What did you do to your Mirage today?

[7milesout]

Was that whitetail buck hitchhiking? Too big to sit in the passenger seat? I guess you don't have to be as concerned about him car-jacking you if he's riding on the roof though.

[mohammad]

For example, the inside of the doors weren't even covered completely. The L didn't come with a factory radio or A/C. At that point in my life, I hadn't owned a vehicle with A/C.

One day I also hope to own a vehicle with A/C.

[Mark]

Was that whitetail buck hitchhiking? Too big to sit in the passenger seat? I guess you don't have to be as concerned about him car-jacking you if he's riding on the roof though.

I went up to my parents' place (NE Wisconsin) with my bow in the car. Not thinking I would actually get a deer while I was up there. I didn't have time to really cut it up at the time. So my dad lifted it with his tractor & loader, I drove my car under it, & we tied it down as best we could, & I was on my way. It was about a 235 mile drive home. Blood was dripping down the back of my little yellow hatchback. I'm sure that I looked like a real redneck at the time. I remember other rednecks giving me a thumbs up or honk at the time, too. It wasn't a massive buck, but it still probably looked silly on top of that small car. The roof started caving in about half-way home, but I just kept going. Thankfully, it popped out with a hard shove!

My Mirage has the easy life! No deer hauling duties for it!

[mohammad]

I don't think a Mirage roof would hold much either?

The IIHS test of the Mirage says it can hold over 10,000 lbs giving it the best possible roof strength rating of Good.(but that includes 5 inches of intrusion into the passenger cabin)

https://www.iihs.org/ratings/vehicle...#roof-strength

[craigq]

Think I found the source of the rattle, finally did the wise thing and got under the car while it was running. Sound is coming from the centre muffler. I hate cars.

Anyways, did brake work, replaced the front pads and rotors. Was "easy" after figuring it out. Should go quicker next time 'round.

[defensivetackle88]

Took my Mirage to Costco to add air before my 120 miles trip. They said to add 4 PSI from factory specs (43 PSI total) after driving few miles due to tires being hot. I found it interesting. Thought it just 39 PSI no matter what.

Drove 120 miles round trip on hwy at 60-65 mph with cruise control and with 4 folks in the car (myself included) and I average 50 MPG with A/C on. 50 x 0.93 = 46.5. cool.

[Mark]

Took my Mirage to Costco to add air before my 120 miles trip. They said to add 4 PSI from factory specs (43 PSI total) after driving few miles due to tires being hot. I found it interesting. Thought it just 39 PSI no matter what.

Drove 120 miles round trip on hwy at 60-65 mph with cruise control and with 4 folks in the car (myself included) and I average 50 MPG with A/C on. 50 x 0.93 = 46.5. cool.

I just got back from a 2,300 mile round trip. I traveled through Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, & New York the past three days with my Mirage (approximately 2,300 miles). I drove from Llion, NY to home (954 miles/14.5 hours not including stops) yesterday. My butt was pretty numb when I got home (4 am), & I don't have cruise control in my 2017 Mirage either. I use my right foot on the gas pedal at times to give my left foot a break. It's a bit awkward, but I make it work for a few miles at a time. I would prefer cruise control, but not having it also keeps me more engaged.

My ultimate destination was meeting someone at the University of Connecticut. I have never driven out that way before. I drove through Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and part of Pennsylvania (approximately 700 miles) on Thursday. I had a beautiful drive through the rest of Pennsylvania & New York state on Friday. I drove up through the Albany, Buffalo, area on my return trip.

I was really pushing it most of the time. I saw several state troopers, especially in New York state. So I never went nuts. I would average about 70 mph on the 65 mph sections of highway, and I would average about 75 mph on the 70 mph highways. I had some stop & go traffic at times due to accidents & construction zones.

My front tires were 42 psi cold (Kumho 44 psi max rating) and rear tires were at 44 psi cold (Nexen 51 psi max rating). I have my own air compressor. Thus, I can fill them at home cold. I used the A/C quite often, but I stayed above 40 mpg throughout the entire trip. It was very hilly in some areas I drove these past few days.

I calculate my mpg at the gas pump. Most tanks were averaged around 42-44 mpg, and one tank did as well as 48 mpg (didn't use A/C as much & did some back roads driving on that tank). I am usually well above 45+ mpg around home during the summer months, but I don't use the A/C as much or drive quite that fast in my area. There are no roads above 55 mph in my county.

I did hit a road gator hard on the trip. A semi had a tire rip apart ahead of me. It was following two semi trucks at the time, and the first one had a tire that ripped apart. As the 2nd second semi ran over it, & I didn't have time to react to it. I hit it dead center (it was upright on its side), & it did quite the thump. I was quite concerned, but thankfully nothing seemed damaged. That happened in Indiana on the first day of my trip.

I am thankful to be home, & it's time to do an oil change today. I am well past 70,000 miles on my Mirage after this most recent trip. I am nearing 5-years ownership next month (on October 21st).

[Mark]

Update on hitting a tire gator on the road from my last post. As I was changing my oil today, I noticed three of the plastic fasteners were missing on the underside of the front bumper. I also have a slight amount of road rash on that very bottom portion of the front bumper. Thankfully, I have a small kit of fasteners & found three that fit perfectly.

The road rash is only noticeable from the bottom mostly. It could have been worse, & it sounded horrible when I hit it.

Fresh oil/filter, checked engine air filter, and cleaned the cabin air filter. It's all ready to go for the next 5,000 miles.

Now that the car is 5 years old. A few character marks don't bother me as much.

[7milesout]

Did an oil and filter change on mine this past Saturday, at 22,480 miles. ~7,500 miles on that oil and it looked VERY healthy and was absolutely still at the top. Didn't burn or drop a bit. So far, so good. Tires are wearing well too, meaning not wearing quickly.

[JRB201]

Finally mounted the wheels I've been re-doing since march this year.
195/45/16 tires on a 7j 16 inch set of rims




They do need some centre caps, looking to 3d-print them, but I need to get a ABS or PETG printer since my PLA ones deformed with the 40C weather from last month