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Thread: Decided to gamble on the little car that every reviewer hates

  1. #11
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    I'm on my 2nd Mirage (2015 & 2018) and in my opinion they are incredible little cars. The 2018-19s are much improved over the earlier models. They are more than 'decent.'
    BTW they are both automatics and after getting used to the CVTs, I enjoy the great fuel economy and programming.



  2. #12
    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dodge Aries K View Post
    ...the stock radio sucks and it is nowhere near loud enough to combat the road noise
    ...I saw the Rockford Fosgate accessory online for under $500. Is it worth it?
    I had the same observation about the base factory radio. For some people it's fine. I found that I had to have the volume turned up 3/4 of the way most of the time.

    There's a little bit of info in THIS thread about the Rockford setup.

    As far as I know, the Rockford kit is only a subwoofer enclosure and a small amplifier for the subwoofer. It's a decent upgrade for someone who doesn't want to touch the factory radio. But it's not going to change the primary problems with the factory audio system...which is low power, poor quality speakers, and no sound deadening.

    For the $450 you will spend on that Rockford upgrade, you could get a higher quality (and higher-powered) aftermarket head unit, 4 new door speakers, and a little sound deadening material in the doors. I have a Kenwood head unit with aftermarket speakers and it was a 1000% improvement over the factory radio. I have something like this... Kenwood DDX375BT

    If that's still not loud enough for you, then you can add a subwoofer and amp down the road.

        __________________________________________

        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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  4. #13
    Senior Member fc321's Avatar
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    I have the 2015 and I decided to upgrade the entire sound system because on the highway I could barely hear my audiobooks and had to crank the volume to the highest setting.

    But If I could go back in time I would have just bought new speakers ONLY and then listened to see how much of a difference that made.

    Instead I went "overboard" and installed 4 new Pioneer speakers (the speakers are 2 ohm 75 RMS), a small Alpine amp (only 200w)and a Pioneer headunit with reverse camera. Its a nice system but I spent way too much money and its more than I really need since I dont crank out music very loudly so its really extreme overkill. Just to give you an idea....the volume maxes out at 35 on this Pioneer headunit and just at 11 its already loud enough to make my ears hurt.

    But in your case I recommend you to just upgrade the speakers (which you can do yourself with the tutorial on this forum) and see how that sounds. Maybe that will be enough to satisfy your needs. Most people are not looking for a DJ quality setup like what i did.

    I def skipped the subwoofer, I think the bass I get just with the upgrades I already purchased is more than adequate
    Last edited by fc321; 01-03-2019 at 02:59 PM.
    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)


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  6. #14
    Senior Member Dodge Aries K's Avatar
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    Well, my car has a touch screen display with the steering wheel controls and the reverse camera already so I don't really want to replace that unit if I don't have to. Even the audio quality is adequate for me, just not the volume as it struggles to be loud enough on the highway.

    Replacing the speakers is something I'm not against. Hell, I bet basic Pioneers or whatever from the big box stores are probably a million percent better units than what Mitsubishi provides.

    As with the Rockford Fosgate upgrade, I was under the impression that it's amp also was used to drive the factory speakers as well as the little subwoofer box it comes with like how my Tacoma's and Avalon's JBL audio system works. Maybe I'm mistaken about that, though.

  7. #15
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    I did some research at one point into the amp and sub and it turns out the amp (Flex41) is nearly identical to the package in the subaru impreza. When I dug around some more it turns out theres only works on the 6 speakers and ours works on the supplied subwoofer. I have not seen anything on using it as a 4.1.

    In my mirage I did replace my speakers and noticed a difference, but I also have my vehicle sound deadened.

    The bad side on the sub is that it is only two 6.5inch woofers which really isnt much. As mentioned earlier, it almost fools you into thinking it is all louder.

    I then looked into adding an inline amplifier behind the head unit that taps into its power but most manufactures dont recommend doing it on a stock fuse lower than 15amps. I cant remember if ours is 10 or 12, but at this point I realized it wasnt worth any more time and effort besides the speaker swap. Id say find something with at least a good 2 way system for better highs.

    When I did mine I bought the spacer rings and the wire harness adapters to make my life easier and to not cut the factory ends. Just because I had it laying around I put in a small strip of foam between the door sheet metal to spacer and between the spacer and speaker.

    I know I did find somewhere on here that someone on ebay does sell the trim panels for the doors that can hold a component tweeter if you want to go that route. I think these are the ones:
    https://www.ebay.com/itm/Car-Tweeter...wnwL:rk:4:pf:0

  8. #16
    Senior Member Adam - UK's Avatar
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    I'm am also on my 2nd Mirage first one was a insurance right off i was happy with that so i order a new one in
    orange and very happy with it is now 3 months old and going great and had no problems at all

    i all so find the factory radio not that loud

  9. #17
    Senior Member Dodge Aries K's Avatar
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    Oh wow, I like those tweeter pod things! I'll have to get those at some point! Oh, speaking of the amp driving the speakers...

    https://www.rockfordfosgate.com/prod...urrent-mirage/

    This shows that it's a 5 channel amp running 6 speakers so I would assume that's the four doors and the two speakers for the little sub box. It might be wrong though but it's from Rockford Fosgate directly so... maybe it's right? Worst case I guess I'll be the guinea pig and give it a shot. Heck, if it does raise the power output for the speakers maybe doing that and replacing the speakers themselves (maybe with Rockford Fosgate ones just because LOL) would really do the system a lot of justice while retaining that stock look so nobody wants to smash the window and steal it. The car will definitely be going to some not so good areas since that's where all the junkyards are so anything to not draw attention to the vehicle is definitely a good thing!

    Regardless, I should probably start a new thread about the Rockford Fosgate system. This so far has been a great forum, lots of information around these parts.

  10. #18
    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    Don't forget that one of the first things you need to do as a new Mirage owner is to get a 4 wheel alignment check done.

    See if there are any local places that will do this for free. Even if it costs you a few dollars, it will be money well spent. If you find out your car needs a front end alignment (which is at least a 50% chance) then your dealer will do it for free. Lots of Mirages come out of the factory with front ends that are out of adjustment. Some have rear wheel alignment issues...which is a whole other story.

    It doesn't matter if your car feels OK or seems to drive straight. You want to get the alignment checked NOW.

        __________________________________________

        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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  12. #19
    Senior Member Dodge Aries K's Avatar
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    Good advice. I'll bring it in somewhere for an alignment check today.
    -Karl B. No Mirages currently...

  13. #20
    Welcome to the forum, Dodge Aries K!

    Let us know what your alignment check reveals.

    How come you traded the '16 Yaris if you liked it so much?

    Also, it's not exactly true that every reviewer hates the Mirage... but sometimes it does seem that way.

    Thread: MYTH: car reviewers hate the Mirage




        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 63.2 mpg (US) ... 26.9 km/L ... 3.7 L/100 km ... 75.9 mpg (Imp)


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