Why change your suspension?

[Top_Fuel]

I have yet to get my alignment checked which seems to be off from new (have to hold the wheel to about 11 or 11:30 instead of straight up)

These cars can suffer from a few issues related to the steering wheel position:

1. Bad steering wheel positioning from the factory

In some cases, the steering wheel in a Mirage isn't centered at the factory when the front end is aligned. So even if your front end alignment is perfect, your steering wheel won't be centered when driving straight down the road.


2. Bad factory front end alignment

In other cases, the front end isn't aligned properly from the factory and may require constant steering wheel correction to keep the car tracking straight ahead.


3. Defective rear axle

In the worst case, the torsion beam rear axle is defective and can cause the rear end to "push" in one direction...and require constant (and annoying) steering wheel correction.

My 2015 had both conditions 1 and 2 above from the day it rolled off the assembly line.


If your car tracks perfectly straight without corrective action from the steering wheel, then you probably have condition #1 above if your steering wheel isn't straight. But like I always say, every Mirage needs a 4 wheel alignment check...even if it's brand new.

[7milesout]

These cars can suffer from a few issues related to the steering wheel position:

[INDENT]1. Bad steering wheel positioning from the factory

In some cases, the steering wheel in a Mirage isn't centered at the factory when the front end is aligned. So even if your front end alignment is perfect, your steering wheel won't be centered when driving straight down the road.

Uh, yeah ... I'm going to have to go ahead and sort of disagree with ya there. The front end geometry, and all the hardware leading up the steering column all the way to the splines on the steering shaft and steering wheel ARE designed to have the steering wheel PERFECTLY centered so that the vehicle will track straight down the road. If the steering wheel is not perfectly straight from the factory, your #2 or #3 may apply.

An off-center steering wheel from the factory should never happen. But it did / does happen at Hyundai-Kia plants when they failed to pound something with a big enough sledge hammer. I bet it happens on a very rare occasion from a Toyota factory too. I bet an unbiased audit between OEMs and the # of instances of this would be eye opening. Toyota being the lowest. It's a Toyota thing ... find a problem that customers do not like, and find a way to permanently counter-measure it. They are dedicated. And they are #1.

[Top_Fuel]

An off-center steering wheel from the factory should never happen.

No disagreement there. And a car shouldn't leave the factory with a bad front end alignment, either. But somehow I was lucky enough to have both conditions on my car. And I'm not the only one.

I'm just saying that there is limited quality control on the Mirage assembly line when they spend 10 seconds to adjust the tie rod ends to "align" the front end. And if the steering wheel is slightly off-center when that precision factory "alignment" is performed, then you end up with my car.

[Nifty_Biscuit]

Are there any changes that could be made to the suspension that would help in these 3 situations?

#1 is whenever a Texas stroad goes over a creek, they asphalt the road over the bridge to connect the two leaving a huge height bump that pops the front of my mirage in the air, resulting in smackdown on the return trip.



#2 is whenever a Texas stroad meets a beam bridge, the road dips between the beams at intervals that combine to bounce my mirage up higher and higher until it hits the pavement, unless you go 5 under the speed limit (which is 15 under in Texas). In this instance the suspension acts like a trampoline instead of a shock absorber.



#3 is when a Texas Farm-To-Market road meets a shopping center, the lot is usually much higher than the road so that the water runs off into the road, and the FM road is slanted from the middle so said runoff stays out of the middle of the road, so crossing the intersection faster than 3mph results in a pavement smash, the less fun cousin of a monster mash.



And they wonder why the most popular vehicles in Houston are oversized trucks and everything floods

[Nifty_Biscuit]

Putting those art classes to good use

[Wallythacker]

Show of hands. Im I the only one that likes the cushy suspension? It serves a purpose right?

It has on more than one occasion scared me coming over a very high bridge during very windy days. I sort of expect my 400 lb. motorbike to get pushed about but not my 2000 lb. car. I can't even imagine how badly the Mirage would bounce around with a trailer, my cargo carrier, or two large adults in the back.

I seldom have passengers aswell, but when I do, or I have my mtb in the back, it rubs as I go over speedhumps or whatever (especially with 195 tires). So these helper springs are good when I want to keep the looks and handling of wider tires, but don't want to be afraid to pop a tire.

Those are brilliant and maybe my answer, I want less roll but especially less droop when I either, 1) use my hitch mounted cargo carrier, rated for 300 lb. but I've never loaded much more than 200 lb. (a snowblower) in it.

Hello Mirage207 and welcome to the forum. Consider using a set of Air Lift air bags. Best part is they're adjustable. I have a set and I think they would work fine for your use, and would be easy to return to stock if needed.

Again, here's an option I never considered. This gives me some freedom to tailor the resistance and droop depending on my use of the cargo carrier or a trailer. I think the cargo carrier is far harder on the suspension asit behaves like a heavy duty lever on the back end.

This has been a great read full of good ideas. So, for me, the desire to change my suspension comes from a need to feel safer, be safer and have the ability to tailor my car for the task at hand. If I can do that for a few hundred dollars (helper springs or air bags, new tires and maybe rims and shocks should work. I don't need top of the line performance gear.)