nameless :: 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage DE (Garage entry)

[fifteenwindow]

Thanks, 3D. I used a 700x25c bicycle inner tube to seal the hood gap. I cut it near the valve, sealed both ends by rolling it onto itself and clamping the ends with binder clips. I pumped it up just a bit and laid it along the front, from the backs of the headlights all the way across the front. It has raised my intake air temperature 30-60 degrees from ambient depending on where I am driving (in town vs highway), as the intake snout is right at hood gap level.

As for airflow through the grill, with just the lowest slot open, my coolant temps stay between 190F & 195F while I am driving. After a 70 mile trip I was stopped at a traffic light and the coolant temp went up to 200F, so I turned on the heat and it dropped into the 180s within 10 seconds. I have a scangauge and keep a close eye on these 2 temps.

I'll be doing some traveling for the holiday, and I hope to get some better numbers. I can't get anywhere close to yours, but you give me something to strive for.

Safe travels, everyone.

[3dplane]

Cool,I wouldn't have thought of the inner tube!

Thanks for the temp numbers! I don't have a scangauge so it's good to know how far I should go!

My average speed is probably lower than yours and I P&G a lot hence the higher FE numbers for now!

[MetroMPG]

Thanks for the temp numbers! I don't have a scangauge so it's good to know how far I should go!

Re: temperatures ... remember that you live in Florida, and he lives in Wisconsin.

---

About those wheels. Will be interesting to see if they help. The lighter weight isn't a slam-dunk change for increasing efficiency since two other things have also changed:

(A) The aerodynamics: open spoke rims are more draggy than the OEM hubcaps, but on the other hand you've slightly reduced frontal area with the narrower tire. (By 2 x 10mm x the height of the exposed tire)

(B) Rolling resistance has likely also changed. The factory 14" tires are LRR; the 13's... who knows? But you're in the very interesting situation of being able to directly compare different tires on a pair of otherwise identical cars! EG: I did a simple rolling comparison to find out which set of my many wheels/tires had the lowest rolling resistance: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...eet-19126.html Significant difference between the best & worst. Hopefully those 13's are good in that department.

[fifteenwindow]

After 150 miles on these vx wheels with Prime Well tires, I put the stock steel wheelset back on. These Prime Well tires are not good in snow. The car slid as I pulled out of my driveway onto the street that had thin compacted snow from a few days earlier. It also slid a bit as I went up & came down my Dad's driveway. Not worth the risk.

I have since put a set of Kumho Solus 155/80 tires on the vx wheels, but I'll wait until the next fillup to put them on. The stock wheels appear to be doing well for mpg. 50s according to the MID. We'll find out with the next fillup.

One thing I did notice with the lighter vx wheels is that I can shift sooner without lugging the engine. It felt sportier to drive, but coasted shorter distances, which I expected with lighter wheels.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge, Metro.

[3dplane]

Out of curiosity how much smaller(if any) are those VX wheels in diameter than the stock wheels?

Just asking because that will throw off the odometer and of course the MPG display if there is a difference.

Oh and I mean diameter measured with a tape measure. I have seen manufacturer's sizes vary all over the place.
Once I rolled up two wheels side by side with the same size tires but different brand and one was 1-1/2" taller than the other.

BTW fefteen when you were sliding, did the stability activate on the car?

It drove me nuts I could not figure out on my car what is rubbing when I make a speedy turn onto my sandy driveway.
I thought the bottom of the car is scraping or a tire is rubbing on something. Than about the third time it happened it dawned on me that I hear the ABS motor kicking in for stability control. Even though the brake pedal is untouched.

[m4v3r1ck]

nice car!! nice modds.

[fifteenwindow]

I'll measure the wheels with a tape when I do the swap. For odometer readings I use the scanguage, which is set by mile markers on the highway.

I use this tire size comparison calculator to find tire sizes close to stock: http://tire-size-conversion.com/tire-size-comparison/

FYI - stock size here is 165/65-14, and my vx wheels have 155/80-13.

3dplane - If 2 tires of the same size are mounted to rims of different widths, their heights may not be the same. If the tires were not mounted when you compared them, this doesn't apply.

Yes, the stability control activated when I was sliding on snow. It sure lets you know when its on, which is nice.

[fifteenwindow]

I put the VX wheels back on my car today, this time with Kumho KR21 Solus 155/80-13 tires. I measured the diameter of the VX wheel/tire combo as well as the stock steel wheel/tire combo.

Unweighted, the stock wheels are 560mm and the VX wheels are 562mm in diameter. This comes out to a 6.3mm difference in circumference.

[MetroMPG]

Have you tested the rolling performance of the new tire against the factory one?

[fifteenwindow]

No. How do I test rolling performance?