Dark Magenta :: 2018 Mitsubishi Mirage ES (Garage entry)

[Eggman]

Hello Dark Magenta and welcome to the forum.

[Dark Magenta]

I got my fed tax return and caught up some bills and decided it was time to take the $90 Craigslist wheels to Discount Tire and see what they thought. Less than $100 later and they switched the Enasaves and TPMS from the steelies to the Koseis balanced them and disposed of the old tires. They say I they can get the 155/70-14 Nokian winter tires for a price comparable to tireseasydotcom and cloning TPMS for $88 EACH...may skip that... I'm pretty sure they scratched one of the rims as the scratch matched up with a line on the tire, but eh...it was cheap. They seemed impressed by their light weight.

[dspace9]

..may skip that... I'm pretty sure they scratched one of the rims as the scratch matched up with a line on the tire, but eh...it was cheap. They seemed impressed by their light weight.

I have the endasaves on my 2014 Mirage's summer rims, and bridgestones on my steelies.

Cool car, looks good in the wine red for sure. How did you mod the grill paint wise? I can't figure that part out. I have the older front grille on my '14. I like the new hood on the 2018's compared to mine, and the wine red colour.

[Dark Magenta]

How did you mod the grill paint wise? I can't figure that part out.

It was not a good experience. I haven't done anything to make it look better than the awful, cold night I installed it. I painted it with some matte black primer which seemed like pretty good quality, but not for painting at 20 degrees F. I let it sit for an hour or so and when I installed it, it wasn't dry, so I covered the fingerprints with Sharpie marker.

[dspace9]

It was not a good experience

Woops not the right thing to do in the winter, no matter the hours of planning.

The right paint shop can match that black back to the original rich dark red colour it came in. That's my advice.

Check out the online parts website Mitsubishi Parts now, you can order a bumper in that colour. Might cost you a few hundred bucks. You could probably do it yourself. Buddy on here a few days ago says the site is legit. Then work on your custom bumper, and have a stock backup.

Look into the off-centre stripes they have for the Mirage. Might have to import from Europe or something. Mitsu UK has white and black stripes, or did. Not sure we can get them.

[Dark Magenta]

Woops not the right thing to do in the winter, no matter the hours of planning.

The right paint shop can match that black back to the original rich dark red colour it came in. That's my advice.

Maybe I wasn't clear. I painted the coroplast. I haven't taken it off yet, so I don't know if the paint got on the bumper or the chromed plastic. If I make version 2 next fall, I'll try harder to get black coroplast...or maybe I can "find" a political sign or advertisement made of coroplast and make a funny grill block out of that.

[dspace9]

Maybe I wasn't clear. I painted the coroplast. I haven't taken it off yet

I think I understand now, I just wanted you to know some ways around to get back to square one with your bumper. But I see what you are saying now. Painting in a garage isn't pleasant, but most real paint shops are enclosed, to keep off possible debris etc. Painting outside in the winter not really a good ingredients for a smooth finish.

I never bothered with proper stuff with my VW and various touch-up homemade paint jobs in years past, but that was a beater Rabbit.

[ed100]

Those wheels look great on the car! I like that wine color too. Wish they had it in ‘14 as a color choice.

[Mark]

They say I they can get the 155/70-14 Nokian winter tires for a price comparable to tireseasydotcom and cloning TPMS for $88 EACH...may skip that... I'm pretty sure they scratched one of the rims as the scratch matched up with a line on the tire, but eh...it was cheap. They seemed impressed by their light weight.

You may or may not be interested in this, & I am by no means an expert in all this. You can buy an Autel TS408 tool ($129.50) and 4 of their sensors (approximately $29 each) that you can clone yourself.

https://www.amazon.com/Autel-Intelli.../dp/B06Y5D6XXB

https://www.amazon.com/Autel-6937357...W3Z9PBP4NGJTM6

I didn't shop around for best prices. Just check Amazon's prices on these items. For about $100 less than their $88 x 4 quote, you could come up with your own cloned sensors. If an original sensors went bad, you would be able to create your own replacement in the future, too. These sensors could be used with other vehicles, too.

I don't think it is a big deal to drive without sensors during the winter months. I drive with some sensors missing during the winter months myself. If I decide to correct that, I will probably go this route.

If you have any interest in this, Top_Fuel created a wonderful thread on this topic.

https://mirageforum.com/forum/showth...uick-Reference

P.S. - I think your new wheels look sharp!