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Thread: My 50 MPG story

  1. #11
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    Thank you guys so much, this information from all of you is quite interesting. Wouldn't the windows being down cause more drag? And I don't know if I'd feel comfortable turning off the engine while driving. And starting the car using the clutch and not the starter? Where would the key be, like the position since you aren't holding it into the next place to start it?? I think letting the engine get to 3k rpms is fine since I strongly dislike the noise when it gets under 2k, it's interesting listening to the engine when your in like 3rd or 4th and you step on the gas and listen to it. And I'm only about to hit 10k miles soon on this car, and about 3ish k miles on the motor since I had It replaced, if you want to know why just look at my garage. And I love the ability to roll seemingly endlessly with these tires, I just wish they didn't look so tiny! I'm slowly trying to make this car look slightly more formidable, and maybe get some decent fitment as well, but springs are a project for later


        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2017 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 37.4 mpg (US) ... 15.9 km/L ... 6.3 L/100 km ... 44.9 mpg (Imp)


  2. #12
    Moderator Eggman's Avatar
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    Reduced fuel consumption is a performance aspect *all* car manufacturers are chasing these days. The Mirage design is one of, if not the, best in fuel economy and simplicity in design. There is no hybrid-technology complication, no turbo- or super-charging. Remember that increased complication brings increased points of failure. The more you add, the more there is to break.

    AssassinTime14, you already own a performance car - just not in terms of speed or handling. If that is what you are after, then use your Mirage to save up for a car that better fits that criteria. The easiest way to improve your fuel economy is to keep your tires inflated (but not too much) and simply drive slower. Wind resistance has a big affect on fuel consumption.

    Don't shut off your engine while driving. Get accustomed to the other techniques before trying this, as it comes with a lot of risk.

    We don't live too far from each other. If you are interested in meeting up, just say the word and we can go through a few things. It would be good to meet fellow MirageForum members.


    Chasing better fuel economy can be addictive, especially if you do a lot of traveling.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)


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  4. #13
    Senior Member stevedmc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Eggman View Post
    There is no hybrid-technology complication, no turbo- or super-charging. Remember that increased complication brings increased points of failure.
    What he said. As much as I complain about this car, it is incredibly reliable and simple. I bought it for its simplicity and of course I have a manual transmission .

    The only two things I could think of to make this car more reliable would be replacing the drive by wire system with an actually throttle cable and ditching the computer based fuel injection system with a carburetor and a mechanical fuel pump.

    I don't like fuel injection but unfortunately that's how 99.99999% of mass produced vehicles have been built since 1987.

  5. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by stevedmc View Post
    The only two things I could think of to make this car more reliable would be replacing the drive by wire system with an actually throttle cable and ditching the computer based fuel injection system with a carburetor and a mechanical fuel pump.

    I don't like fuel injection but unfortunately that's how 99.99999% of mass produced vehicles have been built since 1987.
    Ha! I'll bet you chase those young kids off your lawn too.

    Sorry, had to toss that in there.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)


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    Senior Member stevedmc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Eggman View Post
    Ha! I'll bet you chase those young kids off your lawn too.

    Sorry, had to toss that in there.
    No need to chase anyone. I keep a gun holstered to my side at all times.

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    Senior Member fc321's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AssassinTime14 View Post
    Thank you guys so much, this information from all of you is quite interesting. Wouldn't the windows being down cause more drag? And I don't know if I'd feel comfortable turning off the engine while driving. And starting the car using the clutch and not the starter? Where would the key be, like the position since you aren't holding it into the next place to start it?? I think letting the engine get to 3k rpms is fine since I strongly dislike the noise when it gets under 2k, it's interesting listening to the engine when your in like 3rd or 4th and you step on the gas and listen to it. And I'm only about to hit 10k miles soon on this car, and about 3ish k miles on the motor since I had It replaced, if you want to know why just look at my garage. And I love the ability to roll seemingly endlessly with these tires, I just wish they didn't look so tiny! I'm slowly trying to make this car look slightly more formidable, and maybe get some decent fitment as well, but springs are a project for later
    At 50 mph or below the effect of drag is still not as gas-wasteful as windows rolled up + a/c. You can mitigate the drag by opening the drivers window + the rear drivers side window. This way the wind enters thru the drivers window and exits from the rear window. Bu the gas savings of doing so are probably only 2 or 3 mpg so in my opinion not worth the trouble.

    I did an experiment for 4 days to test the efficacy of:

    1) drivers window open only versus
    2) both front windows open versus
    3) Drivers window + drivers side rear window open

    And the results where the same or maybe a 2 mpg increase. I also purchased a car fan with suction cup for 15$ on Amazon and tried that out in order to drive with windows rolled up but the fan was not strong enough to make me feel comfortable in the scorching heat of a Florida summer. So dont waste the money on the fan. It is also obnoxiously loud.

    Ref: The stock tires not looking "cool"...... Well from what i see the goals of looking "cool" and of maximum fuel efficiency are diametrically opposed. Many of our members have upgraded to 15" wheels and tires and YES, those tires look alot "cooler" and ride nicer but you will lose fuel efficiency plus its expensive to upgrade (Its going to cost you over 500 bucks) and you will probably have to bring the car to Dealership to get the TPMS sensors reprogrammed (This is going to cost over 100 more bucks).

    At the very least I would wait until you wear out the stock tires before considering the upgrade to 15's. Else you are flushing money down the drain.

