motors. My son had a Lancer for a short time. Then it got repo. So we didn't have a Mitsubishi very long about 8 months. And that was in 2003 . Ever since then I've whanted a Mitsubishi . So in 2014 I Finely got a Mirage DE and I've loved it ever since!

[25Plus]

Since the car is new, I want to have an earlier oil change for myself. It is not recommended by the Mitsubishi garage. But when checking the oil the first time, I recognized a silver coating on the oil dipstick that is because of running in the motor parts. No metal shavings at all, but nevertheless I think changing the oil will be a good idea. Next oil change will be at 20000 kilometers service after the next 12000 km and then all 20000 kilometers, what means about half a year with my commute. That´s enough in my opinion. Furthermore I want to improve mileage by changing from 10W40 to 0W20 oil and installing the lowering springs to reduce air drag.

I will get on the winter tires only in october, but now there is a special offer for Mitsubishi winter tires. Mitsubishi uses the original aluminium rims and Falken tires. I don´t like the optic of the rims and the only Falken winter tires that are available here in Germany have index F for fuel efficiency whereas the Continental tires have index C (like the Ecopia summer tires).

I have Continental winter tires with index F on my Daihatsu and the fuel consumption with the winter tires is about 0,2 l/100 km lower than with the bad summer tires of index E. The Daihatsu rolls even better on the winter tires than the Space Star on the Ecopia summer tires.

If the difference in fuel consumption is only 0,2 l/100 km between the Falken and Continental winter tires, which is absolutely realistic, it means more costs with the Falken tires of about 200-250 € on 80000 kilometers (fuel price is about 1.50 € per liter).

The special offer for the Mitsubishi wheels and tires means 170 € each, but I think my favoured tires and wheels will not be much more expensive, since the tires cost about 60 € each and the rims, too. That means there are 50 € left for the sensor and mounting the tire on the wheel. If the offer is under 200 € each, I will get them.