Steelie Rims vs. Aluminum Rims Ride dif

[dspace9]

Factory stock rims are 4.5" wide on the ES 14" steel, SE 14" alloy, & the LE/GT 15" alloy wheels. All factory wheels regardless of 14/15" or steel/alloy are 4.5" wide. 4.5" wide rims are rare, but 5-6" rims will work for most Mirage tires. Even new 5" wide after market rims may be difficult to find.

The ones that would be absolute best rims for the mirage would be wire rims, like those popular in the 80s. Not sure they are available, custom made in theory. Those'd hide the ugly drum brakes and discs up front for that matter, and also look retro.

[Eggman]

Thanks, interesting if you want to stick to the OEM size for the Mirage ES/SE and GT, the 14 x 4.5 and 15 x 5 dont seem to be the measurements for any other car on the list, regardless if the Mirage can easily be jimmied for most of these rims you list. The Mitsu and others 4 bolt would be a deal breaker too

I'd prefer Enkei-style rims even gold (fake!)just looks sharp on these little cars. Otherwise a black 5 spoke.

??

I'm sorry, I don't think I quite understand what you mean here. There's lots of choices in various sizes and offsets in that thread beyond the Mitsubishi factory sizes for the Mirage. The Mini Cooper rims are my favorites.

The ones that would be absolute best rims for the mirage would be wire rims, like those popular in the 80s. Not sure they are available, custom made in theory. Those'd hide the ugly drum brakes and discs up front for that matter, and also look retro.

I believe there are some old BMW alloy rims from the 1980s that fit this description, and would (should?) fit this 6th generation Mirage. Browse through the Craigslist thread - I'm pretty sure there's just such an example there.

[dspace9]

??

I'm sorry, I don't think I quite understand what you mean here. There's lots of choices in various sizes and offsets in that thread beyond the Mitsubishi factory sizes for the Mirage. The Mini Cooper rims are my favorites.

I believe there are some old BMW alloy rims from the 1980s that fit this description, and would (should?) fit this 6th generation Mirage. Browse through the Craigslist thread - I'm pretty sure there's just such an example there.

I'm not saying lots of options wouldn't fit the Mirage 6th gen, I'm saying I didn't see a lot of older cars with 4.5 x 14 tires. I could be wrong.

Re the 80s BMW alloys, now wouldn't that look great? Love the 80s 3 and 5 series cars, growing up my friend's mom has a manual red 3 series.

[Eggman]

Is this an example of the 80s rims you are talking about?

Pittsburgh PA: 4 Alloy wheels and tires - $175

4 15 inch 4 bolt BMW wheels and tires. Came off my 2001 Honda Civic. Tire size 185 65 15

[Eggman]

I'm not saying lots of options wouldn't fit the Mirage 6th gen, I'm saying I didn't see a lot of older cars with 4.5 x 14 tires. I could be wrong.

I see.

The 4.5" wide rims serve fuel economy, the great defining aspect of the Mirage design. One point that has been made is the 165/65R14 tires can be hard to find, but going to either wider tread 14s or 15" rims seems to increase the number of tires choices available. However, changing the tire size to something larger can impact fuel consumption.

Forum member Top_Fuel has a great article about changing tire size up to 15" rims.

Fuel Efficient 15-Inch Wheels and Tires

It's well worth the read.

[dspace9]

Definitely the ones I was thinking of, and I can still picture them on the Bimmer. Covers the brakes nicely too.

[Loren]

Tires can and do affect fuel economy, it's true.

But, I have 195/50-15 very non-economy tires on my Mirage, and I regularly get 42-45 mpg around town. 36.5 is sort of my norm if there's traffic and I'm not thinking about hypermiling. And I've seen as much as 56 mpg on casual back-roads trips.

The driver has more impact on fuel economy than the tires. All else being equal, sure, a good eco tire might get you 3-4% better economy than a non-eco tire. But, the DRIVER is the difference between achieving the EPA rated fuel economy, or 40% less than that... or 50% more than that.

[dspace9]

The driver has more impact on fuel economy than the tires. All else being equal, sure, a good eco tire might get you 3-4% better economy than a non-eco tire. But, the DRIVER is the difference between achieving the EPA rated fuel economy, or 40% less than that... or 50% more than that.

Ya i think you're right, all things being equal, driver style will determine most of what MPG you get. Same goes for the limits to fuel economy if you're driving a Hemi Engine vehicle to the potential economy in the Mirage.

I think I always get better mileage in warmer weather than during the winter.

[Mark]

I think I always get better mileage in warmer weather than during the winter.

I sense about a 5 mpg difference between summer months and winter months on average. During the summertime, I typically average between 45-50 mpg when filling up at the gas pump. Although I don't write it all down, about 47 mpg seems about average. During the winter months, it seems to be somewhere between 40-45 mpg. I would guess the average is more around 42 mpg.

That's sort of a mix of driving, but not much big city driving at all. That's with a 2017 Mirage (manual) and factory size tires. I attribute the difference to different tires, changes in gas, & a colder running engine. I don't think it is any one thing. MPG isn't everything. It really depends on where you live, & what you need your car to do for you.

If I lived in warmer climate year round, I would focus on LRR tires. Expensive LRR tires, however, may not be the best choice for the winter ridge road (shaded from the sun) that I must climb to get home every day.

Although skinny tires don't usually give you the best ride, I do believe they do better on winter roads (especially with small FWD cars like the Mirage). Thus, a person has to decide what is best for them. What may be best for someone living in Florida may not be the same as someone living in Minnesota or Canada.

It fun to hear others thoughts on tires just the same. We've had some messy roads lately. My wheels are really dirty right now. Since I have cheap steel wheels, I don't really care! If I had nicer alloy wheels, I still probably wouldn't care!

I can't say that I am fan of hub caps, & mine may disappear some day. Steel wheels can have a more finished look. I've had 1st and 2nd generation Honda CRV's that has steel wheels that looked decent without hubcaps & held up ok. I wish the Mirage came with those as an option, but not a deal breaker to me.

As far as covering up brakes, all cars have brakes. I really don't think the Mirage is any different than most other cars. I hate rear drum brake, but they don't stick out worst to me. If your goal is to cover the brakes, it's hard to beat steel wheels with hubcaps. Then again, I am not a big fan of moon hubcaps. Those are probably my least favorite look of all. Everyone is different, & that's why we have choices I guess!

[dspace9]

If your goal is to cover the brakes, it's hard to beat steel wheels

I like the look of just the steel wheels no plates too, but the winter really batters wheels around here: so that I have sort of gotten over the ugliness of most plastic wheel covers and keep them utility 100%. Now considering fancier alloys for summer months and hope to get 2x tire wear having 2 sets of rubber too.

My Ford Escort had the originals til the car's end, they serve a purpose, even just for the looks. Those full cover moon ones sure are different though aren't they!