What did you do to your Mirage today?

[Fummins]

Dirk,
No one that is high on drugs deserves to be behind the wheel of a car.

I used to know some people that really needed this advice. But they drove semi's instead of cars.

[Dirk Diggler]

I used to know some people that really needed this advice. But they drove semi's instead of cars.

Lol your not ah kiddin either.

[Mechanic]

Top_Fuel,
. . . . I would drive from Dawn until about 11:30 or midnight CT. I always stayed on CT no matter where I was. I would leave the car running while I slept in it. It would use 1 to 1.5 gallons of fuel while I slept depending on how long I slept and whether or not I ran the A/C. It was a cheap Motel Room.
. . . . It was starting on one cylinder until the RPM built up and then number 3 would start putting out power. As I revved the engine cylinder two would also start putting out power. At idle it was only putting out a tiny amount of power. So I had a two cylinder engine cruising down the highway and a 2.5 cylinder engine at higher RPM.
. . . . Yes, there were times that I was climbing some pretty steep grades. The Grapevine is 6 to 7 percent for almost 30 miles. You go from sea level to 4,500 feet in about 50 miles. It is brutal. There were some 10 percent grades in the Rockies. You would be at 8,000 feet and you had to climb to 11K or even higher in less than 20 miles. Very tough. Lots of fun!
GOD Bless and Thanks,
rich!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

[Mechanic]

Fummins,
. . . . These people are an extreme danger to themselves and everyone else on the road. I watched a guy near Trenton, NJ almost kill himself and three others. He was racing another driver and as he went by me at 120 plus he yanked his car in to my lane. He lost it and hit the center guard rail at about 80 mph. The car came apart including the drivers door. I thought that I would be checking for a pulse on a corpse. Before I could get to him he gets out and walks away. I am sure that he was walking wounded. He was combative and argumentative. A sure sign of a concussion. I hope that he went to jail. The inside of the car looked like a big white pillow. The seat belt and airbags saved his life.
GOD Bless and Thanks,
rich!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

[Fummins]

Don't worry, the ones I knew either grew up or they're dead like all the other hard drug users I used to know. Merry Christmas!

[Dirk Diggler]

Don't worry, the ones I knew either grew up or they're dead like all the other hard drug users I used to know. Merry Christmas!

You know a lot of dead potheads Fummy? : p

[Mechanic]

Fummins,
. . . . So true. I suspect that the guy that wrecked his car in NJ was probably high on drugs. I hope that it was his car and didn't belong to a friend or family member. I have never seen such a violent wreck where someone was able to walk away. If the car had been ten years older I am sure that he would have died. At least he will be on foot for a while.
GOD Bless and Thanks,
rich!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

[Mark]

Dirk,
. . . . I disagree with you. There was no reason that I know of for this this engine to go away. The highest coolant temperature that I ever saw was 215F while pulling the Grapevine in 90 degree weather. I ran Castrol Edge 5-50 that was changed at least every 7.5K miles. The engine was never over revved but it was run a lot at 6.5K RPMs. I hope the the person that uses meth goes to prison for a very long time. No one that is high on drugs deserves to be behind the wheel of a car.
GOD Bless and Thanks,
rich!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Sorry to hear about the bad news concerning your Mirage. That's a bummer!

Hopefully, WB will get you up and running again soon!

I noticed recently my Mirage's "ECO" dash light will go out when I reach 80 mph. My Mirage seems to be near 4,000 rpm @ 80 mph. 6,500 rpm seems pretty high for a small 3 cylinder engine. Under what situations are you cruising @ 6,500 rpm for extended periods? Just curious? Not judging!

I sort of like 5,000 mile synthetic oil/filter changes myself, but I can't believe that was an issue for you. You were racking up mostly highway miles. 72,500 miles on a Mirage that you just bought this past spring is pretty amazing!

It's very disappointing that your engine failed, however. It would be interesting to know what happened?

If I was cruising 70+ mph for the majority of my driving, I must admit that I would own something a little more substantial than a Mirage. Not saying a Mirage can do that. I would be happier & feel safer in something more substantial than a Mirage at those speeds.

I know we have some high mileage Mirage members (including Fummins' fleet of Mirages) on this forum, but I don't know of anyone who's pushing a Mirage as hard as you. Loren was pushing his Mirage, but that was done differently on a race track. His engine replacement was attributed to operator error by his friend.

Ironically, your engine is being replaced at the same dealership that made the new last week with the Mirage owners who had put 414,000 miles on their Mirage. WB is probably not going to ask to buy your car back for promotional purposes. Hopefully, they do a good job of fixing it back up soon, & you can go back to racking up those miles again!

Glad you are home safe! Keep us posted on the engine replacement!

I see others were asking the same 6,500 rpm driving conditions while I was typing. Typing was my worst grade in high school. I don't think it's improved since either!!!!

[Mechanic]

Mark,
. . . . I appreciate the thoughts.
. . . . The ECO light is controlled by RPM, Vehicle speed, Throttle Position, and MAP. 4K RPM or higher and it goes off. 80 MPH or higher and it goes off. 70 Percent on the Throttle Position Sensor and the light goes off. Or 10 PSI or higher and the light goes off. I have done a lot of experimenting while on the road to figure out these numbers.
. . . . 6.5K is where maximum HP is made. So to get the best acceleration you have to go to 6.5K RPM. 6.5K on up ramps. 6.5K pulling heavy grades. The gearing is such that it is 20 MPH per 1K RPM in fifth gear. The torque is low enough that the car has a higher top end in 4th gear then it does in 5th gear. 110 MPH is 6.5RPM in 4th gear and that is as fast as the car will go. I know for I have been there and it takes two miles to get there on the flat with no wind.
. . . . Yes, I was and have been putting on a lot of miles. Almost all highway. Lots of 75 mph with quite a bit of 80 and 85 mph speeds. Some sustained 90 mph. Most of the speeds have been at 75 mph. I don't think that I will ever know what happened. Mitsubishi is having the engine buttoned up and sent back to them. No tear down beyond removing the head. I am hoping to get some pictures of the cylinders. They did an oil analysis and of course they found metal in the oil which is to be expected. It had 5K miles on it. So the 1.5K that I drove it as the engine came apart is on that oil. The oil did not break down and it did not cause the engine failure for they would have denied the warranty claim if it had.
. . . . The Mirage should have been able to do this and it did for 72K miles. My 323 had 310K miles on it will no cylinder wear and the Protege had 146K on it with no wear. Same oil and the same oil change intervals. I am very disappointed.
. . . . I saw the car with 414K miles on it. Almost all highway miles. It did have to have some minor work done on it. It is a 2014 so I am on track to do the same thing even though mine has had to have major work done on it.
GOD Bless and Thanks,
rich!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

[dspace9]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

That is very fast indeed Rich. I was talking to my friend earlier who owns a 2013 Ram R/T Hemi, and the governor is set at 164 km's an hour, so quite a bit less than the Mirage's. You cruised your Mirage at 110 miles an hour, so that's 177 km's an hour. Why did you choose 4th gear at those speeds, instead of 5th gear? Maybe just too much wear and tear. Not sure why your Mazda's handled this type of driving more.

I have driven my Mirage about 6 hours total in one day. I drive my Mirage at around 120 km's an hour in 5th when I'm on the freeway. Any faster and the ECO light goes off. If I gotta boogey I will drive in 4th, but only when I feel the real need. There is a chart in the Mirage owner's manual about optimal RPM to speed.