    Im a cheap song-of-a-gun and bought this car to save money. But if you start down the rabbit hole of upgrades you are going to spend money instead of saving it.
    2015 Mirage DE 5 speed Manual - 30k miles

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log 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)


  8. #17
    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fc321 View Post
    Many of our members have upgraded to 15" wheels and tires and YES, those tires look alot "cooler" and ride nicer but you will lose fuel efficiency
    Ohhhh...you're killing me.

    Looking good and getting good fuel mileage don't have to be mutually exclusive...

    Fuel Efficient 15 Inch Wheels and Tires


    ...I would wait until you wear out the stock tires before considering the upgrade to 15's.
    ...Else you are flushing money down the drain.
    I upgraded to 15" wheels and tires before my brand new Mirage had 700 miles on it. While that sounds crazy, I think it was one of the smartest things I have done to reduce my overall cost per mile. I could make some reasonable arguments why anyone with a new Mirage should sell their OEM wheels/tires immediately and use those funds to buy 15" wheels and better (efficient & longer tread-life) tires. You just have to choose wisely to maintain good fuel economy.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


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    Quote Originally Posted by stevedmc View Post
    What he said. As much as I complain about this car, it is incredibly reliable and simple. I bought it for its simplicity and of course I have a manual transmission .

    The only two things I could think of to make this car more reliable would be replacing the drive by wire system with an actually throttle cable and ditching the computer based fuel injection system with a carburetor and a mechanical fuel pump.

    I don't like fuel injection but unfortunately that's how 99.99999% of mass produced vehicles have been built since 1987.
    I don't want to jinx myself, but I have never had a problem with the fuel injection of any of my vehicles. My small cars of the past had all sorts of carburetor issues. My first car was a used 1978 Honda Civic Wagon, and those cars still had a hand choke. In cold weather, that car had all sorts of problems. My wife's first car was a Plymouth Horizon. Likewise, that car had all sorts of carburetor issues. Whenever it was 20 below zero, the carburetor would stick wide open. You couldn't drive the car in cold weather. It just never ran right. Mechanics tried to address the issue, but it never got resolved. Buying a small car with fuel injection solved our problem. I would say the carburetors were the number one issue with most of my old cars of the past. I don't miss them!!!

    My experience with motorcycles makes miss carburetors even less. My last cycle was fuel injected. You pull it out in the spring, hit the starter, & it fired up immediately. On my old bikes with carburetors you cranked and cranked & crossed your fingers it would fire up. After experiencing a fuel injected cycle, I would never go back to one with a carburetor. The throttle response is so much better with fuel injection.

    Some guys may like to take apart carburetors and work on them, but I am not one of those guys. I love the simplicity of the Mirage, but I would never go back to the days of carburetors.

  11. #19
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    tires

    Quote Originally Posted by Top_Fuel View Post
    I upgraded to 15" wheels and tires before my brand new Mirage had 700 miles on it. While that sounds crazy, I think it was one of the smartest things I have done to reduce my overall cost per mile. I could make some reasonable arguments why anyone with a new Mirage should sell their OEM wheels/tires immediately and use those funds to buy 15" wheels and better (efficient & longer tread-life) tires. You just have to choose wisely to maintain good fuel economy.
    I am not convinced the Dunlop Evasave tires are horrible tires. I am not saying the Dunlop tires are best choice out there, but I find no reason to discard them early. I don't see Mitsubishi trying to stick a cheap tire on this car. They used a brand name tire that was made in Thailand. Since these cars are built there, that makes total sense.

    The 165/65-14 tire size (22.4" diameter) is odd in the U.S., but 14" tires aren't odd.

    You are happy with 185/55-15 tires, but 175/65-14 tires are the exact same 23" diameter. Just using Walmart tonight as a reference -
    185/55-15 search resulted in 36 tire choices.
    175/65-14 search resulted in 87 tire choices.

    I don't mean to be argumentative, but you don't have to change your rims/wheels to have more tire options. On a small, lightweight, FWD car, I would take a skinny tire over a wider tire during the winter months. Even if I did upgrade wheels some day, I would never give up the stock rims for winter use. One of the reasons I picked a 2017 ES over a SE last October was the steel rims. I wanted them! When I added 2 front snow tires on new steel rims in December, all I had to do was slap on the original hubcaps to make them match. Cheap & easy! Not everyone looks at tires the same way, & that is ok.

    13", 14", or 15" tires on a Mirage are all going to be 22-23" in diameter. I can see the argument of a high profile tire may give a better ride while a low profile tire may give better handling. In my opinion, you can make a wise choice with either 14” or 15” tire sizes.

    A Walmart search for 165/65-14 tires usually results in 3 or 4 options. It's not that Walmart is unwilling to carry this size. Most U.S. companies don't offer this size. For the U.S. market, the 175/65-14 would have been a much better factory stock tire size for the ES & SE trim levels, & a tire like your 185/55-15 would have matched that in diameter size perfectly.

  12. #20
    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark View Post
    ...you don't have to change your rims/wheels to have more tire options.
    True...but you do have to change your wheels if you want your car to look better.

    We agree that there's more than one way to get around buying 165-65-14 tires. I just prefer the option of going to 15" wheels because they improve the car's appearance significantly. I may have a different attitude if I lived further north. Winter driving isn't a concern for me because we usually only get 3-4 measurable snowfalls a year where I live.


        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


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