What did you do to your Mirage today?

[Mark]

I ordered a set of Federal Super Steels in 165/65-14 when Simple Tire had them on sale late last year. I think they were around $42 each with free shipping?

I haven't installed them yet, obviously, but I trust Federal and have had good luck with the Super Steel line in other sizes on other vehicles.

I am currently using a pair of the 165/65-14 Federal SS-657 tires. When I lost a Dunlop Enasave to a sidewall issue last summer, I bought a pair of these. At the time, simpletire.com offered the best price, too. I got them in 2-3 days with free-shipping. I gave my local mechanic a $20 bill to mount & balance them for me.

I kept the extra Dunlop in my garage as a back up spare. If I lost another Dunlop, I would still have a pair left. I typically use 6 tires for all of my front wheel drive vehicles. I've been doing that for decades, and I probably won't change. Thus, I tend to buy pairs of tires rather than sets. The newer pairs are used during the winter months, & older pairs are used during the summer months. One pair overlaps for a time. My Federal tires are currently that pair. I would never do this with an AWD vehicle (all four tires should match), but I make it work for others.

I occasionally check the price of Federal tires, and I start with Walmart. I've seen them listed over $100, & I've seen them as low $41. Today they are $50 from another supplier through Walmart. When Walmart has them in supply they are cheaper. Walmart must be moving these tires, because their status changes quite often.

The exact same Federal tire is $43.34 with free shipping @ simpletire.com today. If you are buying on line, it pays to look around some. If you are relying on Walmart to balance/mount your tires, that needs to be a consideration, too.

At this point, I have no complaints with the factory size Federal tires. I wouldn't stick my neck out for this tire until I've had it longer, however. I currently have about 10,000 miles on mine. They spent the winter on the back (did very well), & I have them up front now. Thus, they have been match up with Nokian snow tires up front this past winter and the factory Dunlop on the back this summer.

Steve getting 75,000 miles out of a set of 175/65-14 Falken Sincera SN250 for $50 each is a much better endorsement. Then again, I don't see those tires at that low price any more.

I think a person will always have options. If you know you are going to keep your Mirage for a long time, jumping on a good deal may be worth it. If I knew I was going to get 40,000+ miles out a pair of Federal SS-657 tires, I would probably pick up another pair when they are cheap. If they don't last all that long, I may explore something else?

I don't mind 165/65-14 tires. I prefer a skinny, high profile tire over a wider, low profile tire. There have been some good threads on this. Eggman has organized some great information on 165/65-14 tires! If you don't like having to make a decision on tires, the few choices of 165/65-14 tires will help in that area.

In the 165/65-14 tire size, I haven't ruled out the following tires yet -

Federal SS-657
Vredestein Quatrac 5
Dunlop or Nokian snow tires.

I would not endorse any of these tires, but I haven't ruled them out yet either. Since I prefer skinny tires on a small economy car, I am always interested in what others have to say about these tires in particular.

If my short list shrinks, I will join the 175/65-14 tire group for sure. I'm still experimenting, before I jump ship!

[Eggman]

Speck is at around 26,000 miles and the original Dunlop Enasaves are still running along just fine. I ought to measure their tread depth some day...

I keep them inflated at 45 - 50 psi. Their performance is in fuel economy, and in that category they are doing just fine - and at no extra cost to me.

[Mark]

Speck is at around 26,000 miles and the original Dunlop Enasaves are still running along just fine. I ought to measure their tread depth some day...

I keep them inflated at 45 - 50 psi. Their performance is in fuel economy, and in that category they are doing just fine - and at no extra cost to me.

Every situation is different. If I only owned Enasave tires, I would be leaving my Mirage at the bottom of the hill some days and be walking home. Even with Nokian snow tires, I didn't make it home with my Mirage one day. I had to park the car at the bottom of the hill, & go get it the following day.

I feel there is a psi tire range that is acceptable. Since the Mirage has a relatively soft suspension, I like my tires at a somewhat higher psi pressure. Going beyond the maximum pressure stamped on the sidewall of your tire is not something I would recommend to anyone. Most literature on tire pressure strongly warns against doing this. Keep in mind - car companies want their vehicles to get the best mpg rating possible.

"The door placard on your vehicle indicates the recommended psi in all four tires for optimum performance. Meanwhile, the sidewall shows the maximum pressure for the tires that should not be exceeded. Should you have a wreck and your car insurance company determines the accident was caused by surpassing the maximum pressure, you could have difficulty collecting on your claim."

Above quote taken from -
https://www.freewayinsurance.com/blo...s-gas-mileage/

I like my tires inflated somewhat higher. When it is stated that a properly inflated tire will give you the best mpg, they are not talking about an over-inflated tire.

https://www.douglasvw.com/blog/can-o...e-gas-mileage/

I hope to get 35,000-40,000 miles out of my one pair Enasave tires I have left. Those tires won't be found on my car during the winter months, however. They didn't do all that well new. I bought my new Mirage in October. By mid-December I had a pair of snow tires ordered. Even my AWD Subaru is worthless without good tires.

[Eggman]

Every situation is different.

Absolutely. I drive my Mirage nice and easy, not hard & fast. I don't have many miles on it in my three plus years of ownership. I see a variety of driving conditions and not many steep inclines. I typically drive a mild urban/suburban route back & forth to work, with occasional highway trips. I tend to take it easy when I'm driving Speck, and I'm rewarded with impressive fuel economy.

