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View my fuel log 2013 Space Star Cleartec Intense 1.0 manual: 55.7 mpg (US) ... 23.7 km/L ... 4.2 L/100 km ... 66.9 mpg (Imp)
dspace9 (12-08-2018)
I also was going by ear but if going by ear that would mean 2500 rpm (that is what sounds normal to my ears) but now discovering that 3000 rpm is a more appropriate shift point I have to "re-educate" my ears.
I have been baby-ing this car too much and maybe even getting carbon deposits in the engine (thats bad) because I have babied it too much with upshifts at 2000 - 2500 and going up to 5th gear even at 35 mph (56 km) but now learn you should not be in 5th gear until 40 mph (64 km)
The only good news is I am only at 15,000 miles on the odometer so hopefully have not harmed the car too much but I even admit to lugging the engine (out of ignorance) for example I would shift into Neutral when coming up to a stop sign (rolling stop, not a full stop) and then would go into 3rd gear to resume my journey when I saw no other cars coming. Out of simple lazyness and ignorance I had no idea I was lugging the engine by doing this in 3rd gear rather than going to 2nd gear
Last edited by fc321; 12-08-2018 at 08:24 PM.
2015 Mirage DE 5 speed Manual - 30k miles
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View my fuel log 2015 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 44.9 mpg (US) ... 19.1 km/L ... 5.2 L/100 km ... 53.9 mpg (Imp)
I have thought about getting a scan gauge to compare fuel efficiency in different gears.
Not so much for starting and stopping but different gears in situations like hill climbing.
Is it better to try to climb a hill at 45 mph in 5, where it's all the engine can do, or more efficient to shift down into 4th or 3rd, where the engine has more rpm and to divide the work load across.
like most things I'm sure it's a complex algorithm of weight/ load vs angle vs speed vs rpm
Just wasn't sure if any of you gentlmen have played with this?
Something like it's more efficient to stay between 2000 -3000 when climbing
Rather than letting it drop below 2000?????
Don't know if any of you have played with this?
Thanks in advance.
Higher engine load and lower rpm are usually the way to go.
This is a brake specific fuel consumption map. It basically shows your fuel use divided by the power it outputs. So, smaller values are better. The vertical axis is torque (controlled by your gas pedal), and horizontal axis is rpm. Sadly, we don't have one for the Mirage's 3A92, but most engines are pretty similar. As you can see, at low throttle inputs, engines get very inefficient.
Custom Mirage products: Cruise control kit, Glove box light, MAF sensor housing, Rear sway bar, Upper grill block
Current project: DIY Nitrous oxide setup for ~$100
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View my fuel log 2015 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 47.2 mpg (US) ... 20.1 km/L ... 5.0 L/100 km ... 56.7 mpg (Imp)
A-Aron (12-10-2018)
That's a cool graph! I've heard about BSFC, but never seen that graph. Pretty cool visualization.
So, we don't have that for the 3A92, but we DO have dyno charts showing the stock torque curve. And we've got my acceleration tests, which back it up. Both of those show a "double hump" torque curve, similar to the Saturn engine, only with the peaks at higher RPM. Which makes sense because it's a smaller engine.
The lower torque peak area is 3500-4500 on both the dyno and the acceleration tests for the Mirage, whereas the Saturn engine has the same peak occurring at around 2000-3500.
Personally, I've found my best MPG by babying the throttle and short-shifting at 1800-2000 rpm and keeping the speed below 45-50. But, the car FEELS best when you let it rev to 4-5k.
I think based on the info presented, we can assume (never assume) that the Mirage engine has that "sweet spot" of BSFC right there below the torque peak. Which means we should be aiming to accelerate the car between 3500 and 4500 rpm with "moderate" throttle. In other words, the car is designed to be most efficient right where it feels best!
Simplify and add lightness.
A-Aron (12-10-2018)
Ha funny what they fix with cars and then some sort of unintended consequence happens.. so cadillac quiet interiors means you can blow the engine pretty crazy. I have had my mirage over 5000 rpm in 5th gear, (late at night around here you are 10s of km's away from another car on a big freeway. I have been to Holland and in that way not the expanse of land!)
Wouldn't recommend driving the mirage that fast for anyone, even in safe conditions---in a sense anyway--- but it shows what the motor car do and manual transmission cars sound healthier at idle, like they like the ride
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View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.2 mpg (US) ... 17.9 km/L ... 5.6 L/100 km ... 50.7 mpg (Imp)
Thank you guys for the feedback, really will steer me and others in the right direction. What got me thinking the other day was when I looked at the built in Mitsubishi fuel efficiency reading on the digital cluster and noticed Ive been getting a pathetic 38 mpg in the city. And this is with no a/c turned on. So I decided to investigate and find out what the heck is going on.
And what was going on is that I was coasting in Neutral way too often into a stop sign instead of engine braking in gear. Because it is a form of mental lazyness, I just go into a mindless state and coast in Neutral
2015 Mirage DE 5 speed Manual - 30k miles
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View my fuel log 2015 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 44.9 mpg (US) ... 19.1 km/L ... 5.2 L/100 km ... 53.9 mpg (Imp)
dspace9 (12-09-2018)
My CVT isn't getting 5's anymore, it's now up into the higher 6's. 32KM round-trip commute (16 miles) daily and that's about it. I fully expect into the mid-7's in the dead of January. I can't wait for summer to come back.
EDIT: $/L of fuel has been getting cheaper though. Stock value of Canadian oil producers/pipelines has been tanking though since August or so, it's more than a wash...
Last edited by craigq; 12-09-2018 at 01:22 PM. Reason: edit: price of fuel
2018 Mirage
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View my fuel log 2018 Mirage GT 1.2 automatic: 38.0 mpg (US) ... 16.1 km/L ... 6.2 L/100 km ... 45.6 mpg (Imp)
dspace9 (12-09-2018)
-10 C dawn this morning in southern ontario, near Sarnia, up to about -2 and sunny by noon. Cold morning, I let my Mirage warm up in the sun and took off for my errands around 9 AM, and I was getting in the neighbourhood 5.5 fuel economy. That's zooming around country roads going 85 km/h- I would never would get 5.5 on the 402 or 401 freeways in the winter.
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View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.2 mpg (US) ... 17.9 km/L ... 5.6 L/100 km ... 50.7 mpg (Imp)
craigq (12-09-2018)
I always shift down in the same way as I shift up you know in a sense. I find the manual sometimes with hills and stuff you have to downshift but most of the time driving is staying in the same gear or going through the gears... up or down. I see why people get automatics mostly but the advantage of the stick is more traction and control of things overall in the driving experience
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View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.2 mpg (US) ... 17.9 km/L ... 5.6 L/100 km ... 50.7 mpg (Imp)