2nd oil change

[Bristol]

Hello All,

2nd oil change tomorrow.
Approx. 9850 miles in 10 months of ownership.
Still loving my Mirage.
Motor is loosening up a bit. Averaging 45 mpg in city driving with my kayak rack on top.
11 mile drive to work at an average speed of 45 mph.
She did fine with the winter snows. No issues at all.
Still impressed with my Colt.

[highwire]

Hi,

What's your tire pressure?

[Bristol]

35 psi.
I want my tires to last and wear evenly.
My route to work, with a few exceptions, is relatively flat and I get stopped by an average of 6 traffic lights out of 17.
I also drive like an old lady.
Last summer and fall before the cold weather came, I would average about 42 mpg. If I hypermiled, I could stretch it to 45 and sometimes 47 mpg.
I haven't done any hypermiling this spring, but am anxious to see what can be accomplished on this now looser engine.
I could not have a route and posted speed limits(35 mph - 45 mph) more condusive to high mpg.
I rarely pay attention to gas mileage on the weekends.
My numbers are based on Monday thru Friday work commute.
Also low traffic at the times I commute.
The more I think about it, my average speed is probably closer to 40mph than 45mph.

[highwire]

35 psi.
I want my tires to last and wear evenly.
My route to work, with a few exceptions, is relatively flat and I get stopped by an average of 6 traffic lights out of 17.
I also drive like an old lady.
Last summer and fall before the cold weather came, I would average about 42 mpg. If I hypermiled, I could stretch it to 45 and sometimes 47 mpg.
I haven't done any hypermiling this spring, but am anxious to see what can be accomplished on this now looser engine.
I could not have a route and posted speed limits(35 mph - 45 mph) more condusive to high mpg.
I rarely pay attention to gas mileage on the weekends.
My numbers are based on Monday thru Friday work commute.
Also low traffic at the times I commute.
The more I think about it, my average speed is probably closer to 40mph than 45mph.

Do you have a manual transmission?

[highwire]

35 psi.
I want my tires to last and wear evenly.
My route to work, with a few exceptions, is relatively flat and I get stopped by an average of 6 traffic lights out of 17.
I also drive like an old lady.
Last summer and fall before the cold weather came, I would average about 42 mpg. If I hypermiled, I could stretch it to 45 and sometimes 47 mpg.
I haven't done any hypermiling this spring, but am anxious to see what can be accomplished on this now looser engine.
I could not have a route and posted speed limits(35 mph - 45 mph) more condusive to high mpg.
I rarely pay attention to gas mileage on the weekends.
My numbers are based on Monday thru Friday work commute.
Also low traffic at the times I commute.
The more I think about it, my average speed is probably closer to 40mph than 45mph.

Do you have a manual transmission? Edit, I viewed your profile and read that you have manual. The offical Mitsubishi mpg specs for manual are less than automatic but some manual users here appear to get much more mpg than the automatic. I will assume they are the exception, rather than the rule.

[Bristol]

Yes, I have the manual.
I have always chose manuals over automatics where Japaneses cars have been concerned.
Regular fluid automatics, even with lock up torque converters usually did not get better mileage than manuals.
But this CVT transmission that Mitsu uses is different. If you can keep an engine operating on its rpm sweet spot you will get the best mileage possible. That is what the CVT does.
I think the manual can even do that better if you know how to drive it.
I think the Cvt has a gas mileage advantage on the highway though because you can maintain highway speeds at lower rpms than the manual.
If the Mirage had a 6th speed manual I believe it could out do the Cvt both on the expressway and in the city.
In a contest from, I think, Vegas to LA, top Mirage mileage was low 70s. Second and third places were in the mid to upper 60s. All three had the CVT trans.
I have also always liked manuals because they require less maintenance.
My best mileage, was a hand calculated 68 mpg, was a 60 mile round trip, at 55mph, on a flat stretch of I-75. I filled up, ran my trip , filled back up at exact same pump. Both times started the flow, set pump handle and let go and let pump auto shut off.
I much as I wanted to believe it, I dismissed it!
The auto shutoffs, when filling an almost empty tank, can give repeatable correct shutoffs as the venting of air can be stabilized by the time the tank is full and the auto shutoff trips.
On small fill ups, like less than 2 gallons(in this case less than a gallon) the venting air flow can trigger a quicker auto shutoff, which make it appear that you used less fuel.
If that makes any sense.
That my theory anyways.
I do like to hope that I can one hit 68 though, lol.
As a side note, my cargo racks were not on the car when I got the 68 mpg.....

[highwire]

Agreed, I notice I get the best mileage with 1500-1800RPM. excluding acceleration spikes, that speed is anywhere between 35-50mph.

[Bristol]

I agree.
I love this car.
I wish it had telescoping steering wheel, a 6th speed, and a much better radio/speakers.
But, like it is, I am happy I have it.

[Mark]

. I will assume they are the exception, rather than the rule.

I think it is the rule, not the exception. Some CVT owners share lower mpg ratings quite often. Low ratings that I never witness with my manual at least.

From everything I have seen, I wouldn't expect better mpg ratings from a Mirage CVT under any circumstance. I know Mitsubishi states otherwise, but I don't sense that from what others share on this forum.

[highwire]

I think it is the rule, not the exception. Some CVT owners share lower mpg ratings quite often. Low ratings that I never witness with my manual at least.

From everything I have seen, I wouldn't expect better mpg ratings from a Mirage CVT under any circumstance. I know Mitsubishi states otherwise, but I don't sense that from what others share on this forum.

Ok, I can't speak for manuals, since I've never driven one (actually once with my uncle's Alfa Romeo, years back, pre-return to U.S), but maybe I'm the CVT exception to the CVT rule (of lower mpg than manual). I may not get 70mpg like some manuals do, but I average around 48-53mpg in the winter, which is 10 mpg higher than the official highway spec. Occasionally I top 60mpg.

I think that the average CVT owner is less into driving efficiently because the automatic does all the gear switching for them, but at the same time, CVTs aren't really made for torque. I do drive slower than most, and my acceleration and gradual, long-distance braking may be the reason. So I think eking out an extra 5mpg on CVT requires a different skill set than the manuals, which may be fun for others but not for me because I am afraid of breaking/wearing the gear shift if I skip gears accidentally/frequently. But in time I might learn how to drive one.

Edit: Ford Mustang released a manual Electric car. This might interest me whenever I go electric:
https://www.wired.com/story/aston-ma...-shift-manual/
https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/5/2...hium-sema-2019

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cul...-transmission/ I don't try to find a way to break things, but as they say in Jurassic Park, "Life finds a way" lol. And Murphy's law. If it's something I am going to need to handle frequently, I just prefer to focus on other mpg saving techniques in driving with my eyes on the road (i.e I need to look at the clutch [Edit: shift knob, not clutch] to know what gear I would change it to because I can't trust I'll remember where all the grooves are. Also, another analogy is, I have been able to type on keyboards for 25 years without looking at the keyboard but I still routinely check the keyboard 1/5th of the time for higher accuracy) That's just me, and think others should drive what they are most comfortable in.