The Enasaves have gotten a bad rap here on the forum. I can testify that so far I'm getting good results and in turn, think the tires are just fine.

I feel there is a psi tire range that is acceptable. Since the Mirage has a relatively soft suspension, I like my tires at a somewhat higher psi pressure. Going beyond the maximum pressure stamped on the sidewall of your tire is not something I would recommend to anyone.

Again, absolutely. If an individual is not comfortable with whatever advice offered, don't do it. It's certainly not a mandate, and I'm sure you see that for what it is. By all means, do what makes you comfortable.

I'm sharing my experience with these tires. I have taken the experiences shared here on this forum, drawn my own conclusions, and want to share my results so others may benefit.

I think the Enasaves are fine tires and so far are working well for me. I have little reason to get rid of them, so I'll just use 'em and wear them down (hopefully. )

[smiba]

Well, nothing to write home about but:

Pumped up the tires, haven't ever done so since I bought the car about 8 months or so
(Mind you, its my first car, trying to catch up with some of the maintenance I had no idea of )

Recommended pressure is 2.7 Bar, pumped them up to 2.9 Bar, tires were all at 2.4 Bar so that is about 0.5 Bar increase for each tire! Neat.

Took a look at the cabin filter, looked awful.
Dropped the leaves and other dirt that was inside of it outside the car and ordered a new filter that doesn't look permanently discoloured. Lots of small dust and particles that I just can't get out of it (Not sure when it was replaced, maybe they just get dirty fast? What kind of maintenance is usual for a cabin filter?)

After that all I installed my scangauge2, next target is to probably work the cable away a bit nicer.

Feeling a bit like a newbie, but working on the car is pretty fun and I feel like I'm learning. Thanks everyone for the tutorials!

[sapta]

Profited from cryptocurrency trading, I bought a set of Watanabe wheels, spring dampers, and finally fixing the scratch from a few months ago. My Mirage is currently in the shop.

Next profit might be spent for a pair of Tein springs. It drives really good now with more ground clearance and tougher suspension.

Edit:

How could I forgot about changing oil filter, air filter, and all the small stuffs? I need to start writing all of it. Good thing that Mitsubishi always keep the service records of anyone's car. Next 5000 KM should be about brake general check.

[Mark]

I think the Enasaves are fine tires and so far are working well for me. I have little reason to get rid of them, so I'll just use 'em and wear them down (hopefully. )

I plan on using up my pair of Enasave tires during the summer months, too. I see no reason to toss them. If I hadn't lost one to sidewall issue, I would still being using all four of them this summer. When I lost one @ 15,000 miles last summer, I didn't feel like scraping all of them either.

I wish a couple more tire companies would offer 165/65-14 tires in the U.S.

I noticed on RockAuto.com the other day, Fram now offers an engine air filter for the Mirage. I had checked Fram's actual website in the past, & an engine air filter didn't existed. It was always a blank spot in the large Fram filter reference book at Walmart & other stores, too. I not endorsing Fram filters, but I am encouraged by more companies offering Mirage parts.

[Eggman]

I plan on using up my pair of Enasave tires during the summer months, too. I see no reason to toss them. If I hadn't lost one to sidewall issue, I would still being using all four of them this summer. When I lost one @ 15,000 miles last summer, I didn't feel like scraping all of them either.

I wish a couple more tire companies would offer 165/65-14 tires in the U.S.

So far the Enasaves have been working perfectly fine and I haven't had reason to justify getting another set of tires. I'm sure there are performance benefits in larger & wider tires, but taking corners at high speeds no longer makes my list of high priorities in life. I really can't say much bad about these tires. They are just tires after all.

So far, so good, but it makes for little reason to chime in on the "What Did You Do To Your Mirage Today" thread beyond sharing how much I appreciate my Mirage and it's features. I drive it, fill it up a little more than once a month, and think about replacing the battery in my F.A.S.T. transponder key some day. What a convenience that little transponder is. Sure am glad I got it.

[Cobrajet]

I finally got around to replacing my battery today. I went to the local Interstate store and asked for a Group 86. The size looked right, but I noticed the TERMINALS WERE REVERSED from where they are on the OEM battery.

I then asked for a Group 85, which fits perfectly. I was surprised to find the Group 85 to be about 3/4 of an inch shorter than the OEM Hitachi battery. I thought they were closer in size.

Once again, a Group 86 DOES NOT FIT. We need a Group 85.

Here is the original battery.



Here is the Interstate Group 85 installed.




Here is the J-bolt with the Interstate installed. You can see the red ink on the bolt threads, which used to be at the same level as the red ink on the nut.



Here is a Group 86 next to the OEM battery. You can see the terminals are reversed (our cars have the positive terminal on the left rear).

[Mark]

Most places are going to list a group 35 battery for the Mirage. RockAuto.com is one of the few places where I have seen a car battery listed as group 35/85. Their other recommended batteries are group 35.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...435372&jsn=326

A group 35 battery is somewhat common. If you search for a battery at a place like AutoZone, group 35 is the only battery size that will appear for the Mirage. There is nothing unusual about a group 35 battery. My Forester takes the exact same battery. If it can turn over a Forester, turning over an engine half that size is not going to be an issue.

Some have used other batteries, & the terminals do matter. For example, you would want a 24F, not a 24. Likewise, some have used a 26R, but a 26 would not work.

AutoZone states a group 85 won't fit in a Mirage. I guess it's good to know it does.